Eastern front but i dont do it so it was germans who began this cruel war 800 are you lancasters life 650020 3 bombs on germanys 7th largest city. We remember today the victims in german cities that its not an accusation nor is it an attempt to avenge. You told us fear of death the claustrophobic sela the pounding of the bombs. That burned people. Of a city. August of 0. 000 viewers on p. B. S. In the United States and all around the world welcome we begin the day on the anniversary of one of world war 2 was most horrific moments and a warning for the future if we miss remember what happened today 75 years ago british and american planes began blanketing the eastern german city of dresden with firebombs 25000 people died in what was and remains one of the wars most controversial allied attacks and mediately after the bombing nazi propaganda incorrectly claimed that 250000 people had been killed today one of the leaders of germanys far right party says that 100000 died its important to note that the a. F. Tea party is now the Largest Opposition Party in germanys federal parliament and with all of that in mind you can understand the delicate balancing act the german president faced today at the official commemoration ceremony in dresden vulture steinmeyer spoke of the suffering and loss of the people on the ground the germans on the ground that public acknowledgement of the victims unthinkable just a couple of decades ago speaks to the role of time in the evolution of a nations remembrance culture the president also issued a warning for the present and the future saying the memory of the bombing of dresden must not become a weapon for extremists he urged germans to defend the accuracy of history saying that in and of itself is an act of defending democracy. 75 years on the train bombing still haunts the city a funeral mounts. By mozart set the tone for a somber ceremony interest in the palace of culture. The message from germanys president never forgets. All fit together in the long. List and sincere remembrance enables us to see and understand the familiar as well as the unfamiliar it enables us to empathize with the fates of all the victims of war and violence across national borders. And shine my reportedly struggled with writing this speech how to balance remembering those killed by the allies while at the same time acknowledging nazi atrocities. And if you see when we think back to the history of the bombing was in our country we remember 2 things we remember the suffering of the people in german cities and also the suffering germans inflicted on others. Over a period of 3 days british and u. S. Planes dropped nearly 4000 tons of explosives on interest in the attacks killed some 25000 people and totally wiped out the citys Historic Center what happened in dressed in has been seized on by the far right to portray germany as a victim. Said crimes shouldnt be measured against each other theres a very hard to do it certainly i wish to say clearly today anyone who still counts the dead of dresden against the dead of auschwitz anyone who tries to downplay german wrongs anyone who tries to falsify historical facts we must stand up to them as democrats and contradict them loudly. In most india lout wont and shed be just like man a diamond 3 times higher when songs are born of threats against democracy the far right alternative to germany the 3rd Biggest Party in germanys parliament plans to hold its own event in dressed in. Open on sunday and we are also experiencing in our country how anti semitism and racism are beginning to poison public life again how states governed by the rule of law and Democratic Institutions are being scorned. If elected members of parliament a mocked and ridiculed in the parliaments in which they said this is an attempt to destroy democracy from within. Their makati for instance are still. I think. Dressed in the physical scars have long since healed the psychological ones are taking longer. And my colleague the correspondent leoni from hammerstein she is in dresden where those commemorations have been taking place good evening to you. 75 years since the city was destroyed by bombings what has been the tone of the commemorations today. Brant yeah they have what was serious and off events marking this coming ration in the city of jerusalem today and im just sanding in front of them off a Commemoration Service by the fire right past the the a. S. D. Just behind me it just. A couple of minutes ago and in the back there there are lots of people from the far left or the left wing see. Here in jason who are protesting against the a feast Commemoration Service saying they are downplaying germanys role in the 2nd world war and they are. Basically denying a history from happening day 50 has been known to inflate the numbers of victims who were killed here 75 years ago but this is not an official events obviously there was a serious official event events marking the 75th anniversary earlier today frank i just. Held a speech at the palace of culture here in greece that was attended by guests from various partner cities also by the duke of kent. Jasons mayor of u. C. Was there as well and steinmeier stressed the importance of standing up for peace standing up for humanity and thats what thousands of people in the city did later this afternoon when they came out into the streets even though it was raining it was very cold out here at 6 oclock 2 stands hand in hand in a human chain through the whole city center of