Let’s unite with renewed resistance against new types of fascism!
Speech Vilmos Hanti (Moscow, May 7, 2015)

Dear Antifascist Comrades,
On behalf of the 64 year old International Federation of Resistance Fighters (FIR), which operates in around 30 countries with more than 60 member-organizations, I greet you cordially and congratulate you all for the organization of this very important conference on the 70th anniversary of the victory over fascism.
The declaration of Nazi Germany’s unconditional capitulation entered into force on May 8, 1945 at 11 PM Central European Time (an due to time difference, in Moscow on May 9 at 1 AM).This is why we celebrate Victory Day commemorating the victory over European fascism on May 8 and 9. This day ended the horrors and opened the way to the democratic integration of Europe, which also had a favourable influence on further events in the world. Hence, it is not an accident that in 1985 May 9 was also declared Europe Day, the day when we also celebrate the European unity and peace.
Seventy years have passed since the great victory over fascism. We are delighted that few former resistance fighters are still among us; however, regrettably, as time goes by their personal presence ebbs and with it their experience and examples dissolve, having less and less impact in our world. The people of the former Soviet Union made the biggest sacrifices for this great antifascist victory, for which these nations will be eternally respected. Next to the antifascist coalition’s army, the armed and political partisan resistance units organized by the people themselves in many different countries was significant.
But we should also not forget about the heartland, about those women and children left at home who helped the soldiers on the fronts or the local partisans. On this great celebration – if I may – I would like to personally express the appreciation and gratitude of the International Federation of Resistance Fighters (FIR) to the former resistance fighters and to their descendants. I would like to ask them to be proud of their heroic deeds, and to continue working with their personal examples and show how this admirable human resistance shall never be forgotten, how it should serve as an example for the present.
Close to 70 different nations participated in the anti-Hitler alliance around the world, and more than 73 million soldiers and civilians died in this war. On the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe on behalf of FIR I bow my head with respect before the memories of the heroes and victims perished in the war.

My dear friends,
The neo-liberal economic policy and neo-conservative social-philosophy started to strengthen in the mid-seventies. The consequences of this can be felt today, when those favorable impacts of the emerged welfare states affecting a relatively wide group of population started significantly to become obsolete and so increasing the social inequality drastically, often to an unbearable scale.
We have to see, that the political changes that took place 25 years ago in the Eastern European countries and in the new states of the former Soviet Union did not entirely bring the hoped results. The developed democratic frameworks did not mean that the antifascist values would be automatically undertaken. Based on the inferior instincts of people, the previously dormant fascist thoughts were able to easily sprout again in a weak democracy suffering from immune deficiency; and in numerous countries they have already burgeoned. Wild capitalism set loose upon the Eastern European countries greatly strengthened the positions of the emerging new types of fascism. But the West is also facing similar problems like the East, where the financial crisis has significantly contributed to the strengthening of the far-right. The enervated organizations intended to protect people’s interests, the impoverishment, and the large scales of unemployment make people more vulnerable and exposed. The EU institutions became bureaucratic and alienated themselves from the people. They are not able to act with necessary efficiency against the significantly strengthened far-right.
A great Hungarian poet, Attila József once wrote that “Capital and Fascism are betrothed”. This means that capital and fascism are in an organic relationship with each other; their existence is predestined to strengthen each other.
Today the masses turned away significantly from the left forces. This weakness is taken advantage of by all those who are interested in the strengthening of social inequality, in accumulating their economic and social power and their capital income.
Political parties interested in creating a fairer society have also weakened. The social democratic type parties although accept the existence of capitalism, have the intentions to curb capitalism and its degenerations, however too often surrendered to the tendencies of deepening the social inequities. Moreover, the communist parties became in many places dogmatic, authoritarian and in their practical activities were in fact unable to present convincing and successful economic alternatives to capitalist models.
We are experiencing that the forces interested in the concentration of social and economic power can achieve serious successes with their anti-communist rhetoric. Many European governments however don’t close themselves away from the far right; they actually even cooperate with them and give allowances to them, while at the same time curbing the press and freedom of expression, discrediting the democratic rules, social achievements, and overall parliamentary democracy before the people. Especially in some of the successor states of the former Soviet Union and former socialist countries the ideology of communism, initially striving for justice and equality, was declared as the main culprit for all the wrong, the economic crises, and also put an equation mark between communism and fascism.
