During the latter stages of [[World War II]] [[Pforzheim]], a town in south west [[Germany]] was bombed a number of times. The largest raid, and one of the most devastating [[area bombardment]]s of the war was carried out by the [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF) on the evening of [[February 23]] [[1945]]. About one fifth of the town's population, between 17,600 and 20,277 people, were killed in the air raid, and about 83% of the town's buildings were destroyed. The town was thought by the [[Allied Powers|Allies]] to be producing precision instruments for use in the German war effort and be used for transport of German troops.