grace. To stand up to show and demonstrate the commitment to good. Democracy to tolerance and to humanity our rights my colleague leon even hammerstein there in dresden clearly thank you very much. I join me here the big table tonight to help us put dresden the bombing and its commemoration in a in a broader context as my colleague Frank Hoffman good to see you frank would you say that the role of the drugs did in the bombing would you say its more important to todays politics than it has ever been i would say that maybe the context is a different one in times when right wing populists trying to gain ground when it comes to the essence of history of the darkest part of history of this country then liberal democracy of of this country is challenged and the idea of an open society that was a step list after world war 2 1st in west germany enough to unification 30 years ago in the whole of the country is challenge to and the context is different and i think what we see now is a moment various this open society is really capable to defend itself you have reported extensively on germanys moments of remembrance reconciliation with the past what does todays commemoration in dresden what does it tell the world about germany i think the president. Was really aware that he needs to find the exact tone on the one side to commemorate the victims these 25000 that were killed during those. Raids. And in the same time bring it into the context of the other commemorations i was in auschwitz for example in those 26 and 27th of of generate. Already hold a very strong speech i was in a small city of veto in southeast poland will. Will to stall that in september. 13539 also here he was very aware that he has to be very clear and i have the feeling that at the moment hes very much focusing on this serious of speeches there will be more in the in the upcoming year in this year and in the months to come and this is also happening this is all happening in a moment where right wing extremists and right wing populist are trying to rewrite and what were looking at many would say is the evolution of remembrance culture and the words of the german president how they fit into that i want you to take a listen to part of what Frank Walter Steinmeier said today if i guess leashed we do not forget it was germans who began this cruel war and after role millions of germans are fortunate not all of them but many did so out of conviction it was the nazis and their willing execution is who carried out the mass murder of european jews. And must not and then you wouldnt. That. We just heard their president use the term the willing executioners and that is a loaded term the author Daniel Goldhagen we were talking about this earlier he had he wrote a book that came out in 1906 hitlers willing executioners it was controversial because he claimed that the german mindset is what made the horrors that of hitler possible the german president did today he used that phrase is there a message in the fact that he appropriate that term i think the message is that its a different message when a german president of this democracy saying it i think this is very important i can very much recall i can very well recall this discussion from of the mid of the 990 s. I was studying history by myself here in berlin. And the discussions we had at the time was hey if all these german. That you know voted for hitler and that you know were willingly moving into this nazi era what about the other ones the people the minority yes but these people that eagerly try to hide their jewish neighbors but insists very very city of poland by the way so. I think the message is its different when the president is saying because hes trying to focus on these terms of a following that was part of the the far right party as we heard there from leone is holding its own commemoration in dresden and he claims to represent the true history of the allied bombing the a. F. P. As i said earlier is the largest Opposition Group in parliament should the world be a long arm that a party with this much power is pushing an alternative a competing narrative with the truth i think the world should always be sensitive and aware when Something Like this is happening and its happening Different Countries all over europe the interesting ideas how this is sites a country of the perpetrators the stealing the the snow and these are indeed interesting moments they are indeed free kaufman is always right we appreciate your insights thank you thanks for having me. Well it is known that as many as 25000 people died in the bombing of dresden those who survived were left traumatized d. W. New spoke with one survivor about his memories of those horrible days. When aaron steers comes to the new marks Public Square and sees the restored church of our lady or fallen cure here he is reminded of the dresden bombings 75 years ago. Here. And everything was destroyed and this was where most of the people were killed in the fire storm then on the next day even taste and falling kisha collapsed yes the square was reduced to rubble. On the evening of february 13th 1945 over the span of just 15 minutes the allied forces dropped bombs containing 900 tons of explosives on dresden during the next 2 days 3 more attack waves followed after that the baroque old town lay in ruins at the time and tears was 9 years old when the bombs were dropped on dresden he and his parents he had in a bomb shelter in the cellar of their house seen here in the former you