Thread: Dresden marks 1945 bombing anniversary

The city of Dresden has marked another anniversary of the WW II bombing that blew the historic city on the river Elbe, over centuries admired for its beauty and cultural and architectural treasures, along with tens of thousands of its people to pieces on February 13/14th 1945, in the presence of survivors, ambassadors and delegations from Britain and the US (among others from Dresdens british partner city Coventry, that was destroyed by the german airforce a couple of years earlier. A shared history that has led both cities to become partners, in memorial, but also related to the future, like student exchanges ), politicians and plenty of private citizens.
Nazis have for years made attempts to hijack the anniversary of the Dresden Bombing with parades and violence, which has even led to street battles with police on occasion, but this year a human chain of locals blocked the Nazis march peacefully and sucessfully, simply by standing in the way, and held a moving memorial ceremony in a cold winter night. The sirens were sounding across the city on the same hours as in 1945, time witnesses were telling their stories in public, and all over the old town and along the river Elbe church bells were ringing, there were flowers, candles, old fotos projected on walls etc.


Demonstrators in Dresden Block Neo-Nazi March with Human Chain - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Originally Posted by Slartibartfas

That's great that the majority did not look the other way but reclaimed their city against the Neonazi minority.

I am a great fan of the old down reconstruction project as some of you might already know. Brits donated a lot for the very successful reconstruction of the Frauenkirche which I think was a fantastic gesture.

Dresden before WWII



... after the war



... and today

The rebuilding of historic Dresden is an extremely interesting long-term project that began almost immediately after the fall of communism ( and is far from finished), and there is actually a british organization called the "Dresden Trust" that has greatly contributed to the rebirth of the city. They have also donated the orb and cross for the rebuilt Frauenkirche cathedral ( handed over by the Queen to the city of Dresden), with the artwork made by the son of one former british bomber pilot, who was in the sky over Dresden on February 14th 1945. But the Dresden Trust also seeks to promote anglo-german understanding in a wider sense, they also built a rose garden along the river Elbe devoted to the victims of ALL WW II bombings EVERYWHERE and support student exchanges, scholarships and research projects :

The Dresden Trust - The Making of the Orb and Cross



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