Dresden, Monday
ROYALTY, political leaders, and Allied military chiefs paid homage in
Dresden to the thousands who perished at the hands of RAF and American
bombers 50 years ago tonight.
Gathered together in a marked spirit of reconciliation, no-one
attempted to apportion blame or guilt.
However the Bishop of Coventry, the Rt Rev Simon Barrington-Ward, told
the people of Dresden that the horrific Allied raid was morally wrong.
''Hitler's war had unleashed a whirlwind into which we were swept,''
he said. ''The dynamic of war swept away our inhibitions.
''When the British and American air forces destroyed Dresden we had
suppressed our moral principles.''
German President Roman Herzog refused to further some claims that the
raids, which killed up to 35,000 people and decimated the city's
renowned baroque and Renaissance buildings, were a war crime.
''There is no doubt that it was inhuman but it makes no sense to
discuss whether it was legally right,'' he said. ''What good do such
discussions bring 50 years later?''
The day began at the memorial to the dead in a peaceful pine forest
high above the city, where dignitaries laid wreaths of commemoration.
The Duke of Kent, representing the Queen and leading the British
delegation, stood smartly to attention in front of the memorial. His
wreath bore the simple words: ''In Memoriam: February 13, 1945.''
Dignitaries then stood to one side as hundreds of local people placed
single flowers and small wreaths as tributes to relatives and friends,
who were incinerated, suffocated, and buried alive in what Germans call
the ''night of the devil's tinderbox''.
Fifty years ago, at 9.45pm tonight, the air raid sirens first sounded
across the rooftops of Dresden to warn the inhabitants of the impending
disaster.
An armada of RAF bombers carried out the first massive raid, dropping
1476 tons of high explosive and 1182 tons of incendiary bombs that
caused the destructive firestorm and ripped the city apart.
However there was also recognition today that Dresden could not be
seen in isolation from the countless other horrors and atrocities of the
Second World War.
Germany's military chief, General Klaus Naumann, sidestepped the
question about whether Germany now expected an official apology from
Britain for the raid.
''The fact His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent is here to honour the
dead is a clear indication that we are looking to the future and
reconciliation is the catchword,'' he said.
He stressed: ''You cannot talk about Dresden without talking about the
city of Coventry.''
The Lord Mayor of Coventry, Nick Nolan, who laid a wreath with
representatives of other cities twinned with Dresden, spoke of shared
grief.
''I am not apportioning blame or guilt. We were all guilty at the time
and perhaps we will not be again in the future. What we have to do is
get rid of tragedy, suffering, and war.
''In a marvellous and almost miraculous way, the fires that burned so
fiercely in Coventry and in Dresden have ignited a flame of hope in
cities and among people all over the world.''
The central commemoration ceremony in the city's concert hall was
marred by a vociferous demonstration of left-wing activists opposed to
German reunification.
They were swiftly bundled out by security guards to loud applause.
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