A memorial service was held in the German city of Dresden on Friday, marking the 70th anniversary of a bombing campaign that left around 25,000 people dead.
Speaking at the Church Our Lady, which was destroyed during the British and US bombing raids, German President Joachim Gauck said the attack had "burned itself into the memory" of survivors and that Germany needed to learn lessons from the past.
"We are fully aware of who started that murderous war,” said Mr Gauck. “Though we are remembering the German victims here today, we will never forget the victims of Germany's belligerence."
With thousands of people in attendance, including city officials and religious leaders, Mr Gauck also warned against revision of the past.
"A country that perpetrated the monstrosity of genocide could not expect to emerge with impunity and undamaged from the war that it had started," he said.