Download - Blowing a Trumpet for the Frauenkirche
Blowing a Trumpet for the Frauenkirche
CELEBRATING DRESDEN'S FRAUENKIRCHE
Blowing a Trumpet for the Frauenkirche
Remembering Dresden
The Destruction of Dresden's Frauenkirche
Dresden: Rising Out of the Ashes
A New Cupola for Dresden's Frauenkirche
Stone by Stone
Landmark Dresden Church Completes Rise From the Ashes
Ludwig Güttler is one of the world's most successful trumpet
virtuosos. From the former East Germany, he also played a key role
in the campaign to reconstruct Dresden's landmark Frauenkirche,
or Church of our Lady.
Güttler used his musical talent to foot the bill for Dresden's renovation
Born in 1943 in Sosa, Saxony, Ludwig Güttler says that October 3, 1990 is a
date he'll never forget.
"German unification was one of the most extraordinary and moving times of
my life," he said. "It was as if a wound that had never stopped hurting finally
began to heal."
Success in east and west
Ludwig Güttler has played a crucial
role in the reconstruction effort
In fact, Güttler had been one of the lucky ones. During East Germany's
communist years, he was solo trumpeter at the Händel Festival Orchestra in
Halle and the Dresden Philharmonic before going on to teach at the
International Music Seminar in Weimar and the Carl Maria von Weber
Conservatory in Dresden, where he was a professor until 1990.
Even so, gaining permission to travel outside the confines of the GDR was a
constant battle. But by the time the Berlin Wall had fallen in 1989, Ludwig
Güttler was performing where and when he wanted. He was recognized as a
virtuoso of international stature and acclaimed around the world as a
conductor, scholar, concert promoter and sponsor.
Unlike many others from the GDR, he went from strength to strength over
the next 15 years, appearing as a soloist and conductor at major concert
venues both at home and abroad.
Reclaiming an East German landmark
Not content with his illustrious career, he threw himself into the
reconstruction of Dresden's Frauenkirche, a project that cost over 100
million euros. Güttler's appeals and fundraising activities proved invaluable.
"Nothing is impossible," he said. "The reconstruction of the Frauenkirche
has a crucial social significance -- it was an overwhelming task in terms of
building, but it also represented so much more than that."
The advantages of fame
The Frauenkirche (left) is now part of
Dresden's skyline again
After Dresden was destroyed in the Allies' fire-bombing in 1945, the
Frauenkirche remained a ruin for decades. The ruling communists were
uninterested in its renovation, but it became a touchstone to East Germany's
grass roots peace movement. Then, after the collapse of the Iron Curtain, a
lobby group came together that was committed to seeing the Frauenkirche
returned to its former glory -- a development that would never have come to
fruition in the GDR. Despite his successful career, Ludwig Güttler worked
tirelessly as its spokesman.
"From the very start, I wanted music to remain my main priority," he said.
"But at some point I put my work as a teacher on hold in order to devote
myself to the reconstruction project."
Güttler participated in charity
concerts, such as this one on Dec. 23, 1993, from the beginning
But it was also his musical credentials that made his fundraising so effective.
Ludwig Güttler played many concerts on behalf of the Frauenkirche. Today,
he says it was worth it.
"Coming here now and seeing all the people gathered gives me a great sense
of joy," he said.DW.DE
Remembering DresdenCELEBRATING DRESDEN'S FRAUENKIRCHE
Blowing a Trumpet for the Frauenkirche
Remembering Dresden
The Destruction of Dresden's Frauenkirche
Dresden: Rising Out of the Ashes
A New Cupola for Dresden's Frauenkirche
Stone by Stone
Landmark Dresden Church Completes Rise From the Ashes
Sixty years ago Sunday, Allied bombers attacked Dresden and the
thousands of residents and refugees who lived there. Traces of the
militarily dubious decision to bomb the city remain visible today.
The new cross atop the rebuilt Frauenkirche is a British donation
On the evening of Feb. 13, 1945, nine Mosquito fighter planes and 244
Lancaster bombers from the Royal Air Force's 5th fleet took off from their
base in the south of England. Dresden's air raid sirens started to wail at 9:39
p.m. Around 20 minutes later the first target-marking bombs fell on the
stadium just outside of the city center. The first air raid lasted about 30
minutes and was so dense that the entire inner city was engulfed by a
firestorm.
