The FIR welcomes the various activities of the German peace movement and the peace forces in other countries on these Easter holidays. As United Nations “Ambassadors of Peace”, the FIR and its member federations have been working for decades to overcome the East-West conflict, to achieve comprehensive disarmament and to eliminate the causes of war. However, we are currently experiencing that the action of the peace movement is more necessary than ever:

For months, the political debate in the NATO countries has demanded that all countries should raise their arms budget to the extreme sum of 2% of gross domestic product. In many cases, this means a doubling of the costs of preparing for war. In addition, the transfer of further military units to the eastern areas of NATO is announced, which is clearly directed against Russia.
The FIR calls on all states to join the peacekeepers’ demand for “disarmament rather than rearmament”. We see an important positive signal in Russian President Putin’s announcement that Russia will lowering the armaments budget in real terms.

The international situation is currently increasingly strained by the speculative claims of the British government in the case of Skripal. Without real evidence, the Russian government is accused of attempting to kill. Dangerous gestures and the expulsion of Russian diplomats from numerous NATO-affiliated states are severely straining international relations. The political response of the Russian government is used as a pretext for further escalation by the NATO countries.
The FIR calls on all governments to return to the path of normal diplomacy, to engage in serious dialogues, and to avoid escalation within European communications.

In particular, the peace movement calls for its Easter actions to end immediately the illegal military operation of the Turkish government in the north of Syria, contrary to international law. It is not acceptable that a reactionary regime under the guise of NATO approval wages war on foreign territories, breaking the sovereignty of the Syrian state, against those who succeed the fight against the common enemy of the peoples, the so-called “IS-Islamic State”. If the international community sees it as a task to combat the threat of reactionary IS-associations, then the states must also take a clear position against the Turkish military action against the Yezidi people in Afrin.
The FIR calls the Turkish government to stop the war on Syrian territory and the international community to stop supporting politically such military aggression.

In this sense, the actions of the peace movement in these days and weeks are more urgent than ever.

Demonstrations and other events in several European countries, March 17, 2018

The UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was inaugurated in 1966 to commemorate the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, which saw 69 anti-apartheid protestors killed and 178 wounded for taking to the streets against the regime’s racist pass laws. In commemorating the massacre, the UN General Assembly called on all world states and organizations to participate in a program of action to combat racism and racial discrimination.

That is why anti-racist initiatives and member federations of FIR organized this year in several countries activities in the streets. Because today we are facing a massive rise in racism across the globe. Migrants and refugees are being scapegoated for the effects of austerity. The whipping up of anti-Muslim hysteria in the press has led to a dramatic rise in islamophobic attacks with visible Muslim women the primary target. Trump’s Muslim ban, his racist ‘wall’ project and equivocation over white supremacist and fascist marches have led to a climate of racism and fear across the US. Meanwhile in Europe, the rise of the Freedom Party in Austria, Front National in France, AfD in Germany, Jobbik in Hungary, the “Freedom and Direct democracy party” the DSSS party in Czech Republic and the recent nationalist demonstration in Poland are signs of a resurgence of the far right which requires a serious and coordinated effort to turn back. Racist hostility encouraged by right wing politicians and media towards Refugees and Roma is often turning into violence. Islamophobia and Antisemitism are on the rise across the continent.

The initiative “uprise against racism” formulated the slogan:

No to racist scapegoating of Minorities! No to Antisemitism and Islamophobia! Refugees Welcome!

Demonstrations and other activities took place in London, Glasgow, Cardiff, Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Prague and Vienna. In Poland United Against Racism (Zjednoczeni Przeciw Rasizmowi) organized manifestations in Warsaw, Wrocław, Tricity (Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot), Stationary demos and pickets: Szczecin, Kraków, Toruń, Elbląg, Lublin, Opole, Poznań, Katowice, Radom Olsztyn. In Greece, United Movement Against Racism and Fascism (Keerfa) marched in Athens, Thessaloníki, Patras, Herakleio, Chania, Giannena, Volos and Xanthi. In Germany too events in 25 cities took place.

