Victor Klemperer was an eyewitness to the Dresden bombings at the end of World War II, on February 13 and 14, 1945. The renowned scholar wrote what became known as the most vivid description of the eventsin the German language:

"We very soon heard the ever deeper and louder humming of approaching squadrons, the light went out, an explosion nearby. ... Pause in which we caught our breath, we knelt head down between the chairs, in some groups there was whimpering and weeping — approaching aircraft once again, deadly danger once again, explosion once again. I do not know how often it was repeated."

Klemperer, a linguist and Romance scholar, was a Jew who had converted to Christianity. The bombing of Dresden happened just in time to save his life: He was scheduled to be deported to a concentration camp. The original manuscript of his famous diaries from 1933-1944 are now to be found in the Saxon State and University Library Dresden, one of the largest research libraries in Germany.

The fate of this city, still beautiful despite the scars of war, is a good example of how myths are sometimes created deliberately. And how difficult it is to dislodge them, no matter how false and dishonest they are. Yes, it is true that the military purpose of the Allied air raids on February 13 and 14, 1945, was questionable, so close to the end of World War II. But the bombings, which caused much suffering among the innocent, does not change the fundamental guilt of the German Reich under Adolf Hitler.

That Klemperer survived was pure luck. He documented what he thought were his final thoughts before death: "In front of me lay a large, unrecognizable open space in the middle of it an enormous crater. Bangs, as light as day, explosions. I had no thoughts, I was not even afraid, I was simply tremendously exhausted, I think I was expecting the end."

Elsewhere he wrote: "I couldn't distinguish the details, I just saw flames everywhere, heard the noise of the fire and the storm, felt the terrible inner tension."

Far-right historical revisionism

Many right-wing extremists and anti-Semites still remain unmoved by such testimonies, though they come from someone whom the Nazis forced to wear a yellow star of David. The Nazis of today often deny historical reality in favor of a myth of German victimhood, often claiming that as many half a million Germans died in Dresden. 

But over the years, historical investigation has unearthed incontrovertible facts, thanks in part to researchers like Thomas Widera of the Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarianism Studies in Dresden (HAIT). Widera was a member of a historical commission that in 2010, after five years of investigation, determined the number of victims to the best available data: At least 18,000 and at most 25,000. There is no evidence for the claims of many on the far-right, Widera told DW, such as that hundreds of thousands of German refugees were among the dead.

Scientific analyses have also, he says, ruled out claims that the firestorm caused temperatures of up to 2,000 degrees Celsius, and that tens of thousands of people could therefore have been incinerated without a trace. 

Most of the dead, says the historian, were buried in the months immediately following the attack and after the end of the war. Nevertheless, it did remain unclear for some time how many people actually lost their lives in the inferno, as the systematic clearing of rubble did not begin until the late 1940s. And though it is true that human remains were still found during that work, Widera says the numbers do not come close to those claimed by neo-Nazi revisionists.

Neo-Nazis still march in Dresden

In the GDR era, East German authorities put the death toll at 35,000, a number extrapolated from the registration of corpses. The communist regime thus came closer to the figures determined 60 years later. Soon after German reunification, a resurgent neo-Nazi movement chose Dresden as its most important parade ground. At one stage, more than 6,000 neo-Nazis marched through the city streets, often clashing with left-wing counter-demonstrators.

For a long time, the city seemed to have no idea what to do about these yearly neo-Nazi rallies, which the Nazis described as a "march of mourning." But those days are over. For many years now, a multifaceted program has been used to commemorate both the bombing of Dresden and point out the Nazi past: There are regular exhibitions, readings, lectures, theater performances, concerts, and memorial services at cemeteries and in churches. 

A human chain

Civil society has fought back to reclaim the city's history in recent years. Every February 13 since 2010, a human chain forms on the banks of the Elbe and on bridges in the city. Thousands hold hands in silence as church bells toll to commemorate the victims and to take a stand against right-wing extremism.

Under the motto "A Future through Remembrance," the city will this year mark the 80th anniversary of the bombing by inviting contemporary witnesses and young people from Dresden and other European cities. The aim is to make younger generations aware that democracy cannot be taken for granted and that there is no guarantee that dictatorships are gone forever. 

Young people meet contemporary witnesses

This year's guests, aged 18 to 21, will come from Coventry (UK), Wroclaw and Gostyn (Poland), Ostrava (Czech Republic), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Strasbourg (France), Salzburg (Austria), Khmelnytskyi (Ukraine), and Stuttgart (Germany). Dresden Mayor Dirk Hilbert has said he is pleased to welcome such an international gathering: "Those who still remember are meeting those who will carry these memories into the next generation and thus into the future," he said.

The Dresden native also emphasizes that it is a societal task, today as much as tomorrow, to stand up for democracy, civil liberties and peace: "Especially in challenging times like these, every spark of courage, every small act, is a valuable contribution."

This text is based on an article first published on February 13, 2020, and was updated on February 12, 2025.

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