"There, between exploded trams, I saw the first scorched dead, charred,
shrunken, some of them just brushed by the flames but still asphyxiated," a
soldier recounted. "Women, children, men -- the horrible death had taken
them all."
The Allies didn't just attack Dresden to break the civilians' morale; the idea
was also to cut off communication lines to the front.
August Schreitmüller's sandstone
sculpture "The Goodness" from the Townhall Tower overlooking the city in 1945 and
2005
The second air attack took place between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Feb. 14. More
than 500 planes bombed 15 square kilometers (9 square miles) of the city.
All told, 650,000 firebombs, air mines and 1,800 demolition bombs were
dropped on Dresden in the first two air raids. They totally destroyed the
densely inhabited historic city center, mainly hitting residential buildings,
churches, offices and museums.
"Our house was hit many times during the second attack," a survivor said.
"We all threw ourselves on the floor and my husband said, 'It's burning, it
smells like fire.' And he opened the first door and the flames were already
blazing. There was nothing to do to save our lives but run through the
flames."
Strategic after all?
The military's Albertstadt, the industrial areas and the airport where
barracks were located, remained largely untouched. In the next raid, around
noon, the US Air Force targeted the transportation infrastructure.
Though the bombing of Dresden has for years generally been viewed merely
as pointless destruction, British historian Frederick Taylor claimed that the
city was strategically important after all. Taylor's book "Dresden: February
13, 1945" has caused controversy in the city itself.
The Frauenkirche in 1945
"There was a train junction, a garrison, troops came and went as in any
other German city near the front," Taylor said. "The English planners wanted
to prevent the replenishment of supplies to the eastern front. The attack was
not exclusively directed against Dresden; it was also against Chemnitz and
Berlin."
But similarly large carpet bomb attacks on Chemnitz, Plauen or Leipzig
killed far fewer people, because thousands of people had taken refuge in
Dresden at the time of the air raids. Though there's no way knowing exactly
how many people died, the official death toll is 35,000, and the city has
become a symbol of World War II aerial warfare.
Raids saved Jews
Aside from the suffering and destruction they caused, the air raids saved the
last 175 Dresden Jews. On the morning of Feb. 13, orders were dispatched
to deport them. During the bombing though, many of the Jews were able to
go underground, including the family of Heinz Joachim Aris, today head of
Saxony state's Jewish community.
A combo of two photos shows the
inner courtyard at the Zwinger art galleries in central Dresden lying in ruins slightly
more than a year after the Allied firebombing in a file photo taken March 12, 1946, left,
and a similar view of the same wing of the building being under restoration on Thursday,
Feb. 10, 2005
"I was born in Dresden and this city's ruin and the endless suffering of many
innocent citizens was dreadful," Aris said. "One must simply see it in the
context of cause and effect."
For, Aris added, the Semper Synagogue was burned down on Nov. 9, 1938,
and six years later the entire city followed. The Dresden inferno was part
and parcel of a horrible war that included the destruction of cities like
Rotterdam, Coventry and Leningrad.
Dresden's residents showed an immense willingness to rebuild their
devastated home after the war. Their determination is exemplified by the
reconstruction of the Frauenkirche, the Church of Our Lady. For nearly 50
years, the church's ruins evoked destruction and death.
But after German reunification in 1990, the Frauenkirche was rebuilt thanks
to generous donations -- also from the partnership with the city of Coventry.
The new cross atop the church was donated by Britain's "Dresden Trust" and
forged by the son of one of the bomber pilots.DW.DE
The Destruction of Dresden's Frauenkirche
CELEBRATING DRESDEN'S FRAUENKIRCHE
Blowing a Trumpet for the Frauenkirche
Remembering Dresden
The Destruction of Dresden's Frauenkirche
Dresden: Rising Out of the Ashes
A New Cupola for Dresden's Frauenkirche
Stone by Stone
Landmark Dresden Church Completes Rise From the Ashes
As the final stones are put in place in Dresden's Frauenkirche,
long-time residents of the city recall their horrifying memories
when Allied bombers destroyed the city.
Dresden's Frauenkirche in the old city center on the banks of the Elbe
"February 13, 1945 was a day that reminded me of pre-Spring. I still
remember every detail. My family and I were sitting at the table and were
listening to the radio program. That evening theRundfunk transmitted a
program that created a rather happy atmosphere when suddenly during a
song named 'On the wings of colored dreams' we heard the sirens....."
