Around 800 neo-Nazis march as Dresden remembers WWII bombing

Feb 13, 2012, 19:31 GMT

Dresden, Germany - Around 800 neo-Nazis - far fewer than had been expected - turned up for a torch-lit march in the eastern German city of Dresden on Monday, on the anniversary of the city's World War II bombardment by Allied forces.

The police sent 5,800 officers to Dresden, in anticipation of up to 2,000 neo-Nazis showing up. For years, right-wing groups have used the day to rally and deny Germany's responsibility for the atrocities of the war.

On February 13 and 14, 1945, months before the end of the war, British and US bombers launched a huge assault on Dresden, killing an estimated 25,000 and flattening large parts of the city.

Throughout the day Monday, religious and commemorative sermons were held in honour of the many millions who suffered at the hands of Nazi Germany.

More than 13,600 people formed a 3.6-kilometre human chain to prevent the neo-Nazi march from reaching the city centre.

Around 1,000 people followed a 'trail of Nazi perpetrators' through the city, to remind that Dresden had been a Nazi stronghold, and was not blameless for its destruction, as neo-Nazis contend.