Dresden: Thousands of far-right supporters and counter-demonstrators are expected to converge on Dresden on the 65th anniversary of deadly Allied bombing at the end of World War II.
Police expect several thousand neo-Nazis from Germany and elsewhere at a march on Saturday.
A heavy police presence is being put in place to keep them apart from counter-protesters and prevent possible violence by leftists. Mayor Helma Orosz is backing a protest against far-right attempts to exploit the city's painful past.
Raids by British and US bombers on February 13-14, 1945, set off firestorms and destroyed the centuries-old city centre.
In 2008, a panel commissioned by state officials found that the firebombing killed up to 25,000 people — lower than scholars' previous estimates.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, February 13, 2010, 16:32