Title: The Dresden firebombing : memory and the politics of commemorating destruction /
Authors: Joel, Tony.
Year: 2013
Subjects: Dresden (Germany) History; Dresden (Germany) History Historiography.
Abstract: The firebombing of Dresden marks the terrible apex of the European bombing war. In just over two days in February 1945, over 1,300 heavy bombers from the RAF and the USAAF dropped nearly 4,000 tonnes of explosives on Dresden's civilian centre. In this book, Tony Joel focuses on the historical battle to re-appropriate Dresden, and on how World War II continues to shape Britain and German identity some 70 years later.
Contents: Introduction: The destruction of Dresden and the shifting dynamics of German victimisation -- The western Allies' strategic bombing offensive and Dresden's transformation from European Kulturstadt to Germany's Opferstadt -- The fashioning of Dresden's destruction into a political asset : 1946 to the early 1980s -- Dresden's last milestone Gedenktag before the fall of the wall : 13 February 1985 -- Dresden memory politics in the Schwebezeit : 1989-90 -- A British dimension to Dresden commemorative politics : 1992-2000 -- Dresden as a memory battleground : 13 February 2005 -- Conclusion: Memory work in progress : remembering the past, reflecting on the present and future.