The »Appeal from Dresden« and how he was echoed

In November 1989, a citizens' initiative was formed, which went public for the first time with its »Appeal from Dresden« on February 12, 1990. The citizens' initiative gave rise to the Society for the Promotion of the Reconstruction of the Frauenkirche Dresden e. V., which united the actual initiators of the reconstruction under the chairmanship of the musician Prof. Ludwig Güttler.

The following people signed the »Appeal from Dresden« as members of the citizens' initiative for the construction of the Frauenkirche:

Prof. Ludwig Güttler, musician (Speaker)
Prof. Dr. h. c. mult. Manfred von Ardenne, physicist
Dr. Otto Baer, architect
Hans-Helmut Bickhardt, pastor
Dr. Karlheinz Blaschke, church historian
Steffen Gebhardt, architect
Dr. Karl-Ludwig Hoch, pastor
Hans-Christian Hoch, dentist
Dr. Hans-Joachim Jäger, civil engineer
Friedrich-Wilhelm Junge, actor
Dr. Walter Köckeritz, architect
Prof. Dr. habil. Dr. h. c. Heinrich Magirius, preservationist
Dr. Joachim Menzhausen, art historian
Heinz Miech, art dealer
Prof. Dr. Hans Nadler, architect and preservationist
Dr. Hans-Joachim Neidhardt, art historian
Wolfgang Preiß, civil engineer
Prof. Dr. Hermann Rühle, civil engineer
Dieter Schölzel, architect
Dr. Rudolf Stephan, microbiologist
Dr. Günter Voigt, dentist
Dr. Roland Zepnik, civil engineer

»On February 13, 1945 - a few weeks before the end of the war, which had already been decided - air raids also reduced Dresden's Frauenkirche to rubble. For decades, this ruin was an indictment and memorial for all peace-loving people. In the difficult times of political oppression and worldwide armament, young people repeatedly placed burning candles on the ruins. In non-violent protest they wanted to set signs of hope for a time of peace, justice and the preservation of life. But the further decay of the ruin cannot be stopped. We know that our Saxon regional church has no funds available for the reconstruction of the Frauenkirche.

We know that neither our city nor our state can finance this reconstruction. We know that churches of the Federal Republic of Germany have made possible the construction of many places of worship in our country. We also know that, in view of the decay of many buildings, new buildings and the preservation of old buildings are more necessary than the construction of the Frauenkirche.

Nevertheless, we do not want to resign ourselves to the fact that this unique and magnificent building should remain in ruins or even be demolished. We call for a worldwide campaign to rebuild the Dresden Frauenkirche into a Christian world peace center in the new Europe. In this place of worship the gospel of peace should be proclaimed in word and sound, images of peace should be shown, peace research and peace education should be made possible. This would restore to world culture an architectural work of art of unique significance, associated with the name of its ingenious builder, George Bähr, but also with the names of Gottfried Silbermann, Johann Sebastian Bach, Heinrich Schütz and Richard Wagner. Thus, a stone testimony of the Christian faith would rise again; a house of worship that the Protestant citizens built on the foundations of the oldest church in Dresden. Thus, one of the most beautiful cityscapes in the heart of Europe would once again receive its dominant crown, the "Stone Bell", without which the reconstruction of Dresden would remain piecemeal.

We call for the formation of an international foundation for the reconstruction of the Dresden Frauenkirche, which should be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. We turn especially to the states that led the Second World War. We are painfully aware that Germany unleashed this war.

Nevertheless, we also address the victorious powers and the many people of good will in the USA, Great Britain and all over the world: make this European "House of Peace" possible! We turn to the Dresdeners far away: thank your hometown by making a sacrifice for the rebuilding of the Frauenkirche. 45 years after its destruction, the time has also come for us to restore the Frauenkirche as an obligatory possession of European culture.

That is why we are calling for help from Dresden.«

 

As early as November 1991, the Fördergesellschaft, together with the Evangelical-Lutheran Regional Church Office of Saxony, founded the Stiftung Frauenkirche Dresden e .V. in the legal form of a registered association, which took over the responsibility for the reconstruction until the Frauenkirche Dresden Foundation was established in 1994.

Thanks to the Fördergesellschaft, countless projects and initiatives were launched, circles of friends active in Germany and abroad were established, and connections were made, e.g., to the German government and to individual top politicians. The Society raised a considerable amount of donations. For example, proceeds of €22.5 million (then DM45 million) were raised from the 1995 commemorative reconstruction coin, and €6 million from the sale of 450,000 Frauenkirche clocks organized jointly with Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden.

Since the beginning of its activities, the Fördergesellschaft has donated a total of €35 million to the Foundation, including donations in kind. In addition, the Fördergesellschaft has made a large number of voluntary contributions to the reconstruction effort over a period of 15 years. The Fördergesellschaft contributed around €10 million to the total proceeds of the Dresdner Bank's Stifterbrief campaign of over €68 million.

In the end, the Wiederaufbau-Fördergesellschaft had more than 5,600 members in Germany and over 20 other countries. There were 24 circles of friends in Germany and four sponsoring associations abroad. In the meantime, the Society for the Promotion of the Reconstruction of the Frauenkirche Dresden e. V. has ceased its activities, as the purpose of the society was fulfilled with the completed reconstruction.

The Society for the Promotion of the Frauenkirche Dresden e. V. was founded in 2003 by the initiators of the reconstruction in preservation of the historical identity of the citizens' initiative of 1989. Its purpose is the promotion of the rebuilt Dresden Frauenkirche. It successfully continues the work of the Society for the Promotion of the Reconstruction of the Frauenkirche Dresden e. V. and supports life in the Frauenkirche.