Several members and friends of CAIF met German colleagues in Dresden, this in the week leading up to the remembrance of the blanket bombing of Dresden on 13 February 1945. Visitors and hosts included Claudia, Clive, Dave, Linda, Paula, Rainer, Reinhard, Sabine, Sinclair, Stefan, Ulrich and Emilia. Some of the events and visits in Dresden included:
A Walk around the Municipal Woodland Cemetery.
This is a cemetery of some 55 hectares in which many of those killed in the air raids on Dresden are buried along with citizens and city dignitaries. This is a special place to remember the past though, sadly, remembrance has been a contested by the far right parties in Germany and the cemetery has at times been the site of vandalism.
https://www.dresden-elbland.de/en/poi/cemetery/heidefriedhof-dresden/2669249/
A Visit to Büchers Best Bookshop
Not just a bookshop, but also a venue for readings and literary events. During our visit, it hosted an exhibition called Between Heaven and Earth. We also visited the Dresden gallery and saw Grit Richter and Christian Manss’s Aurum Vanitas exhibition.
For ‘Between Heaven and Earth’ click https://www.kulturkalender-dresden.de/ausstellung/zwischen-himmel-und-erde-2
For ‘Aurum Vanitas’ click https://galerie-dresden.de/en/programm/exhibitions/aurum-vanitas
‘Coventry Encounters’ at the Raskolnikow Gallery
This was an important highlight for us and the first chance to see some of the photographs taken by Christine and Günter Starke during their visit to Coventry (covered in earlier blogs). As the exhibition notes explain:
“The photographs on display were taken in autumn 2025 at the invitation of the Coventry Association for International Friendship (CAIF)… The automobiles are not understood as mere pieces of technology, but as biographical markers: they represent achievements, pride, change, and loss.”
Rachel Lancaster, Coventry’s Lord Mayor, visted the exhibition on Saturday 14 February. Happily, those unable to visit Dresden should be able to see the exhibition in Coventry soon.
For a brief summary of the exhibition click https://dresdencontemporaryart.com/de/event/coventry-begegnungen
Alongside this, we also visited the Verkehrsmuseum (Transport Museum).For more go to https://youtube/AmEZDa4OK-8
Podcast Recording at the Raskolnikow gallery
Another key event was taking part in a podcast recording at the Raskolnikow gallery organised by the Technical University of Dresden, as part of their Urban Conversations series. Contributors included Christine and Günter Starke (Dresden), Sabine Coady-Schaebitz (Coventry University), Rainer Barczaitis (Coventry co-ordinator and translator), historian Johannes Schütz (TU Dresden) and Dave Hirons (CAIF).
The discussion explored the relationship between Dresden and Coventry—two cities closely linked through wartime destruction—and how this shared history continues to resonate politically, culturally, and emotionally.👉 For more on this, go to a follow up blog at https://caifonline.com/2026/03/19/urban-conversations/ .
The Menschenkette (Human chain)
A central focus of the visit was the Menschenkette, where residents of Dresden (and visitors) form a human chain around the city centre to remember the events of 13–14 February 1945. The evening included community singing and speeches by Dresden’s Deputy Mayor and, this year, Coventry’s Lord Mayor, Rachel Lancaster. Later, we attended a Philharmonic concert featuring Dmitri Shostakovich’s symphony number 10. An animated film Oh, To Believe in Another World accompanied the concert. Overall it was truly memorable event. Not an easy listen but the orchestra was brilliant. As requested there was no applause, the audience stood in complete silence at the end until the conductor walked offstage and we filed out again in silence with our memories., accompanied by an animated film.
We were also pleased to meet Rachel Lancaster more informally. She later shared photos and reflections on Facebook. Click https://www.facebook.com/reel/724482134081217
Reinhard’s Peace Angel
The evening concluded with the return of Reinhard’s Peace Angel to the Frauenkirche. As Reinhard explains on his website:
“In autumn 2020, I sent my wooden sculpture Michael on a journey through Europe – wishing it might be a messenger of peace and reconciliation…”
More information about this journey can be found here: https://www.reinhard-pontius.de (Note: the site is currently in German, so you may wish to use a translator tool.)
This visit is one of a series of remembrance trips to Dresden. Once again, we were touched by the warm welcome from our Dresden friends, moved by what we saw and heard, and (as always!) greatly enjoyed the cakes and hospitality. If you’re interested in joining next year’s visit, please get in touch via our contacts page. You’re free to do your own thing (though we do recommend joining the Menschenkette), or take part in the organised programme. All visits are self-funded.
Coventry Association for International Friendship 