Today, Sunday, February 13, 2022, more than 3,000 people lined up in the human chain in Dresden’s old town. Dresden’s Lord Mayor Dirk Hilbert called for this together with churches, institutions, associations and initiatives. Together, the participants commemorated the destruction of Dresden 77 years ago and set a visible sign of togetherness for a cosmopolitan, tolerant city. At the beginning of the human chain there was an event in the Dresden Kreuzkirche. Superintendent Albrecht Nollau opened it at 5 p.m.
Then Mayor Dirk Hilbert spoke: “While I was preparing for this day today, I became aware of one thing above all – the way we come together here and remember is only possible because we live in peace. And that for several generations. Peace is so taken for granted that we hardly think about it anymore. The pandemic, the refugees who seek protection from us, the climate crisis or the energy transition – each of these social debates only has a place because we live in peace. Maybe you feel the same as me: the news about what is happening on the border between Russia and Ukraine is causing me great concern. It seems that an armed conflict is looming in Europe. A war.
I’m not a foreign policy expert and I understand little of what’s going on in the diplomatic channels between Moscow, Kiev, Washington, Paris and Berlin. But I am the Lord Mayor of a city that was badly damaged in the last great war on this continent and had many victims to mourn. And that’s how it is with Dresden’s partner cities, with which we have such friendly ties: Hamburg, Rotterdam, Wroclaw, Coventry and, last but not least, St. Petersburg. Each of these places is a symbol of the horror and suffering caused by war. And each new war will cause new horrors and new suffering. And again, cities become symbols of destruction and mourning.
When people shook hands for the first time on February 13, 2010 to no longer leave the anniversary of the destruction of Dresden to the right-wing extremists and their inhuman ideology, we created a strong bond together. But the human chain is not just a symbol of remembrance and against nationalist fanatics. I wish that another message would also be heard from those in charge of soldiers and weapons these days. Because the message of the human chain is always: never again war.”
After the mayor, the rector of the Technical University of Dresden, Prof. Dr. Ursula M. Staudinger, who also registered the human chain. Then those present moved to the Altmarkt and joined the human chain. The human chain was created on the Altmarkt, around the Kulturpalast and the rebuilt quarters, on the Neumarkt and around the Frauenkirche. Spacer bands between the participants ensured the necessary distance to protect against infection.
At 6 p.m. sharp, the four and a half kilometer long human chain closed through the old town. Acquaintances and strangers, neighbors, friends, families, residents of Dresden, guests shook hands. The bells of Dresden’s inner city churches rang until 6:10 p.m.
Hilbert: “The many initiatives and actors in Dresden prove that our culture of remembrance is alive. It’s no longer just about February 13th. It’s about the memory as a whole. And what is even more important: What lessons can we draw from this as a city society. For me, the human chain has become an indispensable signal for peace and solidarity. I am pleased that so many people showed tonight that we will not leave the anniversary of the destruction of Dresden to the right-wing extremists and their inhuman ideology and that we will protect our city center from such demos with this strong bond of cohesion.”
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