Remembrance Day

The Frauenkirche church, in the centre of Dresden, was an baroque masterpiece of the Protestant church - a gorgeous monument in a gorgeous city. Until a day in 1944 when Dresden was heavily bombed. Much of the city was destroyed, and far too many people died.

Amidst the destruction, the church was now just a pile of rubble. For the next 45 years of East German rule, the rubble stood in the center of the city like a gaping wound and, like so much in this fractured country, was left to stagnate from lack of interest or lack of funds - either, or both. The whole city, in fact, seemed frozen in time - rubble and all. The reality seems inconceivable, but the people of Dresden lived through this, and more.

When the wall came down and German reunification began, Dresden's renewed efforts to rebuilt the church were quickly rewarded, as help came from around the world. What could be recovered from the rubble was, and what could not was recreated - the finished church completed just five years ago. 

Amazingly, crushed among the stones, was the original cross that stood atop the dome. For 50 years it had lain unmoved - badly damaged, but intact. It was not reinstalled on the top of the dome but instead, is now kept inside the church, still bearing scars, a small but poignant reminder. 

 

And outside on the top of the dome, is another brightly shining new cross - received as a gift from the people of Great Britain. Another reminder, this one of renewal: of a city, and of a friendship.

On my visit, the Reverend described the church's story to the congregation. His final words have stayed with me. "This church is a symbol," he said, "that wounds heal, and that reunification is possible."

A choir entered the church and began to sing. As beautiful harmonies filled the rebuilt space, I looked around - at the soaring domed ceiling, the curved wooden pews, the carefully carved moldings, and at the smooth stone floors - and I began to cry.