On Thursday, the 80th anniversary of the near-total destruction of old Dresden by British-American bomber squadrons at the end of the Second World War, was commemorated by the Saxon state capital in a largely quiet and dignified manner, as local media and bloggers report in unison.
The highlight of the day was a human chain that started in the late afternoon on the Theaterplatz in Dresden, accompanied by the children’s choir of the Semperoper Dresden and the men’s choir Ensemble Capella Carminis on the stage of the opera house, which reopened in 1985.
Until 10 pm, Dresdners and guests can still place candles in front of the Frauenkirche, which was rebuilt after being completely destroyed on February 13, 1945, following the fall of the Wall. The candles can be purchased for a donation in the church. So far, only a few candles have been lit, possibly due to the weather, as the state capital was hit by a light snowfall on the commemoration day.
The official commemoration began in the morning with a minute of silence in the state parliament and wreath-laying on several Dresden cemeteries.
Unlike in previous years, the clashes that typically occur in Dresden on February 13 did not materialize to a great extent. Early in the morning, around 20 hooligans, attributed to the “left spectrum” by the Mitteldeutsche Rundfunk, marched through the Neustadt district. They threw a paint can at a house wall and stones at a shop window and some participants lit pyrotechnics during the march.
According to a reporter, they carried a banner with the inscription “Every year the same crap!” and burned a banner of the “Free Saxony”. As the police were alerted, two men (17, 19) were arrested near the scene and the damage is estimated at around 20,000 euros. The criminal police are investigating for breach of the peace.
There were demonstrations around midday and in the early afternoon. A few hundred people attended a rally, organized by Marcus Fuchs, the organizer of the Querdenken demonstrations in Dresden, in front of the Frauenkirche. In his speech, Fuchs referred to 80,000 victims who died in the three main bombing waves between February 13 and 15, 1945 and cited “historical numbers”. The currently prevailing view in science of a lower number of victims was described by the “Querdenker” as “false”.
A commission of historians, commissioned by the Saxon state government and active from 2004 to 2010, had stated in its final report that the number of victims was “up to 25,000”.
At the Frauenkirche, a small number of counter-demonstrators also gathered, trying to disrupt the rally. In the evening, Antifa supporters plan to hold a rally on the Altstadtmarkt, where the “Free Saxony” has also set up an impromptu memorial for the bombing victims.
On the night of February 13, 1945, a total of 773 British bombers dropped thousands of explosive and incendiary bombs on Dresden. The purpose of this bombing is still a matter of debate among military historians, particularly as its force hit the historic old town of the Saxon capital and residential areas on the southern Elbe riverbank, rather than military or logistical objectives, which were mostly concentrated on the northern Elbe riverbank, from where the Soviet front was approaching.