wfn.org | Germany: Commemoration of Dresden Bombing 60 Years Later

["Frank Imhoff" <Frank.Imhoff@elca.org>]

Germany: Commemoration of Dresden Bombing 60 Years Later
England's Coventry Cathedral Dean Presents Symbolic 'Nail Cross'

DRESDEN, Germany/GENEVA, 23 February 2005 (LWI) - The city of Dresden has
marked the 60th anniversary of the allied firebombing during the Second
World War in which 35,000 civilians are estimated to have died. The
historic city center was reduced to rubble.

At a memorial service in Dresden's reconstructed Frauenkirche (Church of
Our Lady), February 13, Rev. John Irvine, Dean of Coventry Cathedral
England, presented Bishop Jochen Bohl, Evangelical Lutheran Church of
Saxony, with a cross made from medieval nails as sign of reconciliation. 
Such crosses are made from nails retrieved from the roof of Coventry
Cathedral after it was destroyed by German bombing in 1940.

The Dresden church was almost completely destroyed by the 1945 bombing.
Reconstruction began in February 1993. The church will be re-dedicated and
re-opened later this year.

Church bells tolled at 9.45 p. m. to mark the time when the bombing of the
city began on 13 February 1945.

Tens of thousands of Dresden residents took part in the commemoration. At
the city's theater square, thousands more took part in the "10,000 candles
* A picture shared around the world" event. Others in a silent memorial at
the city's old market, placed candles to form in German, the phrase,
"Dresden has had enough of Nazis."

The memorial events in Dresden were disrupted by a gathering of about
5,000 supporters of far-right wing groups who waved black flags and
banners, in what was seen as the biggest neo-Nazi demonstration in
Germany's post-war history.

Dresden has responded well to the threat of neo-Nazism through silence and
lights of hope, Bishop Bohl said in a television interview. The Frauenkirche, he noted, had been rebuilt in a spirit of reconciliation. Dresden
residents were grateful for all the support that had come from people in
Europe and worldwide. (313 words)

(Adapted from an Ecumenical News International article.)

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 138
member churches in 77 countries all over the world, with a membership of
nearly 66 million Christians. The LWF acts on behalf of its member
churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith
relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication,
and the various aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat
is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service. Unless
specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or
opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an
article contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced
with acknowledgment.]

*    *	   *

LWI online: http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/Welcome.EN.html

LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION
PO Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel: (41.22) 791.63.54
Fax: (41.22) 791.66.30
Editor: pmu@lutheranworld.org