Dierks: Passing on the lessons of February 13 to young people

The President of the Saxon State Parliament, Alexander Dierks, links the commemoration of the victims of the air raids on Dresden in February 1945 with a warning for the future. "For us, 80 years since the end of the war means 80 years of peace with our European neighbors. This peace is precious, we must never jeopardize it again! Protecting a peaceful Europe and filling it with life again and again is something we must pass on to the younger generation," explained Dierks in Dresden.

"We remember the approximately 25,000 people who lost their lives in the air raids on Dresden 80 years ago. Who the bombs hit was left to chance. They fell on children, women and men, they fell on staunch National Socialists, resistance fighters, prisoners of war and forced laborers alike," emphasized Dierks. It should not be forgotten that the National Socialist arsonists started the inferno themselves. "The war returned to Germany in 1945."

President of the state parliament joins the human chain on February 13

Dierks intends to join the human chain on Thursday evening, with which the people of Dresden send a signal of reconciliation and against the appropriation of the commemoration by right-wing extremists every year. "For me, the human chain in Dresden is a symbol of peace and democratic cohesion. That's why I'm happy to join in," said Dierks. The mission must be to shape and effectively defend a peaceful Europe and the democracy we have achieved.