hungry organ alley. And. After the 1st attack we left the apartment while everything was burning i can still see it before my eyes the flames creeping over the rooftops of neighboring houses. And thats what it looked like afterwards that was my parents apartment was on the top of the thats what the ruins looked like you can see the facade was still in good shape but inside the building everything was burned out and thats what the whole wonderful street looked like. Ants here shanties parents were lucky they were able to flee the city as many as 25000 people died during the air raids many of them suffocated during the firestorms. In my eyes this was a war crime many things happened on all sides but this was an act of destruction directed at the civilian population. And steere started working as a camera man in the 1950 s. His nickname was the eye of dresden he documented the reconstruction of the destroyed city and has been collecting photos and videos of dresden dating back to the 19th century for his film archives. Documentary film can be brutally honest if you do not read it or change the footage and i never did this then for me it is the most impressive historical witness. Today the rebuilt cityscape of dresden betrays few signs of the destruction that took place here 75 years ago. The most wonderful thing of all is that the dresden for our own care here has been restored that is really the biggest miracle and after the destruction i experienced in my childhood and youth i never hoped or expected this to happen i hope it will stay this way forever. The dresden from one cure here is where aarons tears was baptized before the war today he sees it as a symbol of peace. This is terror that the president is again trying to manipulate federal Law Enforcement to serve his political interests. In the United States majority leader nancy pelosi she has once again accused the president drunk of you heard abuse of power now that is an Impeachable Offense and it raises once again the possibility of impeachment this comes after trumps comments on his former advisor roger stone criticized u. S. Prosecutors who recommended a prison sentence of up to 9 years for stone stone was convicted for a lying to Congress Just hours later the department of justice changed its recommendation to a much more lenient term for u. S. Prosecutors working on the stone case resigned in protest calling the president s intervention a 5 alarm fire for u. S. Democracy nancy pelosi agree take a listen merican people must have confidence in their ancient system of impartial justice and with the job of the floor of career prosecutors the case but an action on their part in my speech can end it at the actions of the justice Department Justice department has. Should had this are at something so a political fell above the political fray that people have confidence in the whole country are there was this supposed to be there to talk about this im joined now by Sam Braverman he is a criminal defense attorney he joins me from new york city so it was good to have you on the show you heard nancy pelosi they are saying that the department of justice should have this aura of impartiality about it after what weve seen this week do you see do you still since that or. One of the problems of course in all of this is that the rule of law begins with a president it has to be respected by the people who rule and anything that out of their credibility of the Court Systems undermines the entire rule of law i guess it was caesar probably said 2000 years ago how divisions has the pope you know the fact is that most politicians are bullies and most rule of law is about something more grand than that and what truck has done has really been a black eye for the rule of law the u. S. Prosecutors who resigned this week they say that this is a 5 alarm fire for u. S. Democracy thats thats thats quite a statement to make do you agree. Well i absolutely agree that when the president interferes in a 3rd branch of government here he has it attorney general who is a partisan the attorney general represents the president s interests but that he is still a party and as we say equal justice under law means that both parties appear on equal footing if one party now has such a substantial unfair advantage over another party that has not equal justice and what the scales of balance been tipped and where the president puts his thumb on one of the scales he has an incredible power to alter the entire political system it is a terrible event that what hes done here is it a bit of a massacre nixon im not sure its that bad because it is still one case but it is a dramatically bad move you are Vice President of the Bar Association as the association of attorneys there in the bronx in new york what are you hearing about the impact of the president s intervention in a federal court case what kind of impact has that had or is it having. Well i think in a small county its 1700000 people who rocks i think in a small county like rocks where they are worried about the imposition of power on court people i think that this is an example of it im not sure that this interferes with their day to day lives you know a lot of people across are trying to make economic ends meet but it is still an example of when the executive decides to do something everybody around him shutters because what he cant do with a shrug of the shoulders has enormous effects of the attorney general interferes in a particular case the perception is