GERMANY | Dresden stands up to nazi march

Source: dw.de Tuesday, 14 February 2012, 13:34

For years, nazis have marched on the anniversary of the Allied 1945 Dresden air raid. In 2011, tension with counter-demonstrators escalated into clashes. But this year, the city seemed to have learned from past mistakes.

Last year, more than 6,000 right-wing demonstrators were in the city. The gloomy spectacle with torches and drums escalated into brutal violence when the nazis clashed with counter-demonstrators and police forces were caught between the front lines. This year, the day remained largely peaceful. According to police, around 1,600 right-wing extremists attended the march. Three times the number of police officers, along with several thousand counter demonstrators, kept them in check.

“We won't tolerate the abuse of the memory of this event,” Mayor Dirk Hilbert told the official commemoration, held in the afternoon. The event took place at one of the city’s cemeteries, where the remains of more than 20,000 of the bombing victims are buried. Hundreds of white flowers were laid out in remembrance. Among those in attendance were Saxony State premier Stanislaw Tillich, as well as US Consul General Mark Powell and representatives of the British embassy. It was bombers from those two countries that on February 13 and 14, 1945 led the attacks against the city, destroying the baroque “Florence of the Elbe” and killing more than 20,000 people. Candles were lit to remember the victims. At the same time as the ceremony at the cemetery, an impressive demonstration was under way in Dresden’s historic centre. As in past years, more than 10,000 people came together to form a human chain in protest at the nazi march.