first protests against Dresden commemorations
Antifa | 13.02.2008 13:49 | History | World
On 13/14 February 1945, the Royal Air Force bombed the city of Dresden. 35,000 Germans died. This morning, an official commemoration on the Heide-cemetary was attended by Neo-Nazis, town officials and Dresden citizens alike. Together they attempted to mourn the deaths. Yet, the commemoration was disturbed by anti-fascist protest.
anti-fascists throw paper-planes at cemetary
Ca. 200 had assembled on the cemetary to commemorate the deaths of Dresden. 50 of them could be identified as neo-Nazis. World War II Germany, in their world view, is a nation of victims. While the bourgeois parties speak of British war crimes, the Neo-Nazis refer to it as the 'Holocaust of Bombs' against the German people.
13 February is one of the most important dates in the German nationalist calendar, presenting an opportunity to forget the millions of Jews, Gypsies, communists and disabled who were killed by Germans in the concentration camps. It is commemorated by the mainstream parties and far right groups alike.
Ca. 100 anti-fascists protested at the cemetary today. They attempted to disrupt the commemorative silence and the union of neo-Nazis and citizens. Anti-fascists warn of a historical revisionism in Germany. With only few Holocaust survivors still alive, there is an increasing feeling amongst Germans that one should 'forget the past'. There were only minor scuffles with the police. Paper airplanes resembling RAF bombers were made to provoke the mourners.
Dresden's Jewish community felt unable to participate in the commemoration. They are appalled at the co-operation between city officials and neo-Nazis. However, they insisted that they were not boycotting the event. Instead they have called for concerned Dresdeners to rally around the synangoge, when neo-Nazis are expected to march past it this evening.
13 February is one of the most important dates in the German nationalist calendar, presenting an opportunity to forget the millions of Jews, Gypsies, communists and disabled who were killed by Germans in the concentration camps. It is commemorated by the mainstream parties and far right groups alike.
Ca. 100 anti-fascists protested at the cemetary today. They attempted to disrupt the commemorative silence and the union of neo-Nazis and citizens. Anti-fascists warn of a historical revisionism in Germany. With only few Holocaust survivors still alive, there is an increasing feeling amongst Germans that one should 'forget the past'. There were only minor scuffles with the police. Paper airplanes resembling RAF bombers were made to provoke the mourners.
Dresden's Jewish community felt unable to participate in the commemoration. They are appalled at the co-operation between city officials and neo-Nazis. However, they insisted that they were not boycotting the event. Instead they have called for concerned Dresdeners to rally around the synangoge, when neo-Nazis are expected to march past it this evening.
Antifa
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13.02.2008 17:28
Chris
This article is a disagrace!
14.02.2008 10:39
Yes, confront the neo-nazi's and nationalists but do not lie about what dresden was, it was a slaughter of people in the name of British Imperialists wars the same as the slaughter of east londoners was in the name of Germane imperialists!!
Gegen AntiDeutsch! Gegen Nazi!
Anarchist Antifa
anarchist antifa
absolutely nothing to do with antifascism
14.02.2008 13:00
They are scum and the fact that they are allowed to get away with this kind of horrible, racist and backward sort of thing is by now reflecting very badly on genuine german Antifas.
In closing - '50 people in the crowd were identified as neo nazis' - well, your definition of neo nazi is probably anyone who has ever seen a german flag, but even if you are right, why the fuck would you 'pelt them with paper planes'?! Why not wait til the service was over, then have it out with them elsewhere?
The answer is of course - because these anti-deustche idiots are no more than leftist stuntmen, not antifascists.
antifa and communist
Anti fascist fascists
15.02.2008 10:22
After the war, around 1950 I visited East Berlin and was approached by a German who asked political questions about that British Communist County Councillor. I wondered who he was a spy for. He asked about Len Wincott who had been found a job as doorman at a Soviet Officers club in 1934. I told him that May Thomas had said to me that Len was a political innocent who should never have been recruited into the Communist Party, It is bloody odd that she made that remark a week or so before I went to that Festival in Berlin.
Turns out that Len was in a Gulag, you can read the confession he wrote to get out in the form of a book "Invergordon Mutineer".
The I can remember a Political Commissar from the International Brigade in Spain visiting and being very stressed. There were questions about what had happened to good people from Neath who had gone to fight in Spain. I was definately sent out to play while two active Communists discussed privately in the front room.
Work out for yourself why the anti-fascist Political Commissar was so stressed. And be very careful not to get so carried away by anti-fascism that you turn yourself into a fascist. If you do that, at least turn your fascist anti-fascism against the real fascist politicians who are really building Global Fascism. Politicians the SWP were not long ago telling us to vote for in those places where there was not an SWP candidate.
Ilyan
Disgusting!
20.02.2008 06:12
--
PT Statement For Dresden Commemoration - Feb. 12th, 2005
February 12th, 2005
(On February 12, 2005, the people of Dresden, Germany gathered for the 60th commemoration of the firebombing of their city in World War II. Messages from all over the world were read on that occasion, including the message below from Peaceful Tomorrows.)
The members of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows stand in solidarity with the people of Dresden as you commemorate the terrible losses you experienced 60 years ago. We also acknowledge the civilian deaths which occurred in Guernica eight years earlier.
As you gather at this time, we are also gathered for a commemoration of our own. It was three years ago, this weekend, that family members of September 11th victims created our organization, which sought to turn our grief into action for peace.
At that time, we recognized that powerful military forces were being unleashed against the world as a response to 9/11. We also knew that these forces, once set in motion, would lead to specific consequences--that countless innocent civilians would be killed or injured, refugees would be created, and generations of new children would carry new wounds. We believed that responding to the violence that took the lives of our loved ones would only create more violence.
Today, we see that our worst fears have been realized, and that the world is a more dangerous place because of the choices made since 9/11. As in Dresden, and as in Guernica, it is ordinary people who are doing most of the suffering and dying. It is ordinary people, and their children and grandchildren, who will continue to pay the price for the direction we have chosen.
Like you, the members of Peaceful Tomorrows have first-hand knowledge of the realities of terrorism and war. We seek to bring new approaches, new policies, and new solutions to the very old problems of violence among nations and among people.
We believe that it is individuals who possess the greatest power to effect such change. This power is greater than armies and more powerful than bombs. It knows no national boundaries, and finds common cause among all those who seek peace, communication and reconciliation with their fellow human beings.
Today, the members of September 11th Families are inspired by your courageous witness. It is easy for new generations to forget the lessons of history. It is our duty to remind them. We join you in this essential task.
With best wishes,
September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
Gathered this weekend in Washington, DC, USA
February 12, 2005
Joe