Tens of thousands gathered in Dresden's old town to pay tribute to the victims of Allied air raids in 1945. The commemoration has taken place every year since 2010 and often attracts right-wing demonstrators.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Willnow
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Around 11,500 people stood hand-in-hand to form a human chain around Dresden's old town on Wednesday commemorate the 74th anniversary of an allied bombing in 1945 during World War II.
Dresden was decimated by a series of four air raids from February 13-15, 1945, during which British and US air forces dropped more than 3,900 tons of explosives. The heavy use of various incendiary bombs led to a firestorm in the city, a phenomenon more typically seen in nature when a fire becomes so large it creates and sustains its own wind systems, sucking in more oxygen and facilitating its own spread.
Between 23,000 and 25,000 people are thought to have died in the area bombing, concentrated not on strategic targets but on a population center.
Since 2010, thousands have traditionally gathered in Dresden every year on February 13 to form a human chain around the old town, where most of the destruction occurred, to symbolically protect it.
City partnerships
Saxony's state premier Michael Kretschmer and Dresden's Mayor Dirk Hilbert were among those who participated. A delegation from Wroclaw, Poland and the British city of Coventry also joined the ranks — both cities suffered severe damage from the air in World War II and have had partnerships with Dresden over the past 60 years.
Hilbert, mayor since 2015, recalled the victims not only in Dresden, but also in other European cities. He highlighted the importance of reconciliation, saying there were currently "reconciliation gaps" around Europe that need to be closed.
Around 100 people also gathered at Dresden's Frauenkirche for a prayer for peace, where pastor Sebastian Feydt paid tribute to the 60-year partnership between Dresden and Coventry. All church bells in Dresden are also set to ring at 9:45 p.m. CET (2045 UTC), the time of the first air raid on February 13.
Right-wing demonstrations
The annual commemorations in Dresden, a city that was once strong in its Nazi sympathies, have also traditionally attracted right-wing extremists, who organize events on the February 13 anniversary for their own political purposes.
The high numbers of civilian casualties during the bombings of cities like Dresden and Hamburg, coupled with historians questioning their strategic value so late in the war, are popular talking points among the far-right in Germany.
On Wednesday, members of the Young Alternative for Germany, the youth wing of Germany's AfD party, and the ultranationalist National Democratic Party (NDP) laid a wreath at the Heide cemetery in Northern Dresden.
Other AfD party members also leaned wreaths on the Altmarkt memorial at the center of Dresden's old town, where the bodies of thousands of victims were burned after the Allied attacks in 1945.
The history of Dresden's Frauenkirche
After its destruction during the Second World War, the rebuilt church is now Dresden's landmark, a symbol of reconciliation and a tourist magnet.
Image: picture-alliance/ZB/T. Eisenhuth
Magnificent building on the Elbe
This famous oil painting from 1751 by the Venetian artist Bernado Bellotto, also called Canaletto, shows Dresden's Frauenkirche church and the new market. Construction on the Baroque "Church of Our Lady" began in 1726. The protestant church became part of a plan by Saxony's prince-elector, Frederick August I, to turn his residential city of Dresden into a European metropolis.
Image: gemeinfrei
A unique dome
The reconstruction of the dome in the 1990s followed the original plans. Some 13,000 tons of sand stone were built onto a wooden frame. The Baroque dome from 1736 was a masterpiece designed by architect George Bährs. Back then, no one believed that the church pillars and walls would withstand the weight of the bell-shaped stone dome.
Image: picture-alliance/ZB
Delicate ceiling paintings
The Frauenkirche covers the equivalent of half of the surface of a soccer field. Due to this lack of space, architect George Bähr designed up towards the sky. If you cast your eyes upwards when in the church, you'll see paintings in the cupola depicting the four Evangelists and four Christian virtues: an identical copy of what was originally created by the Venetian artist Battista Grono.
Image: picture-alliance/D. Kalker
Destruction during the war
On February 13, 1945, British and US fighter planes started firebombing Dresden's inner city. The church withstood the heat generated by the incendiary bombs for two days, until it eventually collapsed. All that remained of this jewel of European church architecture were the remnants of two walls. The 17-meter high rubble heap surrounding the ruins were left untouched until 1993.
Image: Bundesarchiv Bild 183-60015-0002
A symbolic ruin
Communist East Germany often organized rallies to commemorate the destruction of Dresden. In 1966, the remnants of the church were officially declared a memorial against war. On the anniversary of the bombing, February 13, 1982, the ruins became the site of a peaceful protest movement against the East German regime, making the church ruin part of a growing civil rights movement.
Image: picture-alliance/ZB
Post-reunification energy
On February 13, 1990, a citizens' initiative founded by Ludwig Güttler (pictured sitting on the left side), a noted Dresden musician, began raising funds to rebuild the Frauenkirche. Four trusts in the US, France, Britain and Switzerland and some 13,000 people worldwide supported this drive. An exhibition in the lower church shows the story of its reconstruction.
Image: picture-alliance/ZB
Archeological puzzle
To reconstruct the church in 1993, hundreds of architects, art historians and engineers began sorting the thousands of stones in the rubble heap, identifying and labeling each of them for reuse. The actual reconstruction work began in 1994. Some 46 percent of the original stones were reused in the new structure. By looking closely, it is easy to identify them in the walls of the rebuilt church.
Image: picture-alliance/ZB
Place of honor in the crypt
The final resting place of the church's architect re-emerged from under the rubble after having been buried for 48 years. The remains of George Bährs were preserved. Today, his restored tomb can be viewed in the lower church. It is surrounded by the graves of other local dignitaries who were also buried in the crypt during the 18th century.
Image: Stiftung Frauenkirche Dresden/S. Kotyrba
Baroque altar
From the chancel, you can see the impressive number of figurines standing in the altar. They were rebuilt using fragments, like those of this statue of Moses and the Ten Commandments. Nearly 80 percent of the altar was made using the original materials, making it the best preserved section of the church.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Church and concert hall
For the past 10 years, up to 1,800 people find space in the light-flooded interior of the church. Church services and concerts are held here. This tradition goes as far back as 1843, when the famous composer Richard Wagner premiered the only piece he ever composed for choirs, "The Feast of Pentecost." It was performed by some 1,200 singers.
Image: Stiftung Frauenkirche Dresden/Gunter Bähr
The old and new landmark
It cost around 183 million euros ($200 million) to rebuild the church, and of this sum, about 100 million came from donations. The historical streets surrounding the church were also restored to their former glory. With nearly 20 million visitors from Germany and abroad in the past 10 years, Dresden's Frauenkirche has become a tourist magnet.
