Baedeker Blitz in the context of Luftwaffe

York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a minster, castle and city walls, all of which are Grade I listed. It is the largest settlement and the administrative centre of the wider City of York district. It is located 27 miles (43 km) north-east of Leeds, 90 miles (140 km) south of Newcastle upon Tyne and 207 miles (333 km) north of London. York's built-up area had a recorded population of 141,685 at the 2021 census.

The city was founded under the name of Eboracum in AD 71. It then became the capital of Britannia Inferior, a province of the Roman Empire, and was later the capital of the kingdoms of Deira, Northumbria and Scandinavian York. In the Middle Ages it became the northern England ecclesiastical province's centre, and grew as a wool-trading centre. In the 19th century it became a major railway network hub and confectionery-manufacturing centre. In the Second World War York was bombed in the Baedeker Blitz. Although York was less targeted during the war than other, more industrialised northern cities, several historic buildings were gutted and restoration took place up until the 1960s.

During World War II, the city of Lübeck was the first German city to be attacked in substantial numbers by the Royal Air Force. The attack on the night of 28 March 1942 created a firestorm that caused severe damage to the historic centre, with bombs destroying three of the main churches and large parts of the built-up area. It led to the retaliatory "Baedeker" raids on historic British cities.

Although a port, and home to several shipyards, including the Lübecker Flender-Werke, Lübeck was also a cultural centre and only lightly defended. The bombing followed the Area Bombing Directive issued to the RAF on 14 February 1942 which authorised the targeting of civilian areas.