[Odin]

11 Feb 2005
3:37pm (UK)
Fears over Neo-Nazi Dresden Bombing Protests

By Caroline Gammell, PA Deputy Chief Reporter

As the 60th anniversary of the Allied bombing of Dresden approaches, there were fears today that right wing neo-Nazis would try to sabotage the commemoration.

Sunday’s milestone is supposed to be marked by peace and understanding with clergy from Coventry Cathedral travelling to Germany to present a cross of reconciliation.

But the British veterans who make up the Bomber Command have not been invited and local authorities believe the day will be dogged by political protest.

The bombing of Dresden near the end of the Second World War is still hugely controversial with many claiming the Allied attack was unnecessary and excessive.

On February 13, 1945, the British RAF Bomber Command launched a brutal raid on the the eastern German city.

Dresden, known for its culture and beautiful buildings, was decimated in the onslaught which took place just three months before the end of the war.

A day after the British attack, US bombers zoned in again and bombs rained down on an already devastated landscape.

Around 35,000 people are thought to have died although some estimates set the figure as high as several hundred thousand.

The Allied raids were widely condemned but recently historians have suggested that Dresden was a legitimate target and that the damage was not as great as has been portrayed.

But right wing and neo-Nazi political parties have capitalised on the furore surrounding the bombings.

One member of the right wing National Democratic Party was quoted recently as saying that Britain and the US committed a “bombing Holocaust”.

On Sunday, as many as 5,000 far right activists are expected to gather to march in protest at the attacks.

Hundreds of left-wing anti-Nazis are also expected to turn up to oppose the right wing groups.

The Dean of Coventry Cathedral, the Very Rev John Irvine, and the Rev Dr Oliver Schuegraf, from Würzburg in Germany but part of the cathedral’s Ministry of Reconciliation, are travelling to Germany tomorrow.

Dr Schuegraf, speaking from Coventry, said: “The city and the civic society are really trying to show a different face of Dresden, so we won’t be any part of that.

“In the long run, I hope, they are such a small minority they could not disturb the good relations between Germany and Britain.”

At 5pm local time on Sunday, a service will be held in the city’s cathedral, the Frauenkirche, and the Dean of Coventry will present a Cross of Nails – a sign of reconciliation – to the Bishop of Saxony.

Services will also be held at the Kreuzkirche and the Heidefriedhof cemetery in the city.

The Frauenkirche was destroyed in the bombing and lay untouched for years as a reminder of the war. It was only completely renovated last year.

Dr Schuegraf said Coventry – badly bombed by the Germans in 1940 – and Dresden had both suffered the devastating effects of war.

“We have this long-standing relationship with Dresden going back to 1965 when volunteers from England went out to help repair the destroyed hospital,” he said.

“It is about reconciliation and trying to rebuild the relationship.”

One group who has not been invited to attend the 60th anniversary in Dresden is the Bomber Command Association (BCA).

Sir Michael Beetham, president of the BCA, said the organisation had not been invited, nor had they expected to go.

“The press made much of the Queen’s visit to Germany recently, asking if she would apologise for Dresden,” he said. “But she did not apologise, she expressed regret.

“I expressed regret, all of Bomber Command expressed regret. We did not want to bomb Germany, but how else do you win a war?

“World War Two was a fight for survival.”

Sir Michael said he was not surprised that right wing groups were planning to protest at Sunday’s ceremonies.

“They will, won’t they ? The neo-Nazis are trying to get back a bit for Auschwitz.”