Free Republic

Following a small explosion in an IKEA store in Dresden on Friday evening, the German headquarters of the Swedish home furnishings chain is calling on all branches in the country to be extremely vigilant. A device exploded in the Dresden store at around 8 pm, police confirmed on Saturday. Two people, aged 32 and 41 years old, suffered possible inner-ear trauma from the blast but there were no other injuries. The blast also damaged the floor and some of the furniture on display in the kitchen department. No one has admitted to carrying out the attack and there are so...

BERLIN (JTA) -- A Dresden politician was fined for playing loud klezmer music outside City Hall to disturb a neo-Nazi march. Stephan Kuhn of the Green Party was ordered Wednesday to pay a $210 fine, which will benefit an organization that helps victims of right-wing violence. Neo-Nazis held a commemorative march on Feb.13, 2008, on the anniversary of the World War II firebombing of Dresden by Allied forces, which right-wing extremists have taken to calling the "bombing Holocaust." In protest, Kuhn blasted the music at the neo-Nazis from the windows of the Green Party parliamentary fraction offices. According to the...

There is no moral equivalence between aggressor and defender, or between those who use violence to start a war and those who use it to end one. People who cannot understand such a fundamental truth are ignorant of history and lacking in wisdom, regardless of how many diplomas from prestigious universities hang on their walls. To be blunt, they are moral idiots.

Do you have a relative who served the United States during World War II? Perhaps you yourself served? I hope you are suitably ashamed for what you and your country did. Because your president has used the omnipotent power of his sacrosanct hindsight to declare that your nation was involved in war crimes. Remember when the Obama DHS said we should be afraid of our combat veterans? Apparently it's not just the ones returning home now; it goes back to at least World War II. Be ashamed. Be very ashamed. Shame, after all, is the hip new way to be...

IN his press conference Wednesday night, President Obama offered a nice little sermonette on "shortcuts." Asked about his decision to release the "torture memos" and ban waterboarding, Obama said: "I was struck by an article that I was reading the other day talking about the fact that the British during World War II, when London was being bombed to smithereens, had 200 or so detainees. And Churchill said, 'We don't torture,' when . . . all of the British people were being subjected to unimaginable risk and threat . . . Churchill understood, you start taking shortcuts, over time, that...

When discussing war crimes during World War II, two events usually get thrown out as indictments of the Allies: dropping atomic weapons on the Japanese and the raid of Dresden, in which 25,000 people died mostly of the raging fire that swept the German city. Critics accuse the Allies of deliberately attacking a civilian population center with little military value as a payback for Nazi attacks on Britain. This perception gained a lot of credence through Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5, his autobiographical tale inspired by his eyewitness experience at Dresden as a POW. Interestingly, though, Germans apparently tend to view...

Crammed together in their unwieldy aircraft and utterly dependent on one another, the bomber crews of the Second World War forged friendships that often only death could break. Which is why Pilot Officer Reg Wilson never forgot the night more than 60 years ago when he lost two friends in the night skies over Germany. As he entered his old age - the memories of his youth perhaps more powerful than ever - Mr Wilson began a quest to find their remains. Yesterday he told how at last he had succeeded in finding one of those friends, flight engineer Sergeant...

A NEW study claims no more than 25,000 people were killed in the massive Allied bombing of Dresden in the Second World War – far fewer than many scholars have believed. Four years of research being carried out by a team of historians and academics has cast doubt on previous claims that up to 135,000 may have lost their lives in the eastern German city over two days in 1945. The bombing of Dresden became arugably the most controversial operation carried out by British and US forces during the Second World War as it involved creating firestorms by dropping incendiary...

Did Hitler's crimes justify the Allies' terror-bombing of Germany? Indeed they did, answers Christopher Hitchens in his Newsweek response to my new book, "Churchill, Hitler and the Unnecessary War": "The stark evidence of the Final Solution has ever since been enough to dispel most doubts about, say, the wisdom or morality of carpet-bombing German cities." Atheist, Trotskyite and newborn neocon, Hitchens embraces the morality of lex talionis: an eye for an eye. If Germans murdered women and children, the British were morally justified in killing German women and children. According to British historians, however, Churchill ordered the initial bombing of...

Berlin, Germany (CNS) - Tom Cruise was left furious after a crew member on his latest film set passed wind during a minute's silence. The Hollywood actor - who is currently shooting World War II drama "Valkyrie" in Berlin - had paused filming to honor the anti-Nazi heroes portrayed in the movie when one employee decided to use the tribute to break wind. Fellow star Christian Berkel - who plays anti-Hitler plotter Albrecht Mertz von Quirbheim - said, "The film's director Bryan Singer, the screenplay writer Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise asked us all to observe a moment's silence shortly...

