A peaceful protest against a large rally by neo-Nazis in the eastern German city of Dresden was attended by 11,000 people. The demonstration began with a public Sabbath service attended by thousands of anti-Nazi protestors. An estimated 6,000 skinheads and neo-Nazis had gathered in Dresden for what has become an annual march recalling the February 1945 Allied air raids on the city. The two demonstrations were kept apart by a massive police presence.
The anti-Nazi protest reportedly began with a public Sabbath service in the Dresden synagogue, which drew some 500 participants. Extreme right-wingers came from across Germany and other European countries, according to media reports. "The victims have earned a dignified memorial and not extreme-right propaganda," said Green Party leader Claudia Roth. "When the extreme right speaks of the so-called 'bombing holocaust in Dresden', it is an attempt to play down the Nazi terror. That is the perfidious meaning behind their mendacious mourning in this city."
The debate over whether Dresden was a legitimate war target in February 1945 and confusion over the numbers of civilians that were killed in the air raids - estimates range from 18,000 to 25,000 - has seen German extreme-right parties try to rebrand Dresden as "Germany’s Hiroshima".
