This “remembrance” is being forced mostly due to the neo-Nazis marching in that city and lying about the death toll (saying that up to 240,000 or more died).
It can be argued that area bombing was ineffective and expensive. It was employed because low-altitude bombers could only get through at night, when precision bombing was not possible. The most effective bombing campaign was the USAAF’s precision daylight attacks on Germany’s transportation and oil infrastructure.