Dresden, Germany

Dresden, overlooking the historic and beautiful River Elbe, is the capital of the German Free State of Saxony and since its inception, the city has held a special place in the long and impressive history of the Saxon people. These days Dresden is probably best known for the destructive bombing campaign led by the Allied forces which totally and completely destroyed the city. This sad repercussion for Germany’s greed and anger was a hard pill to swallow, and when Dresden was completely razed to the ground, more than Germany mourned the loss of one of the most impressive cities ever built.

Despite its destruction, Dresden re-emerged after the war and the division of Germany and is once again a wonderful city, even though much valuable history was wiped forever from the face of the Earth during the fateful bombing raids. Still, the Dresden rally shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone familiar with its history. Dresden has been around in some capacity since the 8th century BC. C., when it was inhabited by Neolithic people. After the Renaissance, Dresden became the place to be for anyone involved in music, writing, painting and architecture after the famous King Augustus brought peace and prosperity to the nation and Dresden immediately became a one of the most artistically important cities in Europe. Dresden’s beautiful buildings were an inspiration for all kinds of creativity and the Dresden skyline was immortalized in paintings by masters such as Johan Christian Dahl and Bernardo Bellotto. Sadly, nothing remains of these magnificent buildings except for the aforementioned paintings.

However, the bombing of Dresden during World War II was not the first time the city had been leveled. Dresden has had the misfortune of being attacked several times in history, most notably in the Seven Years’ War, the Napoleonic Wars, and the May Rising, which occurred in 1756, 1813, and 1849, respectively. The community’s ability to rebuild and continue living is a testament to the efficient and industrious nature of the best German people, but Dresden still honors the lives and buildings lost during its most fateful periods. Every year on February 13, thousands of Germans flock to Dresden to commemorate the attacks, although this anniversary in recent years has become increasingly separatist, with many neo-Nazis attending the mourning and taking advantage of the event to bolster their position. . It’s a shame because it has begun to overshadow what was really lost during World War II: it wasn’t Nazi ideals, but glorious monuments like the Saxon State Opera and Dresden Castle that were forever altered. Despite the neo-Nazis, Dresden is still a beautiful city in its own right, and people are all too familiar with what can happen when extremism becomes the norm. Dresden must be visited for its history and its impressive new architecture. The Dresden of yesterday, however, must be remembered from time immemorial as a warning against the destructive nature of war and the darker side of man.