Neo-Nazis mark 1945 Dresden bombing with 'mourning' march
German extreme rightists have equated the 1945 Allied Forces' bombing of the German city to the Holocaust.
By The Associated Press Tags: Holocaust Israel newsAt least 5,000 neo-Nazis and thousands more opponents faced off in competing protests Saturday to mark the 65th anniversary of Dresden's deadly Allied bombing in World War II. There were scuffles but no major violence.
Heavy security including riot police was in place to prevent clashes between the two groups, and five police helicopters flew overhead to monitor the crowds.
Neo-Nazis have caused outrage in the past by comparing the 1945 bombing of the German city to the Holocaust and far-right organizers of Saturday's protest characterized it as a mourning march.
Some 5,000 far-right supporters poured into the city, according to police, who limited them to a rally rather than a march for security reasons.
Mainstream political parties and civic groups, however, were determined not to let neo-Nazis exploit the city's painful history.
Across the Elbe River, some 10,000 people joined hands to create a human chain symbolically protecting the restored city center from Neo-nazis, after the city mounted an unsuccessful legal challenge to block the far-right march.
"Dresden doesn't want them and this gang doesn't belong here," Mayor Helma Orosz said.
"The human chain helped make Dresden a fortress against intolerance and stupidity, and the anniversary provided a reminder of who started the war," she added.
There were some minor skirmishes, with some barricades set ablaze but quickly extinguished, and a car flipped over. A busload of far-right supporters was turned back after its headlights and windows were smashed.
Police reported some minor injuries, including people hit by rocks, but said the opposing sides were largely kept separated.
Three successive waves of British and U.S. bombers on Feb. 13-14, 1945, set off firestorms and destroyed Dresden's centuries-old baroque city center.
The total number of people killed in the Dresden bombing has long been uncertain. In 2008, a panel commissioned by state officials found that the firebombing killed no more than 25,000 people - far fewer than scholars' previous estimates that ran as high as 135,000.
Dresden has been rebuilt painstakingly over the years. Its landmark domed Frauenkirche, or Church of Our Lady - for decades no more than a mound of rubble - reopened in 2005.
Karolin Hanebuth, 20, came from Hannover in western Germany to counter the far-right protest.
"Fascism is not an opinion, it is a crime," she said.
The far right is marginal in Germany and has no seats in the national parliament. However, Saxony, where Dresden is located, is one of two eastern German states where the far-right National Democratic Party has seats in the regional legislature.
Why Facebook Connect?
Comment on Haaretz.com articles with your Facebook login, and share your thoughts on your own wall.
- Latest
- Most Viewed
- Most Rated
- Open all
"As opposed to Israel and America where the far right dominates national politics." With Obama as President and a Democratic majority in the House and Senate? Lincoln, do you allow ANY simple-minded drivel which crosses the threshold of your simple mind to dribble out of your mouth? Further, countries tend to get more conservative after being attacked. Don't forget the intifada of 2000. which pushed Israel further into a military mind. Grow up, Lincoln.
The Nazi's were the Socialist Party...last time I looked the Socialists were to be found on the left....the left.......the left.
Allied war crimes like the firebombing of German and Japanese cities in WWII remind us that even if we fight against evil, war turns us into monsters.
Still a minority, but very likely to increase their numbers. 15 years ago there were no marches of this type at all. Now there are and many more will come, with greater numbers in their ranks. What is worse, Nazis were relegated to a few nations in northern countries; now, they can be found in almost every country around the planet. If you count them, today there are more Nazis everywhere in the planet than there were Nazis in Germany before the Great War. The day they get to organize and work together as an international fighting force, Al-Qaeda will appear as boy scouts in comparison.
A rally entitled , "A memorial march to honor the victims of Dresden" is nothing any reasonable person could oppose whereas "An assembly of Neo-Nazis to commemorate the glory of the third Reich would invite opposition". Now which tac do you think the minister of propaganda would approve? These are my thoughts and I welcome criticism.