that all cases and those could include people whose sons and daughters the brocks have been arrested or charged that their system of justice is grossly unfair because it doesnt get the president ial seal and that fundamentally all cultures this is not justice for everybody but the way fortunately i was the president of the bar oh your president the bar oh i stand corrected theyre both the president s good good to know that this shrugging of the shoulders that you that you mentioned. We know that the 4 u. S. Prosecutors who resigned they certainly didnt shrug their shoulders i mean they were just outraged by what had happened but should we be seeing more outreach especially among your your colleagues about what has happened in washington. So you know i think the people who are paying attention been outraged for years and i think you know when you talk about the rule of law so the rule of law joy its 800 at her saree of the magna carta one of the seminal moments in the rule of law where the codified powers of the people matched in some small way the power of the solver and that was you know just about 8 years ago so where are we now have we accomplished anything you know the rule of law on the run in every country in the world you see the rise of fascism everywhere you look in every country in europe theres a fascist party by whatever name theres theres brutal dictators in every part of the world its always been a balance of power between the sort of the owens and this is just another day in that war as an endless war and people who are paying attention should be terrified you know as think that the greatest part of the president has is to make war and to appoint judges and really that is his greatest strength when he appoints judges who dont respect the rule of law you get an opportunity for the president to it balance the system this is a terrible events but its a continuum it is a series of events where the president believes hes above the law his famous and its i could shoot anybody get away with i cant be impeached for abuse of power and have you know why should he care because hes rigged the jury system and so the jury system said no crime theres no evidence were no grudge or no evidence surfaces no i think its a terrible thing i just dont want these prosecutors resign because every single day they depend on their credibility when they stand before a judge on the stand before a jury theyre telling the judge trust me i am not going to lie about anything else really undermine their credibility in watching these abysmal side of the u. S. You know i have to wonder what what what are the trickle down effects of what were seeing in washington i mean just as you say its only as impartial as those who practice and deliver it so you know in a small town for example where you have a judge is making important decisions about the fates of peoples lives could you could he be more willing to put his thumb on the scales. Absolutely and then of course that it goes at every single state and every place so i dont know that the president himself affects the small town but the idea that the president could affect the justice and the cases that he likes with impunity or with immunity either one that had cause to another judge at another level what the president can do what i can do and then it goes down to the next it what the middle judge can do it and i can do it then the small town where it dramatically effects a person you know whether its the town court order liberty or its a town zoning board or their home or their business if nobody thinks that that system is fair then why have the rule of law it defaults to the rule of the stronger and that thats an er. Yeah a sobering assessment there Sam Braverman tonight joining us from new york sam we appreciate your time in your insights tonight thank you. Michael. Go do your due go to our goals all right the day is almost done and the conversation continues online you find us on twitter either d. W. News you can follow me at bring golf t. V. Dont forget to use the hash tag the day every member whatever happens between now and then tomorrow is another day well see that it could. Be. To the point sean opinions clear positions of international perspectives. Germany is not known for disruptive politics but a Regional Election has set off a political earthquake that is shaking the Christian Democratic Party to its foundations could be a hefty destroy a man whose legacy find out on to the point. To disappoint the tickets damaged the text of the t. W. Earth. That changed the last. Hour or 2 part documentary about the river murray because music charts in john. His songs like i dont go away stay with us from sun block the sound of franco the time for me to find a good spot to dylan. Beethoven is for me. Beethoven is for you. As for hell. Beethoven is for her. Beethoven is for the. Beethoven is for cause. Beethoven is for the above beethoven 2020 for 250th anniversary here on d. W. Whats wrong with germany in a country not known for disruptive politics original election has set off a political earthquake that is shaking uncle americas Christian Democratic Party to its foundations the crisis erupted when the partys local branch in the eastern german state of the rich voted side by side with the far right and you have tea party to anoint a political outsider as a state premier that broke a longstanding taboo on cooperation with right wing populist and provoked massive protest within and beyond the c. D. U