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aristarchus [soylentnews.org] writes:

Dresden, reported in Reuters:

In Dresden, a far-right stronghold where resentment over what neo-Nazis call the “bombing holocaust” lingers, Steinmeier addressed a somber ceremony that included forming a human chain to remember victims.

In a mission to destroy civilian morale, British planes pounded Dresden with explosive and incendiary bombs on the night of Feb. 13, creating a firestorm that tore through streets and laid waste to the city’s Baroque churches and palaces. U.S. planes joined later.

The bombing of Dresden reminds Germans of the destruction of democracy, nationalist hubris, contempt for humanity, anti-Semitism and racial fanaticism, Steinmeier said in his speech.

“I fear these dangers have not been banished to this day,” he said, adding they were starting to poison Germany’s public life and democratic institutions.

It is not enough for democrats to turn away in disgust, he said. “None of this must remain unchallenged in our country. We must all reject hatred and incitement, counter insults, contradict prejudice,” he said.

Why does this come up this year?

Historians say the bombing fed a myth of victimhood invented by the Nazis, taken on by East German Communists and later adopted by the far right.

Today, that manifests itself in annual demonstrations by neo-Nazis from across Europe. Dresden was the cradle of the PEGIDA anti-Islam group and the city is braced for far-right protests on Saturday.

On Monday, Bjoern Hoecke - a radical regional leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) who a court has ruled may be described as a ‘fascist’, will join a PEGIDA march in Dresden.

The commemoration comes a week after Hoecke, who wants German history books to be rewritten to emphasize German suffering over that of Jews in World War Two, caused a political earthquake.

All fun and dank memes on the alt-right, until they awaken the sleeping forces of evil.

Original Submission