Alex, you would bash Israel no matter what the subject is. I'll bet you have a picture of Hitler on your wall. Alex ..Israel didnt bomb Dresden or Berlin..or Munich or FranKfort!
is an very interesting book, written by A.C. Grayling, about the bombardment of german cities especially Dresden, concluding it was an warcrime. Reading his arguments for that I agree with him, but surely it is not to compare with the ugly Holocaust and don't take away the many awful misdeeds of the nazis and the support for them in the german society in that time. Especially neonazis must hold their big mouth, others may regret it in right and balanced contemplation.
Churchill knew how to deal with thugs, criminals and dictators. Remember, we in Britain suffered at the hand of the Nazi Bombers bombing our cities, and their V1 and V2 rockets coming down on us. This is how a free country retaliates against missile attacks on its civilians and cities.
"The far right is marginal in Germany and has no seats in the national parliament." - AP As opposed to Israel and America where the far right dominates national politics.
I really wonder nobody is seeing the nucleus: Thousands of Neo-Nazis are allowed marching free and abusing a tragical event in history making puclicity for their criminal ideology again. Sometimes I feel so much ashamed beeing German!
Post war surveys by the allies showed these raids had no effect on ending the war sooner.
how the Germans rebuilt the cities after the war. Glad the Nazis didn't come back afterwards in force.
The organisers said something like: the "bad" of the Nazis came back. This is too simple. They dont look very close to what really happened in that town. You would never say that Israels "bad" returns when acts of "terror" happen. Such things are decided by individuals one after the other.
He will easily find "war crimes" there. Given Nazi war crimes and Holocaust he will accuse both sides of waR crimes.
This is totalitarism as well, not to mention that he had no other choice. The Nazis are not just saying bad things, they are first of all extremly stupid.
they should have shot and hanged 25000 nazi war criminals but grogman churchill who was an engishman wanted to screw the german and keep the neonazis for stalin.
Arnold, I would recommend Jörg Friedrich's publication "The fire" for information on Allied area bombing, which in fact took place in nearly every major German city between 1940 and 45. Dresden was by no means some "deterring left hook" that made the Nazis surrender. It was one of the last in a long series of equally heavy or heavier bombardements. This is just proof of the fact that a ruthless inhumane dictatorship will not be stopped by indiscriminately hurting civilians.
No matter how disgusting you or i find these people's views we in Europe live in a society of free speech, some thing which israel does not grasp.
At first the synagogues was burnt down by the nazis, then Coventry. London and other cities were bombed by the germans. The germans started the war and the shoah and the people of Dreseden know that the bombardement of their city was a reaction to this.
looking at pictures of Dresden after the bombing reminded me a little of the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki...or vice versa. By early 1945 the re was little anti -aircraft power left within the German arsenal...Dresden was the left hook punch by the Allies...had the Nazis not surrendered very quickly later then several other cities would have suffered the same fate...the knockout punch as you might say.
Dresden was result of the Allies realization that the war would never end without the total destruction of Germany. The beating they took in World War 1 only fueled their desire for revenge. I see no connection to the Holocaust. The Arabs took a beating in 1967, so maybe these Neonazis want to remind them of the result of total war.
They did not march because nearly 10,000 to 15,000 (!) protesters formed a human chain in Dresden and stopped them. "Dresden doesn't want them, and this gang doesn't belong here," Mayor Helma Orosz said.
IT MEANT NOTHING FOR gERMANY TO SEND UNMAN ROCKETS INTO loNDON KILLING CIVILIANS NOT THE MILITARY.tHIS WAS THE RACTION TO THE KILLING PF CIVILANS.
This scum unfortunately has a right to this demonstration only in the fact that the 1,000 bomber raid over Dresden by the allies was a war crime,but not comparable to the Holocaust that these scum would like us to beleive. What was in Dresden that the allies had to flatten,(Civilians).probably we will never know.