German Cities Dresden

Dresden, another of the German cities located in the former East German state of Saxony, covers an area of 127 square miles (328.8 km. sq.) and has a population of just over 500,000. The city name derives from the Old Sorbian word Dreany, which translates to, “people of the riverside forest. Dresden was also known as the Florence of the Elbe. In 1945, much of the city was destroyed during an allied firebombing raid, and much of it was reconstructed during the fifty year reign of the Soviet Union in East Germany. Following the German Reunification in 1990, Dresden has acquired an important role in the politics and economy of former East Germany, as have many other East German cities.

Like that of many other German cities, Dresden’s history begins during the Middle Ages. Dresden was founded in the late 12th century by a group of Slavs, who called their new city Dreany. The city remained a seat of power throughout the Middle Ages, and was transformed into a city of artistic talent by Frederick Augustus, who drew the finest musicians, architects, and painters to his home city from across the European continent. This began its development into one of the great European centers of science and art. During the early nineteenth century, French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte made Dresden one of his forward camps, and as a result, the city was the site of a massive battle on August 27, 1813. Industrialization also began to affect Dresden, increasing production, and causing the population to quadruple from 1849 to 1900. During World War II, Dresden’s population swelled with refugees from across the Reich, increasing the total to nearly 1.2 million women, children, and wounded soldiers. The firebombing of Dresden, which occurred in February of 1945, nearly destroyed the city and resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. Few German cities experienced the kind of devastation that Dresden endured during those three days.

During the Postwar Era, the Soviets reconstructed many of the important buildings in Dresden, as they did with many other German cities, in their own image. They recreated it as a research and development-oriented center of industry, and built many housing blocs in the Socialist Modern style. In the decades since then, and following German Reunification, Dresden has undergone an enormous process of urban renewal. However, the city still feels the wounds from the Allied firebombing of 1945. These projects aim to rebuild Dresden using both public and private money, and have thus far enjoyed a great degree of success.

On a level unparalleled in any of the other German cities, tens of thousands gather in Dresden every year to commemorate the Allied firebombing. Although this event was typically hijacked by Soviet politicos during the Cold War era, it has now developed into a politically neutral and pacifist remembrance. However, as of late, Neo-Nazi agitators have began to use the event for their own ends, referring to the bombing as the “Allied bomb-holocaust.”