It would have been our pleasure to be bombed.

>When the War Refugee Board specifically asked the U.S. War Department to bomb the mass extermination equipment at Auschwitz, they replied that they wouldn’t because it would be “an unwarranted diversion of planes needed elsewhere.” This was despite the fact that bombing was being carried out fifty miles away, that there were industrial production facilities near the camp, and that it would have saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of Jews. >The prisoners in Auschwitz were even hoping they’d be bombed. “Our greatest anticipation was when the air raids were on,” said Celia Rosenberg, who was there at the time. “It would have been our pleasure to be bombed. It never occurred to us to be afraid.” The bombs never came. ____________________________ **Source:** Stephens, John Richard. “Victims of History.” *Weird History 101: Tales of Intrigue, Mayhem, and Outrageous Behavior*. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2006. 191. Print. ____________________________ **Further Reading:** [Auschwitz Concentration Camp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auschwitz_concentration_camp)