Dresden vs. Auschwitz By Aviva Lori In February 2005, Dr. Gilad Margalit visited Dresden. The winter of 2005 was cold, but at the events marking the 60th anniversary of the Allied bombing of the city it was hot. Very hot. About 5,000 neo-Nazis descended on Dresden from all over Germany and from throughout Europe for the big demonstration on February 13, a Sunday. It was a colorful, violent demonstration that sought to carve out territory in the streets and especially in the national consciousness. The massive physical presence of the demonstrators only heightened the growing recognition in Germany in recent...

This weeks Sci-Fi listing: Sun: 9/8 - Dresden Files --> Sci-Fi Wed: 8/7 - Jericho --> CBS If you miss seeing Babylon 5 or Babylon Crusade here is the link to see those shows for free --> http://video.aol.com/video-category/in2tv-sci-fi/1716

This weeks Sci-Fi Listing: Sunday: 9/8 Dresden Files -- SciFi Channel 10/9 Battlestar Galactica -- SciFi Channel Monday: 8/7 Heros -- NBC Wednesday: 9/8 Jerhico -- CBS

This weeks Sci-Fi Listing: Sunday: 9/8 - The Dresden Files --> Sci-Fi Channel 10/9 - Battlestar Galactica --> Sci-Fi Channel Monday: 9/8 - Heros --> NBC Wednesday: 8/7 - Jerhico --> CBS

The French presidential candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen provoked outrage among British veterans yesterday when he compared the September 11 attacks on the United States to RAF-led bombing raids during the Second World War. The National Front leader said both were "terrorist acts as they expressly targeted civilians to force military leaders to capitulate". Mr Le Pen, 79, also dismissed the al-Qa'eda atrocities in 2001 as a mere "incident". He told the Roman Catholic newspaper La Croix: "Three thousand dead — that is how many die in Iraq in a month and it's far less than the deaths in the Marseille...

Firestorm: Allied Airpower and the Destruction of Dresden By Marshall De Bruhl Random House, $27.95.One of my favorite talk radio hosts recently interviewed a member of the evangelical Christian left who expressed sentiments -- to call them arguments would be an overstatement -- against the war in Iraq. The conversation, fairly typical of such exchanges, went something like this: “When have you been in favor of the United States actually using military force?” “Well, I guess you would have to say World War II was what you would call a good war." “What about Dresden? You bring up Abu Ghraib...

On the night of February 13-14 1945, two waves of British Lancaster bombers devastated the east German city of Dresden. The targets of these raids were Dresden's rail lines as well as a series of smaller factories that were producing gunsights and other precision optical devices for Germany's war effort. High explosive bombs were dropped first and were followed up by incendiary bombs which turned Dresden into a giant firestorm. The worst damage occurred in the inner city and immediate eastern suburbs of Dresden. According to a Dresden police report, at least 12000 dwellings were destroyed as well as a...

In 2000 Plastic Logic, a Cambridge-based start-up company, announced it was attempting to commercialise a form of plastic electronics that had developed from research at the laboratory. By using a cheap and simple set of processing operations to build up layers of circuitry on plastic “substrates” – the material on which circuits are formed – rather than silicon wafers used in conventional microchips, the developments promised to slash the cost of making semiconductors. What has given the science behind the company more substance is today’s announcement that Plastic Logic has attracted $100m (£51m) of investment that will fund a plant...

Just when you thought the president could not get into any more trouble, there is a major scandal brewing. It has been revealed that he authorized a bombing raid, conducted by both Americans and Brits, using incendiary bombs that targeted civilians. There were no military targets. I guess if anything should lead to impeachment, this is it. The liberals are going to be going nuts. Here is the story. ======================================================================= In 1941 Charles Portal of the British Air Staff advocated that entire cities and towns should be bombed. Portal claimed that this would quickly bring about the collapse of civilian...

Like every other business, the business of war has changed. Centuries ago, a war ended when one army defeated another on the battlefield. But in the modern world of total war , a war isn’t over when one army defeats the other. A war is over when the population of the country whose army has lost abandons all hope; when the people have been crushed so thoroughly – when the daily business of staying alive is so god-awful – that they wish only to clean up the mess and re-start their lives. This is why no Nazi official was able...

The rededication of the Frauenkirche in Dresden is meant to signify an English apology to the Germans for the most savage of all acts of the strategic bombing campaign of the Second World War. In February 1945, Dresden, historically the capital of the old kingdom of Saxony and a famous cultural and aesthetic centre, was devastated by a joint Anglo-American bombing raid, the British by night, the Americans by day. Until the raid, Dresden remained almost the last of Germany's large cities not to have been laid waste. By the time the raids finished, much of historic and modern Dresden...

