“With a view to the destruction of Dresden, we must not only look at 1945, but must broaden our perspective to the period between 1933 and 1945,” warned Mayor Dirk Hilbert (FDP) at the North Cemetery. The causes of the war and its effects in other parts of Europe should also be considered.
Hilbert warned of the graves of victims of the Allied bombing raids of 13/14. February 1945: “In memory, we have to face the complexity of a history that is both dividing and connecting, an infinitely complex story, especially because of the current political situation in our city, in our country and in Europe.”
Meanwhile, hundreds of neo-Nazis marched through the old town. The elevator to the sounds of Wagner music was secured by emergency services, as was loud counter-protest in sight and hearing behind barriers that prevented a direct encounter. Hundreds of counter-demonstrators opposed the “silent march” accompanied by shouts of “Nazis out” at the side of the road.
Barely three months before the end of the Second World War, on February 13, 1945 and in the days that followed, British and American bombers laid parts of Dresden in ruins. The city at the time was full of refugees fleeing the Red Army from the east of the German Empire.
The exact number of victims could never be ascertained. According to a commission of experts, up to 25,000 people lost their lives and an area of twelve square kilometers was completely destroyed. Right-wing extremists put the number of victims many times higher and accuse the Allies of a war crime.