Dresden's Past Is Not Just a Footnote

clipped from www.spiegel.de Decimated by Allied bombs, Dresden has often had a difficult relationship with its World War II past. Architect Daniel Libeskind, whose modern remodelling of the German military museum in Dresden is currently under construction, spoke with SPIEGEL ONLINE about the city's ongoing efforts to rebuild, the temptations of nostalgia and why architects need to be optimists. clipped from www.spiegel.de Daniel Libeskind's redesign of the German military museum in Dresden gives the old building a new facade. The triangle points in the direction from which Allied bombers came in the Feb. 13, 1945 decimation of the city. clipped from www.spiegel.de The design includes a new feature on the front of the building. "It is something like a lantern, a signal, a beacon that evokes the city itself," clipped from www.spiegel.de Construction is already well underway. clipped from www.spiegel.de The new viewing platform provides a panoramic view of the city of Dresden. Libeskind is critical of the city's nostalgia for its pre-World War II history. clipped from www.spiegel.de clipped from www.spiegel.de The destruction of Dresden's city center February 1945 clipped from www.spiegel.de Frauenkirche