As of: February 13, 2024, 7:28 p.m
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A memorial plaque in the Nordfriedhof in Dresden commemorates the victims of the war.
© Matthias Rietschel/dpa
White roses and candles commemorate the victims of the bombing of Dresden.
They are also a sign of reconciliation.
79 years after the attack, the longing for peace in the world remains great.
Dresden - Dresden and Saxony have combined the memory of the destruction of the Elbe city in 1945 with a call for peaceful coexistence and resistance to right-wing populism and nationalism.
The anniversary, entitled “Together vigilant,” began with wreath-layings and commemorations for those killed in the air raids.
In downtown Dresden, numerous people gathered until midday at the places associated with the events 79 years ago.
In the evening, according to the city, around 13,000 citizens joined the traditional human chain around the old town, including Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU), British Ambassador Jill Gallard and a delegation from Coventry.
British and American bombers reduced Dresden to rubble on February 13, 1945 and the following days.
The exact number of victims could never be determined.
According to historians, up to 25,000 people died and the rubble area covered twelve square kilometers.
Until the air raid, “Florence on the Elbe” had been largely spared from destruction.
Right-wing extremists artificially inflate the number of victims and try to construct a war crime by the Allies.
On the eve of the anniversary, Social Affairs Minister Petra Köpping (SPD) called for people to oppose this and to send “a strong signal of sincere remembrance and cautionary pause” from Dresden.
The Germans have a special responsibility for peace in Europe and worldwide, said Köpping.
The wars in the Middle East and Ukraine were a stark reminder of how valuable and at the same time fragile peace can be.
In memory of what happened 79 years ago, representatives of the city and the Free State laid flowers and wreaths at the final resting places of the victims.
At the Heidefriedhof, the final resting place of most of the dead in the air raids, numerous white roses lined the monuments and memorials.
President of the State Parliament Matthias Rößler and Minister of Education Christian Piwarz (CDU) took part in the silent remembrance of the German War Graves Commission at the northern cemetery.
Firefighters, soldiers and police officers are primarily buried there.
White roses also lay next to flickering grave lights at the rebuilt Frauenkirche.
The church is considered a memorial to the attacks and was rebuilt true to the original with donations from the former allies after 1990.
There, the usual “Night of Silence” this time became the “Night of Voices” for democracy.
In the afternoon, around 200 people accepted the Dresden Philharmonic's invitation to the citizens' singing “against hate, violence and for peace and reconciliation”.
The polyphonic choir intoned songs such as “Tell me where the flowers are”, “Thoughts are free” and “We shall overcome”.
At 6 p.m., tens of thousands joined hands in the human chain, which has been a tradition on Remembrance Day for over a decade.
As the bells of the city center church rang, they stood together for a few minutes in memory of the victims of February 13, 1945 in Dresden, but also of the victims of German bombs in Dresden's English partnership of Coventry in 1940.
Mayor Dirk Hilbert (FDP) previously urged vigilance at a rally.
Democracy is no guarantee of preventing dictatorships or an unjust regime.
“National Socialism was invited by a large part of the population to become the strongest political force in free and democratic elections.
Everything that followed had its origins in a democratic vote,” he recalled.
The human chain is closing around the city center so that the memory of the victims of Nazi rule and the war is not exploited and reinterpreted by old and new nationalists, said Hilbert (FDP).
“We are standing here because there are more and more political extremists in our country who are questioning our democratic constitution.”
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The rector of the Technical University (TU) Dresden, Ursula Staudinger, called the human chain “a guardian of democracy”.
It should not be accepted that contempt for humanity, anti-Semitism, racism and violations of human dignity become socially acceptable again.
Right-wing extremists have been misusing the Dresden commemoration for their own purposes for a long time and want to use marches to put Germany's guilt in the Second World War into perspective.
Thousands of people had already opposed a neo-Nazi march on February 13th on Sunday.
On the anniversary, quiet remembrance dominated until early evening.
“There were no disturbances,” said a police spokesman.
This is still increasingly present well into the night.
Shortly before 10 p.m., the time of the first attack almost three months before the end of the war, the bells of the city center churches are supposed to ring again - also in memory of the millions of victims of the Nazi tyranny and global crises.
dpa