Reconciliation The landmark Church of our Lady has been re-consecrated in the east German city of Dresden 60 years after being destroyed by Allied bombing. At 1000 (0900 GMT) the bells of the Church of Our Lady rang out. Outside crowds gathered to watch the service which was broadcast live on a giant screen. The Frauenkirche remained in ruins throughout the Cold War Inside, the church was packed with hundreds of dignitaries, including German President Horst Koehler, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and the Duke of Kent leading the British delegation - as well as many of the architects and donors who...

A ceremony is being held in the German city of Dresden to consecrate the Church of our Lady which was destroyed by Allied bombing during World War II. The charred remains of the Frauenkirche were left for decades by East Germany's communist authorities. Its reconstruction began after German reunification, partly financed by private donors in Britain and the US. Sunday's ceremony is being attended by representatives from around the world - including the Duke of Kent, the German President, Chancellor Schröder and the ambassadors of the four allied powers of WW2. The baroque sandstone dome of the reconstructed Frauenkirche dominates...

Polls opened at 8:00 am (0600 GMT) in the eastern German city of Dresden, where voters are casting the last ballots in the country's inconclusive national election. The roughly 220,000 registered voters in Dresden's district 160 will decide the final make-up of the Bundestag, with three seats at stake here. The voting here, two weeks late because of the death of a neo-Nazi candidate, has brought Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his conservative rival Angela Merkel back on the campaign trail, though the result will not change the outcome of the national vote. Both Schroeder and Merkel claim the right to...

DRESDEN, Germany - Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and challenger Angela Merkel battled over a last remaining seat in parliament Friday, hoping to get an edge in a weekend vote and end Germany's political stalemate. Merkel suggested that Sunday's balloting in the eastern city of Dresden might prompt Schroeder to back off his bid to stay in the chancellery. But Schroeder showed no sign of yielding, reminding voters of his popular opposition to the war in Iraq and calling his rivals "not fit" to govern because they couldn't stand up to "big partners" — such as the United States. The rest of...

BERLIN - Russian President Vladimir Putin told a German newspaper that Allied forces can’t be absolved of blame for horrors during World War II, and he noted in particular the massive bombing of Dresden in the final months. Ahead of this weekend’s 60-year commemoration of Victory in Europe Day, Putin, in a joint interview with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, told Bild that the Western forces deserved to be criticized for attacking civilians. “The Western allies didn’t abound with any special humanity,” the Russian leader said. “It’s incomprehensible to me to this day why Dresden was destroyed. There was no military...

The foundations of Hitler’s bunker were uncovered during the building frenzy in Berlin that followed the reunification of Germany. An anguished debate ensued about what to do with the site, for in Germany both memory and amnesia are dangerous, each with its moral hazards. To mark the bunker’s site might turn it into a place of pilgrimage for neo-Nazis, resurgent in the East; not to mark it might be regarded as an attempt to deny the past. In the end, anonymous burial was deemed the better, which is to say the safer, option. Nowhere in the world (except, perhaps, in...

HITLER and the Nazi leadership may have known beforehand about the massive Allied raid on Dresden, according to new evidence from Germany. Military investigators are checking a letter written by a German anti-aircraft gunner to his parents in the city, which gave the date of the raid two weeks before the fateful bombing in which 35,000 civilians lost their lives. The letter has opened a debate in Germany as to whether the Nazi leadership, including Luftwaffe commander Hermann Goring, might have decided to leave the city to its fate for propaganda reasons, or even as part of Hitler’s belief that...

DRESDEN - In Germany's biggest neo-Nazi rally for decades, 5,000 rightists marched through Dresden on Sunday as the city marked the 60th anniversary of its World War II destruction. They were outnumbered by tens of thousands of mainstream Germans who paraded in demonstrations in Dresden against the right, attended memorial church services or pinned white, silk roses to lapels in a massive show of revulsion for latter-day admirers of Adolf Hitler. Thanks to a huge police presence there was no violence apart from a scuffle or two between the opposing groups. After the neo-Nazis dispersed in the late afternoon, civic...

Sixty years after the destruction of Dresden, the British public still believes the massive death toll was a result of the excess of the notorious "Bomber" Harris, and the idea of an apology to Germany revolts a tabloid press bordering on the xenophobic. "Harris and Bomber Command are still the black sheep of the British popular memory of the Second World War," said Mark Connelly, a history professor at the University of Kent and the author of a study on the role of the Royal Air Force in the destruction of the picturesque capital of the German state of Saxony....

NEO-NAZIS are threatening to ambush the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Allied firebombing of Dresden.Holger Apfel, 35, a leader of the National Party of Germany, said yesterday that his neo-Nazis would make the anniversary, on Sunday, an anti-British event. Almost 10,000 are expected to converge on the city. Comparing Dresden to the Auschwitz death camp, Herr Apfel said: “We know that Dresden was a cold-blooded, industrially planned murder of the civilian population. A week before the British bombing of Dresden, Churchill was boasting at the Yalta conference that six or seven million Germans had already been killed. “The...

