Visit to Dresden 10-16 February

We publish below some blog contributions about our trip to Dresden [1] . To give you some background Coventry has enjoyed a strong connection with Dresden over the years. In good part, this began through each city’s experiences of intensive air raids during WW2.  In Coventry these raids were carried out early in the war, in Dresden towards the very end, between 13 and 15 February 1945. The raids on Dresden were seen as particularly fearsome as they led to a firestorm which destroyed much of the city centre. Sadly, it is a matter of political argument just how many people died but most historians have calculated up to 25,000 people. What made the bombing controversial was that Dresden was famous as a city of arts and culture rather than heavy industry.

Each year, on the 13 February the raids are remembered, marking a moment of reflection and reconciliation. This year, on the 80th anniversary of the raids, a large group of CAIF members and friends visited including Clive, Dave, Freda, Judith, Linda, Lisa, Magda (from our partner city in Kiel), Marilyn, Mark, Mary, Michael, Monika, Nikolai (remotely but intensively), Paula, Rachel, Richard, Sabine, Simon. (As with all visits this was self-funded).

Events during the visit included:

• Visit to Coventry Dresden Arts Exchange artists at Lucas Oertel’s studio 

• Meeting with Adult Education students at the Volkshochschule, Dresden 

• Several events at the Frauenkirche including a tour of the building, the reading of the  Coventry litany, der Stimmen (The Night  of the Voices) with the Dresden poet Durs Grünbein. (Again for background, Coventry cathedral and the Frauenkirche have particularly close links dating back to the reconstruction and German organisations are strongly represented in the Community of the cross of nails . The link is discussed by a visitor from Dresden and our visit coincided with one made by Dean John Witcombe, Dean of Coventry Cathedral.)

• Reception  at the Town Hall on 13 February.

• Participation in ‘The human chain’ – this is silent gathering around Dresden to mark the raids) and this followed by the Britten War Requiem at Kulturpalast (concert hall).

• Meeting with Dresden photographer Günter Starke , particularly well-known as a chronicler of Dresden during DDR days.

• Meeting students and staff at WBS School Dresden with a view to exchanges in the future.

• Meeting with the DBG (German British Society) to discuss further cooperation.

• Meeting rabbi Akiva Weingarten to hear about holocaust memorial.

• Visit to Pirna including tour of the Pirna Sonnenstein Memorial and museum.

• Visit to the Community centre EFG and meeting with British conversation group.

• Visit to the nearby city of Chemnitz, the present European city of culture .

• Attendance at the Dresden international peace prize award which took place in the Semperoper (Opera House).

• And, for one of us, football match at Dynamo Dresden.

A great many photos were taken, this is a selection in the video clip below. This includes:

In and around the Frauenkirche:

1. By night with Martin Luther in the foreground (Lisa)
2. The human chain (Monika)
3. Gathering for remembrance (Mary)
4. Candles in the main square (Lisa) 
5. Looking down from the tower (Lisa)

The Community centre EFG  (Claudia) 

Snapshots of Chemnitz

1. Section of the fossilised forest (Michael)
2. Chemnitz was renamed Karl Marx Stadt during the DDR years (Michael) 

Sketch of the Georgentor or George Gate (Mary)

An unusually cold February

1. Bicycles left out in the snow (Mary)
2. Cold man and dog walking along the River Elbe (Dave)
3. A very cold Dostoyevsky (Dave)
4. View of Pirna from the Sonnenstein Memorial museum (Lisa)

Dresden Peace Prize:

1. Awarded to the European Court of Human Rights. Marko Bošnjak receiving the award (Linda)
2. Looking to the skies or at least the ornate ceiling of the Semperoper (Michael) 

In Dresden we met with Sylvia, Rainer, students and staff at the adult education Volkshochschule, Reinhard, Claudia and many other friends and colleagues in schools and college. In Chemnitz we were met by students from the Georgius Agricola Gymnasium who guided us around the city. We are particularly indebted to Nikolai in Coventry and to Rainer in Dresden for all their work in organising the visit.To go to reflections on the visit go to the blogs below or click on the links:

Lisa’s reflection

Dave’s reflection

Mary’s reflection

Magda’s reflection