Bombs were falling all around Ilse Walter and her family.
In the inferno of Dresden tens of thousands of people fell victim to the Allied
bombing raid. Some 15 square kilometers of the historical city center were
turned into nothing but a gigantic heap of debris. The former palace, the
Zwinger, the Semper Opera, the arts gallery and the theatre were reduced to
smoking ruins. Even the monumental Frauenkirche, whose impressive dome
towered above the silhouette of the city, was leveled in the bombing.
Destroying history
US planes drop bombs near Dresden
on Feb. 6, 1945
Dresden's famous church with its often admired sandstone roofed dome had
stood proudly in the city center for 200 years, but when Allied planes
dropped their bombs in one of the most severe attacks in World War II, it
was hollowed out. After the air raid, there was hope the Frauenkirche had
survived, but on February 15, 1945 at 10:00 a.m. the church eventually
collapsed.
Up to this point the city of Dresden had only experienced the horrors of war
through stories told by frontier soldiers or reports of eastern Europe
refugees, who thought they were safe in Dresden. Ilse Walter recalls the last
days before the Dresden bombing:
"It was reported that bombing squads were approaching
Hannover/Braunschweig. Yes, Hannover/Braunschweig, we were used to
hearing this every day. For us in Dresden these cities were far, far away."
Senseless bombing
From a military point of view the bombing of Dresden was completely
senseless. The plan of splitting Germany had been finished long before. The
protocol of London had already set the borderlines of the occupation zones
in Autumn 1944 and the end of the war was obvious for everyone, even
though Berlin still professed otherwise.
Demolished Dresden after the air
raids on Feb. 13 and 14, 1945
Dresden was not a garrison city and its industry was located far away from
the city's core. Still today there is a question mark over the motives for the
destruction of one of Europe's sites of cultural heritage. Many speculations
and rumors concerning the attack existed and still exist today. Winston
Churchill said at the time:
"It seems to me that the moment has come when the question of bombing of
German cities simply for the sake of increasing the terror, should be
reviewed. Otherwise we shall come into control of an utterly ruined land.... I
feel the need for more precise concentration upon military objectives ...
rather than on mere acts of terror and wanton destruction."
Rebuilding Dresden the socialist way
After the war in 1945 East German leader Walter Ulbricht dreamed of a
socialist Dresden with wide boulevards and large squares for state functions.
However, art historians, city planners and protectors of Dresden's historical
architecture fought for a thorough reconstruction of the baroque city. Their
dream began to materialize on Aug. 9, 1945 when renovation work began on
the Zwinger palace and theater. The Frauenkirche, however, did not enjoy
the same fate.
A symbol of destruction and rebirth
The dome of the Frauenkirche in Dresden
Unlike many other churches in the German Democratic Republic which were
demolished during the 40 years of communist rule, the thirteen-meter high
skeleton of the Frauenkirche was preserved as a reminder of war's
destruction.
After the fall of the wall in 1990 a foundation was established to gather
money for the reconstruction of Dresden's famous church. Since then, vast
sums of money have poured in from across Germany and around the world,
and the church has slowly, piece by piece, been rebuilt. On Feb. 13, 2006, 61
years after Ilse Walter witnessed the destruction of the city's emblem right
in front of her eyes, the Frauenkirche will once again dominate Dresden's
historic sky line.DW.DE
Stone by StoneCELEBRATING DRESDEN'S FRAUENKIRCHE
Blowing a Trumpet for the Frauenkirche
Remembering Dresden
The Destruction of Dresden's Frauenkirche
Dresden: Rising Out of the Ashes
A New Cupola for Dresden's Frauenkirche
Stone by Stone
Landmark Dresden Church Completes Rise From the Ashes
A significant masterpiece of European architecture, the Dresden
Church of Our Lady, is being rebuilt after heavy Allied bombing
destroyed the cathedral during World War II. It is a unique symbol
of reconciliation.
Still a building site - the Frauenkirche in Dresden
In 1945, Dresden, the capital of the German state Saxony, was the target of
concentrated Allied fire-bombing which devastated the city, killed 100,000
and reduced the city’s beautiful baroque cathedral to rubble.
In 1990, a group of Dresden’s citizens embarked on a project to rebuild the
monument which prior to the bombing, had graced the city’s skyline for 200
years. As reconstruction is well under way, the church is expected to be
completed one year earlier than originally planned.
