Seven grandmas and a grandpa on the right stand next to the Dresden Palace of Culture on Tuesday afternoon and hold up the rainbow flag. They want to form a vigil for peace and against war and talk to as many people as possible. Sabine Peisker is one of them, wears a peace dove pin on her hat and reports that passersby have already given her pancakes today. She has six grandchildren, is from Dresden and has been involved in commemorating the bombing of February 13, 1945 for many years. Today she came to protest against right-wing extremist gatherings in the city. She says she would prefer that there could simply be a quiet remembrance of the victims of war and destruction.
But times are not quiet. And certainly not in Dresden – where right-wing extremists have been trying for years to hijack the memory of the city’s extensive destruction and the millions of victims of National Socialist tyranny and to construct a victim myth out of German guilt. If the motto of these days “Never again is now” has a meaning, then you might recognize it particularly well on this February 13th. Day of the destruction of Dresden in World War II by Allied bombers – as a result of the war of annihilation launched by Hitler’s Germany, you have to write it down again and again. Historians estimate that up to 25,000 people died on February 13, 1945 and the days after.
The 79th anniversary should be a day of pause, of shaking hands and of standing together among Democrats. The motto that the people of Dresden have adopted: “Vigilant together”.
The citizens’ choir sets the tone
In the evening, a large candle is formed from many tea lights in front of the Frauenkirche, which was destroyed in 1945 and rebuilt through donations. In the afternoon, flower arrangements in black, white and red – the colors of the Reich war flag – lie on the prepared space. A woman’s voice comes from a loudspeaker and says that it was not Hitler who wanted the war, but British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. But only a handful of people came to the meeting of the lateral thinker alliance. Even next door on the Altmarkt there are only a few people in the afternoon Compactmagazine, the central organ of the right-wing extremists. A married couple complains loudly about “green-sluts,” but others set the tone.
Because in front of the Palace of Culture, the Philharmonic invited citizens to sing – the motto: “Raise your voice for peace, against hatred and violence”. Regina Gorzna, alto voice, was happy to come, as were hundreds of Dresden residents. The 71-year-old has lived here for ten years because of her grandchildren; she actually comes from Brandenburg. She likes to sing in the community choir, and they regularly give free concerts at Christmas or at the film nights on the banks of the Elbe. “It’s important to position yourself,” says Gorzna, “the climate is even more turbulent this year.” There are state elections in Saxony on September 1st. The AfD, which the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has classified as right-wing extremist, has been leading the polls as the strongest party for weeks. The AfD has also registered a “commemorative” event for the evening.
“I still have the smell of burning in my nose today.”
“We won’t solve all problems with singing alone,” says the President of the Dresden Philharmonic Support Association and former Chancellery and Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière (CDU) in welcome, but “singing together makes us stronger.” And then they sing together “The thoughts are free” and “Tell me where the flowers are”, of course also “Little White Dove of Peace” and the canon “After this Earth”. There is almost shy applause, the mood is solemn and dignified.
Then contemporary witness Ursula Bergs reported how she experienced the day 79 years ago, her eighth birthday. In the evening there was a bomb scare, waiting in the air raid shelter, then the caustic smell of burning: “I can still smell it today when I think about it.” When she was back on the street, the yellow-painted houses were red in the firelight of the burning city. She wishes “that we maintain our peace so that our children and grandchildren can also enjoy their birthdays.” Then, in the last light of the day, the citizens’ choir sings “We shall overcome” – and a few hundred meters further in front of the town hall, representatives of city and state politics stand and urge vigilance to protect democracy.
Dresden Mayor Dirk Hilbert (FDP) reminds us that National Socialism had its rise in democratic elections and that democracy is no guarantee against dictatorship. Ursula Staudinger, Rector of the Technical University, does not want to accept that contempt for humanity, anti-Semitism and violations of human dignity would become socially acceptable again. For Staudinger, the human chain around the old town is a symbol of community and defensiveness. Then around 13,000 citizens stand close together and hold hands. In addition to the top politicians in the country, they also included British Ambassador Jill Gallard and a delegation from Coventry, Dresden’s sister city, which was reduced to rubble by the German Air Force. The bells of the Frauenkirche ring and now the candles stand outside in front of the church, the black, white and red containers have disappeared.
Inside, Pastor Markus Engelhardt talks about peace and reconciliation and about the long line that led to the “date of deep sadness”: “First the hearts burned,” he says, then in January 1933 the torches, soon after the Reichstag, then the books and so on the synagogues, finally the gas ovens – “and because of all of this in the end so many German cities.” Then the people who came to worship in the Frauenkirche also sing “We shall overcome” together – and outside on the Altmarkt, opposite the Kulturpalast, there are several thousand people who do not want to allow the AfD to have their meeting that evening has the last word.