These days we have to remember the political and military occupation of Austria by the German Wehrmacht on March 12, 1938. After resign of Bundeskanzler Schuschnigg, he was a right wing politician, forced by Austrian Nazi-groups one could see swastika-banners in several Austrian cities and the German Wehrmacht crossed the border.

The “Anschluss” marked the final of the “First Republic” and a sovereign Austrian state.

It is fact that a majority of the Austrian people welcomed – from different reasons – this development. And it is also well known that a lot of Austrian fascists in the ranks of the German Wehrmacht, the SS, SA and Gestapo were responsible for horrible crimes – war crimes and crimes against humanity until genocide.

But we as FIR remember also those people they tried to resist against this occupation regime. The first declaration came from the Central committee of the KPÖ (Austrian communist party) from Prague exile, because of the political persecution by the Schuschnigg-government. They declared:

“People of Austria! Defend yourself, resist the foreign invaders and their agents. Come together, Catholics and Socialists, Workers and Peasants! Join, now and for all, to the front of all Austrians. All differences of world view, all party differences step back before the holy task, which is put today to the Austrian people! Stand together against Hitler, stand together to chase Hitler’s Soldateska out of Austria again!

People of Austria! Defend yourself! Make the slogan to action: red-white-red until the death! With its own strength and through the help of the World Front of Peace, a free, independent Austria will be resurrected.”

To remember this date it is necessary to face the tasks of today against the right wing political development in Austria too. The antifascist organization “KZ-Verband” declared on the occasion of this anniversary:

“Facing the background of recent exposures about right-wing extremist fraternities in Austria, the fight for democracy, peace and freedom in Austria and the world appears as the collective responsibility of all those for whom “Never forget!” is more than a cheap slogan in election campaigns.”

FIR supports all these political attempts to stop the uprising of extreme right political forces not only in Austria.

In all from German fascism and its allies occupied countries, resistance fight is well known. Also in fascist Germany one can find resistance groups they sacrificed their life for freedom and peace. One of the most popular groups is the clandestine student group “White Rose” at the Munich University.

The members of the group came together because of a common tradition in the “Bündische Jugend” on initiative of a circle of friends around Sophie and Hans Scholl and Alexander Schmorell from June 1942 in Munich. Most of them had a Christian and humanistic conviction.

The group wrote, printed and distributed on various clandestine distribution routes six leaflets – in varying, rising trend of last up to 9000 copies. The members distributed the leaflets first in the Munich region itself, later on couriers in some other cities of the German Empire. In these publications, they addressed the regime’s crimes and called for resistance to National Socialism.

In the final phase of its existence, the “White Rose” tried supported by Falk Harnack to expand its contacts with other resistance groups to the imperial capital of Berlin and system opposition to the Wehrmacht circles. After the end of the Battle of Stalingrad their members of “White Rose” also painted public facades in Munich with slogans against Hitler and Nazi rule in nightly actions.

At the end of February 1943, the group was smashed by uncovering, arrest of most of its members and finally the execution of their formative members after death sentences of the People’s Court under the chairmanship of Roland Freisler. The first trial started on February 21, 1943 against Sophie and Hans Scholl and Christoph Probst. All were executed next day. The last message of the executed was “Long life the freedom!” Later further trials followed until end of 1943.

The leaflets of the “White Rose” were so popular that the British Royal Airforce dropped also copies as propaganda-material when they attacked German towns with bombs.

The FIR commemorates this resistance group as a part of a wider German resistance movement – mainly based on the organizations of the workers movement, Communists, Socialists and Trade Unionists, but also including Christians and humanistic citizens, some conservatives too. They all have been part of the Anti-Hitler-Coalition. They represented the so-called “other Germany”.

[:en]On February 2, 2018 the International Federation of the Resistance fighters (FIR) – Association of Anti-fascists celebrates the 75^th anniversary of the Red Army’s victory of Stalingrad. The way to Stalingrad was signed by murdering, homicide, exploitation, suppression and destruction – done by German fascism and its allied. Coventry, Rotterdam, Warsaw and Belgrade are the symbols of the air terror, which carried the armed forces over the cities of Europe. Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Majdanek, Sobibor have themselves entrenched in the mind of mankind as ‘monuments’ of the Holocaust – a holocaust produced by Nazi ‘Superior Race’ theories against all peoples, regardless of colour and race.

