On the 76th anniversary of the destruction of Dresden in World War II, roses lie on the Altmarkt by a memorial. Photo: Robert Michael / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa
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(Photo: dpa)
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Lord Mayor Dirk Hilbert A right-wing gathering and counter-protest also remained peaceful. Police chief Jörg Kubiessa announced in the late evening: “Dresden experienced the quietest February 13th for many years. With regard to what happened at the meeting, there were no criminal offenses and only a few violations of the Corona rules. “
Lord Mayor Dirk Hilbert (FDP) warned at a small memorial ceremony about falsifications in the past and the present. “Let’s not leave room for reinterpretations,” he said in the evening at the memorial site for the dead in the air raids of February 13, 1945 and in the days after. “We can do this by focusing on the right thing instead of repeating the wrong thing.”
Germany faced its Nazi past, said Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) on the Altmarkt. “We have relentlessly reappraised and drawn conclusions from the crimes that were committed during the Nazi era and what guilt we Germans have for them.” It is also important for Dresden that “it is absolutely clear where this country stands, where the vast majority of Germans stand when it comes to equality, justice, the fight against anti-Semitism and racism”.
Hilbert recalled that Dresden residents too “only shrugged their shoulders” from 1933 to 1945 when Jewish shops were boycotted, smeared and finally expropriated and the owners and their families disappeared. The city, with its armaments factories and transport facilities, was part of the machinery “which started a murderous war from German soil”. It was precisely this war that finally raged in Dresden, said the politician and warned: “We must never again be indifferent to our fellow men!”
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In the afternoon there were an estimated 500 neo-Nazis facing up to 300 counter-demonstrators at Dresden Central Station, who protested loudly, with drums and chants, against right-wing extremism and the abuse of historical events. Some of the participants in the right-wing rally appeared with posters and black-white-red flags. Neo-Nazis see the bombings as an unprecedented war crime by the Allies, without taking into account Germany’s guilt for the Second World War and the causality of the events.
By registering, for example, vigils, the Nazi-Free Action Alliance for its part had “blocked” other striking sites in advance. At the Frauenkirche, citizens left candles all day long or laid flowers on memorials. Many police officers were present in the city center. Over the day, a total of around 1,400 police officers were on duty, it said.
Kretschmer, Hilbert and State Parliament President Matthias Rößler laid white roses on the Altmarkt. The reduced event at the start of the human chain was broadcast live on the Internet and on television, and the traditional ringing of the inner city bells at the time of the first attack in the evening was also broadcast on the radio.
In an online devotion by the Dresden Frauenkirche, Pastor Angelika Behnke and a contemporary witness called on people to work for peace. “Peace is not a gift, it is a permanent life’s work,” said Günther Ulbricht, who was buried in a cellar with his family in February 1945 as a child. To take it for granted “is a mistake, war is a crime”. It is important to take a stand against it, said the Dresden born in 1935.
In the morning at the largest resting place, the Heidefriedhof, the concrete sculptures “Rolling Angels” by the Danish artist Benthe Norheim symbolized hope, peace and consolation. Otherwise, a large wreath-laying ceremony marks the beginning of the day of remembrance, on which this time not thousands could shake hands.
The program of the day of remembrance was reduced to a minimum because of the corona pandemic, the traditional human chain was only symbolically drawn around the city center. For this purpose, over 1200 photos were projected onto the facades of striking and illuminated buildings, which citizens had previously uploaded on the Internet in the typical posture.
Dresden was badly damaged by British and American bombs on February 13, 1945 and in the days after; up to 25,000 people died. In the past, neo-Nazis had tried again and again to abuse the memorial day for propaganda. Since 2012 the peaceful remembrance of the citizens has prevailed – this time under the motto “Remember so as not to repeat!”.
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