A symbol of reconciliation
The Frauenkirche, or Church of Our Lady, was built between 1726 and 1743
and was renowned as the most magnificent baroque church in northern
Europe. After two days of heavy Allied bombing, the thick, stone walls
literally crumbled. It is said that the temperature of the remains of the
church’s masonry reached a temperature of 1000 C.
After the war the leftovers of the once majestic church were left where they
fell until an international appeal was launched in 1991.
One step forward, two steps back
First wishes to rebuild the church were expressed as early as 1945, and
detailed plans were soon conceived to begin with preliminary planning . In
1948-49, around 600 square metres of stone were salvaged for reuse.
However, first steps taken to the extensive restoration of the Church of Our
Lady were soon daunted by the former GDR government.
During the GDR era, especially in the 60s, numerous churches were
destroyed, including the Sophienkirche in Dresden and the Nikolaikirche in
nearby Leipzig. But Dresden’s Church of our Lady was a world-famous
symbol and still a centre of attraction to the city’s population. Every year,
Dresden’s citizens would flock to the church on February 13, the day of ist
destruction and light candles in remembrance of the bombing which marred
the city and left so many dead. Thankfully, the government decided to leave
the ruins to reside in peace – but no moves to restore the crumbling walls
were made, either.
German unification saw a turning point for the development of the church.
On February 13 1990, the 45th anniversary of the destruction of Dresden, a
group of Dresden citizens took the initiative for the rebuilding of the church.
"We declare herewith a worldwide action for the Rebuilding of the Dresdner
Frauenkirche as a center of world peace in the new Europe. For this purpose
we appeal from Dresden for help," the group stated in a paper titled "Call for
Dresden". In 1991, the Frauenkirche Foundation was established, a year
later, the Dresden City Council voted to support reconstruction actively.
Stone by stone
First, the 13 metre high heap of rubble had to be cleared. By May 1994 the
cruciform shape of the church slowly became visible. Those ruins that had
remained standing after the bombing were left standing, to be incorporated
in the new church’s walls.
Today, the walls reach a height of 38 metres, and the last of the scaffolding
which has covered the church for almost a decade, may be removed in April.
According to the Frauenkirche Foundation’s Finance Director Dietrich von
der Heydn, the rebuilding of the Frauenkirche’s reconstruction may be
completed by 2005, a year earlier than originally planned.
Progress has been surprisingly swift since the first stone was laid for the
church’s "new" foundation in 1994. However, building progress would never
have been as fast without the tremendous moral – and financial - support,
both in Germany and worldwide. According to von der Heyden, more than 50
per cent of the reconstruction’s costs, estimated at around 250 million
marks, are donations.
The Dresden-based Frauenkirche Foundation has partners all over the
world, including the Friends of Dresden in the US and the Dresden Trust in
France. "The fact that donations come from all over the world is unique,"
Dietrich von Heydn told DW-online.
The extraordinary support for the reconstruction of the church was
symbolized in 2000, when the Duke of Kent presented to the public a replica
of the orb and cross which will replace those destroyed in the devastation
Allied bomb attacks of 1945. At the presentation, the Duke called the replica
a symbol of suffering, reconciliation and rebirth.
The orb and cross will stand over 90 metres from the ground, topping the
stone dome of the 18th century baroque cathedral.
However, the replica does not only symbolize reconciliation due to the
number of British donations, which made ist construction possible. The
eight-metre high orb and cross were made in London by goldsmiths Gant
MacDonald. One of the craftsmen is the son of a pilot involved in the 1945
Dresden raid.Date 23.01.2002
Landmark Dresden Church Completes Rise From the Ashes
CELEBRATING DRESDEN'S FRAUENKIRCHE
Blowing a Trumpet for the Frauenkirche
Remembering Dresden
The Destruction of Dresden's Frauenkirche
Dresden: Rising Out of the Ashes
A New Cupola for Dresden's Frauenkirche
Stone by Stone
Landmark Dresden Church Completes Rise From the Ashes
Dresden's Frauenkirche, a symbol of the suffering of German
civilians after its destruction in World War II bombing and now of
reconciliation, was consecrated Sunday after painstaking
restoration.
The interior of the restored Church of Our Lady cathedral in Dresden
The church is perhaps Dresden's most famous landmark and the image of it
in ruins is known worldwide as a symbol of the destruction of World War II.
