Packer on Dresden

George Packer's must-read Dresden article is sadly subscription only. It is also excellent, and addresses a theme I've often blogged about--places, and peoples, coming to terms with their history. In this case, architecture characterizes the coming-to-terms, or lack thereof, or something in between.

I found Dresden beautiful. It was actually mom who urged me to go, if only for the Old Masters' Gallery. An acquaintance in Geneva suggested I not bother, said the city was nothing but ruins. Which isn't true, wasn't even true in 1997, but in any case, even the ruins added to the beauty. You walking across that bridge to see the beauty of the city open itself up at an ever-changing angle. Much like Porto. But I digress.

We studied the fire-bombing of Dresden in grad school, in my Just War Theory class, and Packer's analysis only illuminates the issue. Proquest it, buy it, whatever--but do read it.