Zollverein.

This is coolbert:

From a Freeper entry I have copied in entirety. Responses from devoted readers to the blog appreciated.

"Why was the Zollverein Coal Mine, in Germany NOT bombed by the Allies during WWII? "

"The Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex . . . is a large former industrial site in the city of Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany."

"Zollverein survived the Second World War with only minor damages and by 1953 again placed on top of all German mines with an output of 2.4 million tons."

"Why was this extraordinary place not bombed out of existence during WW2?"

"From coal to coke to pig iron to steel to ball bearings to tanks and planes, this was the starting point of the German WW2 war machine."

"Everything else around it was bombed into the stone age."

"So why was it not destroyed by Allied bombing?"

"And here are my theories":

"1) The Allies wanted the access to the coal there, after the defeat of Germany, as reparations. 2) The Allies did not want a 'Failed state' in Germany and understood that this place was needed to re-build Germany and prevent further German aggression. 3) There is really no sense in bombing a mine. You can't destroy coal in the ground with bombing. It was more effective to destroy assembling facilities and the people that worked there. 4) From coal to a finished tank or gun, the process took to long to have any impact on the immediate war effort. In other words, if you took out the coal factory, it would take months or even years to impact the Allies war effort."

Mines do have above ground facilities and apparatus that can be attacked from the air. Presumably such "facilities and apparatus" could be bombed and destroyed. But this was not done?

coolbert.