On Sunday, the Dresden Bishop Jochen Bohl said in a sermon during the
consecration service: "A deep wound that has bled for so long can be healed.
From hate and evil a community of reconciliation can grow, which makes
peace possible."
German President Horst Köhler acknowledged in his speech that many
critics had suggested before the project began that the money would have
been better spent on rebuilding the broken-down former East Germany.
"Did eastern Germany not need roads, roofs and factories more than an
expensive church? But a group of residents said Dresden needed more. And
now we can see that those people were right," Köhler said.
The Baroque church stood for decades as a decapitated, empty shell. But
that changed in 1990 when a group of people began gathering funds to
rebuild it. Now, after a decade of reconstruction, the Frauenkirche stands
once again in its full splendor, with Sunday's consecration ceremony
officially reopening the church to the public.
The Frauenkirche in ruins in 1945
People from around the world are visiting Dresden for the festivities.
Outgoing Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and his designated successor,
Angela Merkel are there.
Britain, which led the bombing raids, has contributed more than one million
euros in donations towards the reconstruction and the Duke of Kent, who is
patron of the fundraising Dresden Trust, is attending Sunday's ceremony to
represent the British royal family.
The tens of thousands of spectators at Sunday's consecration can marvel at a
golden cross and orb donated by the English city of Coventry, which itself
was flattened by German bombing during World War II.
The "stone bell" returns
Dresdeners themselves are particularly elated that their Frauenkirche is
finally opening its doors for Protestant services following its restoration.
The church was rebuilt according to
original plans
Until 1945, the "stone bell" atop the Frauenkirche lent the Dresden skyline
its distinctive silhouette. Ilse Walter remembers when the church was
bombed by British and American forces during World War II.
"Spring was almost in the air on Feb. 13, 1945," she said. "I remember it
vividly. I was sitting in the living room with my family listening to the radio.
They were playing relatively happy, light music when suddenly, right in the
middle of the song, we heard the air raid sirens."
What kind of memorial?
What followed was one of the most destructive of all Allied attacks, with tens
of thousands losing their lives. The city, dubbed "Florence on the Elbe" for
its baroque splendor, was practically wiped out. From a military perspective,
no one even knows why the city was targeted. The end of the war was
already in sight, Dresden had no garrisons, and its industry was outside city
borders.
The Frauenkirche (left) is now part of
Dresden's skyline again
But destroyed it was and with it, Dresden's Frauenkirche. As the city was
being rebuilt in the following decades, the church remained in shambles -- a
skeletal reference to an ugly past.
Many Dresden citizens felt it should stay that way -- a necessary reminder of
war's destruction. But for others, the dilapidated Frauenkirche was an
eyesore. It was time to move on, they believed. Not forget, but progress.
A merger of past and present
In the end, those in favor of rebuilding the Frauenkirche won. Yet the
restored church's architectural design reflects only part of the Baroque style
from the 1700s, when the original Frauenkirche was built.
"We had to delve into the Baroque and Middle Ages and study how the
stones were laid back then," said Eberhard Burger, the reconstruction
director. "We have done that the same way now, but we've used better
materials. So the reconstructed building is based on a mix of old and new
techniques."
The church's new golden cross
About a third of the new Frauenkirche building is made from the old, dark-
colored stones that were left in the ruins. The rest are new, light colored
sandstones. Together they create a kind of mosaic of past and present. The
golden cross atop the church's dome was even created by the son of an
English pilot who dropped bombs on Dresden in 1945. And of course, there
is a new organ.
A global project
The total cost of the project came to 180 million euros ($218 million).
German historian Arnulf Baring, who as a boy witnessed the bombing in
Dresden, said he believes the project was worth the enormous cost and said
it showed that Germans could find elements of their past of which they can
be proud.
The recreated frescoes inside the
church
"The Frauenkirche was more than a church, it was a symbol of the downfall
of a city," Baring told Der Spiegel magazine. "I think it is a good thing that
Germans, wherever possible, regain part of their old cities, so they know
that we come from somewhere."
And Ludwig Güttler, the chairman of the Society to Promote the
Reconstruction of the Frauenkirche, said many nations had played a part in
helping to restore the church to its former glory.
"I am enormously grateful," he told AFP news service. "Not just for the
donations, which have just kept coming, but for the level of interest shown
by other countries. So many people can say that this project is theirs --
whether they be Britons, Americans, Danes, Poles or whatever else."DW.DE