February 13, 1945 is a date that is ever-present in the history of the city of Dresden, and the annual commemoration is still accompanied by struggles over interpretation between narratives of destruction and liberation.  International perspectives have always been part of the discourse, but have been neglected so far. How international science, literature, art, but also civil society has looked at February 13 in Dresden since the end of World War II, how these perspectives have changed and whether they have an influence on the remembrance in Dresden and Germany is what historians from TU Dresden now want to find out together with other historians, artists, teachers, students and interested citizens.

© Matthias Marx

The three-day Transnational Forum February 13 at the Zentralwerk Dresden from February 10 to 12, 2025, will examine the various transnational perspectives on the date and the memory of it in lectures, panel discussions, workshops and excursions.  

For example, tours will be dedicated to the persecution and arrest of Jews in Dresden at the time and the fate of forced laborers at the Goehle factory. Participants can choose from a range of workshops, including one in which they explore Czech prisoners' memories of the February 1945 bombings, or one in which they look beyond Dresden and talk with students from Dresden, Poland and the Czech Republic about the loss and re-appropriation of Central European cities since 1945. Several keynote speeches, podium discussions and film showings, as well as a visit to the exhibition “Every Victim Has a Name” will further explore the topics.

Participation in the forum is free of charge but registration is required. Please register by emailing . The number of participants is limited. The event can also be attended as further training for teaching staff. The registration deadline is February 5, 2025. Representatives of the press are also expressly invited. 

The screening of the film “Come together.  Dresden and February 13” (hechtfilm 2012) on February 10, 2025 at 7:00 pm at Zentralwerk will open to all interested parties and does not require registration. Seat reservations can be made by emailing .

Further information

This project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Free State of Saxony under the Excellence Strategy of the Federal and State Governments.

Website
https://tu-dresden.de/gsw/phil/ige/nnge/die-professur/forum-13-februar-transnational

Contact 
Dr. Johannes Schütz 
Chair of Modern and Contemporary History 
TU Dresden 
Tel.: +49 351 463 39716 
Email:  

Venue  
Zentralwerk 
Riesaer Str. 32 
01127 Dresden 
https://zentralwerk.de/  

Partner 
Zentralwerk Dresden 
Dresdner Geschichtsverein e.V.