On the eve of the 60th anniversary of the firebombing of Dresden by Allied forces in World War II, a major neo-Nazi party in the city is seeking to reinvent history by calling the attack "Dresden's Holocaust of bombs." Problem is: the party is finding resonance in a city still deeply scarred by an attack that left at least 30,000 dead. AP A symbol of destruction: Dresden after the firestorm. At a meeting of parliament in the eastern German state of Saxony on Jan. 21, politicians wanted to debate the best way of commemorating the victims of the decimation of...

In my AP Lang and Comp class, we are now reading the book by Vonngut, "Slaughterhouse Five" at which point the teacher brought up the historics behind it, and at which point we all realized that we were all telling different opinions of it. If anyone could just provide some much needed conservative insight. Thanks.

The decision by the Royal Air Force to carpet bomb during WWII, in order to demoralize the enemy and foreshorten the war, was a reasonable, condonable, military tactic of the era. But this does not extend to the bombing of the city of Dresden in 1945, which was simply an act of sadism. Not only did it not achieve its stated objective of demoralizing the enemy (impossible in a population long since demoralized) it resulted in the deaths of thousands of Eastern European refugees fleeing the war and the destruction of one of Europe’s most beautiful cities and its trove...

State criminal investigators from Saxony have declined comment on whether a carry-on flight bag left at the main Dresden train station, which according to media reports contained a kilogram (2.2 lbs.) of TNT, an electrical detonator, a timer and shrapnel, was the work of terrorists or if it was primed to explode. Investigators are now trying to reconstruct the bomb, which was found last Friday evening at the station, in an attempt to retrace its origins. During the seven hours that the station was ordered closed, police reportedly used high-pressure water cannons to dismantle the bag and render the bomb...

Dear Lord, There's a young man far from home, called to serve his nation in time of war; sent to defend our freedom on some distant foreign shore. We pray You keep him safe, we pray You keep him strong, we pray You send him safely home ... for he's been away so long. There's a young woman far from home, serving her nation with pride. Her step is strong, her step is sure, there is courage in every stride. We pray You keep her safe, we pray You keep her strong, we pray You send her safely home...

Dresden, Germany, which was renowned for its beauty, before it was firebombed in World War II. DRESDEN, Germany, March 10 — The photograph, a precious possession, shows gracious, dignified Holbein Street in Dresden before World War II, where the childhood friends Nora Lang, now 72, and Vanila John, 71, lived in apartments across from each other. "It's nice that Dresden is being restored," Ms. John said, speaking of the many monuments in this once ruined city that are still being rebuilt, stone by stone. "But the old Dresden is gone forever — the houses, the homes and also the people...

GOTTA SEE THIS - War for Enduring Freedom 8/25/02 Asadabad, Kabul, Pul-i-Charkhi, Kandahar Taliban cemetery, Kandahar, Peshawar, Pakistan, Shamshatu refugee camp, Jerusalem, Israel, Barriers at Abu Dis, Dir al-Balah, Gaza, Berlin, Dresden, Geneva, Red Cross, Kartaly, Russia, Cape Canaveral, Atlas V ===================== Kabul =================== In Bagram, US soldiers hunt Al Qaeda who launched rockets near Asadabad. In Kabul, Afghans and the ISAF, International Security Assistance Force. In Kabul, from the Pakistan border, 1.5 million Afghan refugees have returned since ~1,800 families per day. In Pul-i-Charkhi, east of Kabul, Afghans arrive from Pakistan and Iran . ===================== Kandahar =================== In Kandahar,...

Germans Flee Elbe River Flooding Fri Aug 16,10:19 PM ET By DAVID McHUGH, Associated Press Writer DRESDEN, Germany (AP) - Dresden residents grabbed what they could and fled for higher ground Friday as the Elbe River rose to record levels, engulfing one neighborhood after another and forcing workers to abandon some efforts to save the city's world-famous cultural landmarks. Fed by high water that struck the Czech capital of Prague earlier this week, the Elbe rose above 29 feet Friday, carrying refrigerators, sofas and cars as its swirling waters engulfed one neighborhood after the other. It was expected to crest...

THE river Elbe has surged to an all-time record high, flooding more districts of the historic city of Dresden as authorities scrambled to evacuate tens of thousands of residents in the worst flooding to hit central Europe in memory. In the Czech Republic, authorities were counting the cost of the massive flooding as people returned to the homes and the Vlava river receded, revealing the full extent of the damage to lives and landmarks. The Danube running through the Slovak capital Bratislava also reached a peak of 9.86 metres overnight, topping the previous record before stabilising, Slovak authorities said. At...