Dresden Memorial

In this post, Robert Lay asked:

During the evenings of February 13th to 16th 1945, 805 aircraft were dispatched to Dresden in two separate waves.

The firebombing consisted of dropping 1,478 tons of high-explosive to blow off the roofs to expose the timbers within, followed by 1,182 tons of incendiary bombs to ignite them. This created a self-sustaining firestorm with temperatures over 1500°C. The air above the bombed area became extremely hot and rose rapidly. Cold air then rushed in at ground level from the outside and people were sucked into the fire.

The precise number of dead is not known, but historians now view around 25,000–35,000 as the likely range. Contemporary official German records give a number of 21,271 registered burials, including 6,865 who were cremated on the Altmarkt.

The debate still rages regarding the morality of the bombing, but it is widely considered that the bombing of Dresden was excessive or at the very least regrettable.

A few miles from the Altmarkt, across the Elbe, in the Neumarkt district there is a cemetery that contains a memorial to those who died. The memorial is a large square block, shattered into 4 pieces with the names of the dead of that night inscribed into it’s four faces.

One of the great joys of being an "opportunistic photographer" is finding the opportunity. Sometimes when rabbit hunting, you bag a bear. During a bus tour, Marcia and I had seen a couple of buildings I wanted to photograph. We drove back the next day and had to park several blocks away. During the walk, we passed some vine covered walls of a somewhat neglected cemetery - the one with the memorial.

When I approached the memorial I saw a single small fragile rose that had been there, undisturbed by man or nature for several days. The thought hit me: Even to this day, 60 years later, someone’s memory still lives and someone’s future is still dead. The thought just ripped me apart.

Now I admit that I have a certain intrinsic sensitivity to the poignancy of memorials, having lost 4 family members to murder. I don’t know if this work is too personal, but this is some of my most satisfying shooting I have done is a long, long time.

As always please Critique and Comment.

1 - Close Up.
5d
1/200
f5.6
asa 200
85mm (28 - 135 IS)

2 - Corner Shot
5d
1/100
f5.6
asa 200
28mm (28 - 135 IS)
(I would have shot from the corner with the rose, but the background prevented that.)

Rad

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Interesting subject. Absorbing commentary. Good work!

Of the two shots, I like the bottom one best, because you get the message right away. With the upper one, you have to know the story to have any clue as to the meaning of the picture.
As to the composition - normally, I would complain about converging verticals, or something like that. In this case, I think the treatment you gave it is about right. I would have moved a little more to the left to give it a slightly different orientation, but that's easy to say from here - Hi!

I really appreciate your sharing these with us, Rad. Thanks,

Great shots. I like them both, but I get more from the first. It's obvious to me that it's a memorial by the stone, the flower, and the names. The cracked stone and the withered rose are quite poignant. Thanks for sharing.

P.S. The first time I read Slaughterhouse Five I couldn't understand why Vonnegut kept going on about Dresden. Then I researched it a little and understood completely.

Very nice work. I like #2 - it does imply memorial. It would be nice if you could more readily ID the rose. That is a tough area. I would imagine there are many memories at each turn.