Indelible Marks (#3)
February 13th 1945; 24 images, Lithograph over Monoprint. 27 x 27 cms, Unique. 2013
The bombing of Dresden by British and American forces on February 13th and 14th 1945, and the consequent firestorm, remains one of the most contentious acts of World War II. Strategically important, Dresden was renowned for its unique culture heritage and was full of refugees retreating from the Russian advance.
There is a considerable filmed archive taken by both Allied and German sides during the devastation of the city, and by the Germans in the aftermath. There is also a wealth of testimony, both contemporary and recollected, ranging through diaries, photographs and memoirs, to combinations of fact and fiction, such as Kurt Vonnegut’s satirical novel ‘Slaughterhouse 5’, and Harry Mulisch’s ‘Stone Bridal Bed’.
Historians and politicians have dwelt minutely on the bombing of Dresden, over and above any other single act of destruction in World War II. Questions, both practical and moral, continue to be debated. These concern the responsibility for the raids, and the number killed. A German Commission of 2010 confirmed that approximately twenty five thousand people were killed; fewer than previously been estimated, and considerably less than were killed in raids on other German cities.
In a twist of fate, the bombing liberated a small number of Jews who remained in Dresden, as well as some prisoners of war, including the American, Kurt Vonnegut and the British, Victor Gregg. On 13th February 1945, Victor Klemperer (as a privileged member of the community, because he was married to an Aryan) had assisted in delivering notices of deportation to some of the last remaining members of the Jewish community. Fearful that he too would soon be sent to his death, he used the confusion created by the allied bombings, and the fact that the Gestapo HQ with all its records was destroyed, to remove his yellow star. Without this identifying symbol he and his wife Eva, carrying the precious diaries and little else, escaped from Dresden.
The images in these prints are clipped from verified German and Allied film archives, and plans of the British Royal Air Force flight path. Transformed through digital technology and print they are intended to create a mood and a sense of the trajectory, rather than to describe specific moments or events.
