Editing Bombing of Dresden (section)

==Reconstruction and reconciliation==
[[File:Fotothek df pk 0000156 013 Aufnahmen von M. Friedrichs, M. Fischer, Hermann Matern, Arno Schellenberg und F.jpg|thumb|The [[Semperoper]] in July 1945.]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F088675-0031, Dresden, Ruine der Frauenkirche.jpg|thumb|[[Dresden Frauenkirche|Frauenkirche]] ruins in 1991]]
[[File:Frauenkirche in Dresden, 3.jpg|thumb|Reconstructed [[Dresden Frauenkirche|Frauenkirche]] with other reconstructed [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]] buildings on the [[Neumarkt (Dresden)|Neumarkt]]]]
{{Further|Dresden Frauenkirche|Semperoper|Zwinger (Dresden)|Coventry Cathedral}}
After the war, and again after [[German reunification]], great efforts were made to rebuild some of Dresden's former landmarks, such as the [[Dresden Frauenkirche|Frauenkirche]], the [[Semperoper]] (the Saxony state opera house) and the [[Zwinger Palace]] (the latter two were rebuilt before reunification).

In 1956, Dresden entered a twin-town relationship with [[Coventry]]. As a centre of military and munitions production, Coventry suffered some of the worst attacks on any British city at the hands of the Luftwaffe during the [[Coventry Blitz]]es of 1940 and 1941, which killed over 1,200 civilians and destroyed its [[Coventry Cathedral|cathedral]].<ref>[http://www.familyresearcher.co.uk/CoventryRaids.htm Coventry Air Raids] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217160925/http://www.familyresearcher.co.uk/CoventryRaids.htm|date=17 December 2008}}, The Coventry Blitz Resource centre.</ref>

In 1990, after the [[fall of the Berlin Wall]], a group of prominent Dresdeners formed an international appeal known as the "Call from Dresden" to request help in rebuilding the [[Martin Luther|Lutheran]] Frauenkirche, the destruction of which had over the years become a symbol of the bombing.<ref name=Boobbyer>Boobbyer, Philip. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080304111006/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KZH/is_4_19/ai_n16621314/pg_1 "Answering Dresden's Call"], ''For a Change'', August–September 2006.</ref> The baroque Church of Our Lady (completed in 1743) had initially appeared to survive the raids, but collapsed a few days later, and the ruins were left in place by later Communist governments as an anti-war memorial.

A British charity, the Dresden Trust, was formed in 1993 to raise funds in response to the call for help, raising £600,000 from 2,000 people and 100 companies and trusts in Britain. One of the gifts they made to the project was an eight-metre high orb and cross made in London by goldsmiths Gant MacDonald, using medieval nails recovered from the ruins of the roof of [[Coventry Cathedral]], and crafted in part by Alan Smith, the son of a pilot who took part in the raid.<ref name = "Furlong2004"/>
[[File:RampischeGasse2.jpg|thumb|Baroque buildings reconstructed by the [[Dresden Historical Neumarkt Society|GHND]] near the [[Dresden Frauenkirche|Frauenkirche]] ]]
The new Frauenkirche was reconstructed over seven years by architects using 3D computer technology to analyse old photographs and every piece of rubble that had been kept and was formally [[Consecration|consecrated]] on 30 October 2005, in a service attended by some 1,800 guests, including Germany's president, [[Horst Köhler]], previous chancellors [[Gerhard Schröder]] and [[Angela Merkel]], and [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent|the Duke of Kent]].<ref>{{cite book|author=De Balliel-Lawrora, Johannes Rammund|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EWz5oFDQhaUC|title=The Myriad Chronicles|publisher=Xlibris Corp.|year=2010|isbn=978-1450097918|page=101}}</ref><ref name="HardingOct2005">Harding, Luke. [https://www.theguardian.com/secondworldwar/story/0,14058,1605133,00.html Cathedral hit by RAF is rebuilt], ''The Guardian'', 31 October 2005.</ref>

A further development towards the reconstruction of Dresden's historical core came in 1999 when the [[Dresden Historical Neumarkt Society]] (GHND) was founded.<ref>{{cite book |last=Neidhardt |first=Hans Joachim |date=2012 |title=New urban culture: Yearbook 2011 – Cityscape Germany |page=12 |publisher=BoD – Books on Demand |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gU3cZ2Zel_kC&pg=PA12 |isbn=9783844815382 }}</ref> The society is committed to [[Reconstruction (architecture)|reconstructing]] the historic city centre as much as possible. When plans for the rebuilding of Dresden's [[Dresden Frauenkirche|Frauenkirche]] became certain, the GHND began calls for the reconstruction of historic buildings that surrounded it.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fuchs|first=Anne|title=Debating German Cultural Identity Since 1989 (Studies in German Literature, Linguistics, and Culture)|publisher=Camden House|year=2011|pages=122–123}}</ref>

In 2003, a petition in support of reconstructing the Neumarkt area was signed by nearly 68,000 people, amounting to 15% of the entire electorate. This demonstrated broad support for the initiative and widespread appreciation for historical Dresden. This led to the city council's decision to rebuild a large amount of baroque buildings in accordance to historical designs, but with modern buildings in between them.<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 2020|title=Gesellschaft Historischer Neumarkt Dresden "Bürgerbegehren – (Citizen's Request)". neumarkt-dresden.|url=http://archiv.neumarkt-dresden.de/buergerbegehren1.html}}</ref>

Reconstruction of the surrounding Neumarkt buildings continues to this day.<ref>{{Cite web|date=24 June 2020|title=German Architecture Forum (deutsches-architekturforum) – Dresden: Neumarkt|url=https://www.deutsches-architekturforum.de/thread/2269-dresden-neumarkt/?pageNo=68}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=24 June 2020|title=neumarkt-dresden website|url=https://www.neumarkt-dresden.de/}}</ref>