The Blitz, 'lightning,' or Blitzkrieg, 'lightning war,' was a German bombing campaign conducted by the Luftwaffe. Hitler had the Luftwaffe, 'air weapon,' target key areas in London. This was done in the hopes of securing Britain's surrender and ruining their economy. This is an example of total war where civilians were also a target. One defence strategy in preventing being seen by the Luftwaffe was the utilisation of 'blackout' curtains. There were approximately 32,000 deaths, 87,000 seriously injured and two million houses destroyed.