In my county, in Hungary, the government is executing more and more programs from the far-right script. It glorifies the Hungarian soldiers who have fought besides Hitler’s Germany, abolishes the names of the heroes of the Second World War in public places, prohibits street names such as Read Army and Liberation, and does not even say a word about the fact that Hungary was liberated 70 years ago from fascism. The counter-demonstration organized by FIR last year in Riga was simply not enough to prevent the commemoration, supported also by the Latvian authorities, which year by year glorifies those who collaborated with Hitler’s war criminal organization, the Waffen SS.
We find ourselves today in situations, were the “communists” are shamelessly blamed for the horrors of the Second World War, forgetting their decisive role in the antifascist coalition. Falsification of history is taking place everywhere: on the level of political parties, in schoolbooks, in public discourses. The heroism of the antifascist resistance fight, its historic past and excellent personalities appear less and less in public education and in public discourse, which reduces the possibilities of the present antifascist resistance fight in extraordinary scale. The names and statues of the former antifascist resistance heroes are removed from public places; in better cases there will be nothing, in worse cases they will be replaced by fascist, racist, and anti-Semitic personalities.
The Holocaust remembrances often take place in a vacuum without presenting the historical correlations. They only speak about the sufferings instead of using the opportunity to unveil the ideology of fascism that is innately prone to killing. They should remind about the inhumanity of the far-right that has already been seen in history. Usually they do not mention and show how the heroism of the antifascist resistance fighters and the antifascist alliance should be an example to follow. It is them who eliminated the horrors, liberated the concentration camps, demolished the ghettos, and brought peace to the world. Those groups mainly threatened by the far-right could be vanguards of the present new antifascist fight. However, they often feel that they would be better off if they cooperate with the far-right. Maybe they can get temporary successes but we should acknowledge that in the long run cooperation with the far-right will not bring any positive results for anybody. After all this, it is no wonder that many people find refuge in the syrupy populism of the new type fascist organizations.
Nowadays fascism is donning itself with new methods to gain ground. It shows itself differently in the Baltic States, in Ukraine, in Hungary, in Moldova or in France. But it also appears in a completely different form, namely terrorism, and uses the guise of Islam. The curbing of this is a challenge of a scale as large as the organization of the former anti-Hitler coalition was. Mankind stands before new challenges, which could be handled successfully only with the cooperation of forces respecting human values and human dignity.
Actions against fascism are particularly hampered by the fact that many democrats do not recognize the threat of neo-fascism and do not stand up against it. There are no comprehensive European and national programs with cogent efficacy that serve the strengthening of democracy and that of the antifascist and antiracist mentality. These are especially greatly needed in the public education systems. Many democrats consider freedom of speech more paramount than freedom of human dignity. Naturally, if we lock a wild animal in a cage it will remain a wild animal; it is with a long process of habituation, domestication and education that it can be somewhat tamed. The same way we should deal with fascist views which appear in the guise of exclusion, xenophobia, covert and unveiled racism compounded in many places by purblind extremeness with mixed ethnocentrism. The democratic communities should quarantine and isolate them, meanwhile we should pursue our persuading work against those professing these inhuman views, and to reach out to the younger ages and show them the perspective of a democratic life and way. We, the members of FIR jointly say that representation of fascism is not an opinion but a felony, a crime against mankind. The various states should protect their citizens from the unconfined publicity of all kinds of anti-humanist, exclusionary, and rancorous ideas. We should not forget that actions follow words. War is the business of a narrow interest group; it does not serve the broader circle of the people’s and mankind’s interests. We antifascists reject war, we want peace! But it should be noted and we know very well from history that there are situations when we must act and not cringe.
The armed conflict in Ukraine already took a large number of human lives. The Ukrainian conflict has such an aspect which offers a fertile soil for spreading of far right, nationalist, neo-nazi thoughts and the handling of it means a challenge from the point of view of the democratic development of the country. We call upon the sides to adhere to the agreements! Beside all this it should be acknowledged that a wide variety of people live in Ukraine with different cultural and other identity-like attachments. We represent the belief that, while preserving this diversity, the people of Ukraine should decide themselves, independent from national oligarchs and outside interference, what they would like in the future.
