Memorial Service on February 13

18 February 2008 206 views No Comment

To follow up on the memorial service I attended last Wednesday, 02/13/2008. At 7pm about 2,000 to 3,000 people gathered in front of the Church of Our Lady (Frauenkirche) in Dresden (Germany) to remember the destruction of our city 63 years ago.
I liked that the audience was a mix: of course, there were elder people, some of them old enough to have witnessed the events that were remembered themselves. But there were also many middle aged people and a lot of younger folks. It’s good to know that the history is not forgotten and the legacy is carried on.
As one of the speakers said, we have to truly remember. We have to remember that Germany started the war; we have to remember the atrocities that were committed in the name of false religion. And we have to remember what it cost us. Only then can we appreciate the world we now live in. And only then we can really do all in our might to prevent things like that from ever happening again.
I took some more pictures, you will find them in the Photography folders.

“What does the candle represent?”
“Life.”
“Whose life?”
“All life, every life. We’re all born as molecules in the hearts of a billion stars, molecules that do not understand politics, policies and differences. In a billion years we, foolish molecules forget who we are and where we came from. Desperate acts of ego. We give ourselves names, fight over lines on maps. And pretend our light is better than everyone else’s. The flame reminds us of the piece of those stars that live inside us. A spark that tells us: you should know better. The flame also reminds us that life is precious, as each flame is unique. When it goes out, it’s gone forever. And there will never be another quite like it.”
John Sheridan & Delenn, Babylon 5, »And all my dreams torn asunder«