Neo-Nazi marches in Dresden and left-wing groups had been relatively weak for years. With the emergence of the "Dresden Nazifrei" alliance (Dresden without Nazis), the Nazi march was blocked from marching for the first time in 2010 by thousands of demonstrators, again in 2011 and prevented entirely in 2012. While part of East Germany, Dresden was in the so-called "valley of the clueless" ("Tal der Ahnungslosen"), with its citizens out of the reach of the Western radio and television that citizens elsewhere in the East were able to listen to illegally. Dresden continued to be different after the German reunification; while most states in
Dresden hub and manufacturing centre with 127 factories and major workshops and was designated by the German Military as a defensive strongpoint, with which to hinder the Soviet advance. Being the capital of the German state of Saxony, Dresden not only had garrisons but a whole "military borough", the "Albertstadt". This military complex, named after Saxon King Albert, was not specifically targeted in the bombing of Dresden, though it was within the expected area of destruction and was extensively damaged. During the final months of the Second World War, Dresden harboured some 600,000 refugees, with a total population of . Dresden