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.