The victory of Stalingrad stands against it for hope for liberation and the resistance against murderous German fascism.

This hope was paid with countless human lives. The Soviet side registered approximately one million victims among the civilian population and the fighters of the Red Army in this battle. We remind the dead ones and commemorate all of those, which used themselves with their life and their health for the liberation of its country from the fascist occupation and smashing the fascist beast.

This battle of Stalingrad was not only of military importance. It represented a historical turning point in the fight of the anti-Hitler coalition with the expansionistic requirement of German fascism:

• From a military-strategic point, this defeat of the German troops was a turning point, because hereby for the first time the advance was stopped and the “unconquerable” Wehrmacht had to accept a destroying defeat.
• For the development of the anti-Hitler coalition in this battle has been proven that the common efforts of all allied could defeat the murderous beast of fascism and its military apparatus. Red Army’s victory in Stalingrad and afterwards had strong signal effect for Great Britain and the USA to speed up the preparations for the opening of a second front. Stalingrad knows to be regarded therefore with joins and right as beginning of the end of the robbery and murder campaign of the Wehrmacht through half Europe.
• For the resistance movement in all occupied countries and in Germany the battle of Stalingrad was the symbol for the coming defeat of fascism. The women and men in the resistance drew from it strength, motivation and optimism for the continuation of their anti-fascist fight in the political clearing-up work and in the armed Resistance.

In this sense, FIR reminds the anniversary of victory of Stalingrad. We connect our thanks to the fighters with the promise to pass this memory on of the today’s generations. We cannot understand and accept that the today’s German government refuses to participate at the celebration in Volgograd this year.[:]

On February 2, 2018 the International Federation of the Resistance fighters (FIR) – Association of Anti-fascists celebrates the 75^th anniversary of the Red Army’s victory of Stalingrad. The way to Stalingrad was signed by murdering, homicide, exploitation, suppression and destruction – done by German fascism and its allied. Coventry, Rotterdam, Warsaw and Belgrade are the symbols of the air terror, which carried the armed forces over the cities of Europe. Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Majdanek, Sobibor have themselves entrenched in the mind of mankind as ‘monuments’ of the Holocaust – a holocaust produced by Nazi ‘Superior Race’ theories against all peoples, regardless of colour and race.

The victory of Stalingrad stands against it for hope for liberation and the resistance against murderous German fascism.

This hope was paid with countless human lives. The Soviet side registered approximately one million victims among the civilian population and the fighters of the Red Army in this battle. We remind the dead ones and commemorate all of those, which used themselves with their life and their health for the liberation of its country from the fascist occupation and smashing the fascist beast.

This battle of Stalingrad was not only of military importance. It represented a historical turning point in the fight of the anti-Hitler coalition with the expansionistic requirement of German fascism:

• From a military-strategic point, this defeat of the German troops was a turning point, because hereby for the first time the advance was stopped and the “unconquerable” Wehrmacht had to accept a destroying defeat.
• For the development of the anti-Hitler coalition in this battle has been proven that the common efforts of all allied could defeat the murderous beast of fascism and its military apparatus. Red Army’s victory in Stalingrad and afterwards had strong signal effect for Great Britain and the USA to speed up the preparations for the opening of a second front. Stalingrad knows to be regarded therefore with joins and right as beginning of the end of the robbery and murder campaign of the Wehrmacht through half Europe.
• For the resistance movement in all occupied countries and in Germany the battle of Stalingrad was the symbol for the coming defeat of fascism. The women and men in the resistance drew from it strength, motivation and optimism for the continuation of their anti-fascist fight in the political clearing-up work and in the armed Resistance.

In this sense, FIR reminds the anniversary of victory of Stalingrad. We connect our thanks to the fighters with the promise to pass this memory on of the today’s generations. We cannot understand and accept that the today’s German government refuses to participate at the celebration in Volgograd this year.