My dear friends,
FIR calls upon joint actions on the 70th anniversary of the victory over fascism. We turn to the better half of the world. Let’s unite with new resistance fight against the new types of fascism. The task for all of us and for all responsibly thinking people out there  be it right or left oriented, believer or non-believer  is to fight against the strengthening of new types of fascism for more equitable and solidary world, where certain people will not be excluded from mainstream society because of their skin color being different, or they come from different cultures, have a different sexual identity, or even because they are poor.
70 years ago the anti-Hitler antifascist coalition proved that people of different world views can join together and cooperate. We antifascists wait and urge the different societies, especially the big powers to act substantively against neo-fascism; doing it so in the spirit of the former alliance. They should not seek to evade each other, in the process of which they often use the far-right for their own aims. Let antifascism be such a minimum in their relationship that overwrites every conflict of interest. Representation of antifascism could be the common goal on the base of which their interest in peaceful relations may be found. Today, while walking on very thin ice, we must realize the need for cooperation against neo-fascism.
The millions of former resistance fighters sacrificed their lives seven decades ago not for us to helplessly and idly watch the strengthening of present fascism.

As Secretary-General of the International Federation of Resistance Fighters – Association of Anti-fascists, I am pleased and proud that this great project of European youth meeting could take place again under the common slogan of historical commemoration.
It is an impressive activity connected with the 70th anniversary of liberation from fascism and war, which is in many countries celebrated as “Day of Victory Day”, to commemorate the common European history of the Anti-Hitler-Coalition. First of all there were the forces of the Allies – here in Auschwitz, the units of the Soviet army – who have reached the military defeat of the fascist Wehrmacht and its collaborators. For this we have to thank the Allies.
But in all European countries and also in Italy and Germany have been women and men, they organized the resistance fight against fascism in power and thus they made their own contributions for the liberation. They, too, deserve our great thanks.
It is up to us – the representatives of the today’s generations – with this common activity to take over from the last survivors of the eyewitness’s generation the responsibility for the preservation of memory. We – and especially you as later generations – should take this knowledge, what you have kept in preparation for this trip and appropriated today, not just for yourselves, but pass it to your friends, acquaintances or in school.
Auschwitz is the international symbol of racist extermination policy, directed against Jewish people, against Sinti and Roma, against the Slav nations which were regarded as subhuman being. These prisoners here in Auschwitz were killed by gas and other mass destruction, but also murdered by the plundering of their labor for profit, for example for the IG Farben group.
All this we must not forget, if we want to prevent such things ever again.
But we cannot just remember. We have to realize also that today neo-fascism, racism, xenophobia, nationalism and right-wing populism in several European countries raise its head again. Many of you know from our own countries such neo-fascist groups and movements. Even in the European Parliament, these forces are represented.
The causes of the revival are different. There are real political and economic problems in numerous European countries, to this such groups give racist, nationalist and extreme right answers. When we realize this, we must look for solutions together, fighting the real causes of these problems, and not follow the wrong answers and pied pipers.
For us, the solution is currently: Fascism is not an opinion but a crime!
Today we are commemorating here in the Memorial Auschwitz. Tomorrow you will return to your everyday life – with the knowledge and experience that you have collected at this great meeting. Take this enforcement with you and be active yourselves at home, in your social circle for the goals of a just, a social, a democratic world.
All survivors of the concentration camps promised 70 years ago, only to be quiet when the last culprit stands before the judges of the people. “The extermination of Nazism with its roots is our slogan, creating a new world of peace and freedom is our goal!”
The survivors of the Nazi concentration camps and prisons will no longer be able to realize this goal. Now it’s up to you, dear young fellows, to take over the legacy and work on it.
We, and I speak on behalf of about 60 member federations of the FIR from 25 European countries, Israel and Latin America, we count on you.

The great event, the international youth meetings “Train of Thousand” is in its final stage of preparation. Born in the joint responsibility of the “Institut des Vétérans”, the Belgian Auschwitz Foundation and the FIR will be – under the auspices of Philippe, King of the Belgians – in May 2015 again around 1000 young people from different European countries and Israel together for the occasion in the memorial Auschwitz. Up to now there are registrations from Belgium, Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Other interested participants are expected from Russia, Bulgaria, Denmark, Israel and Spain. Not all participants will arrive by train from Brussels to Krakow, particularly from the eastern and south-eastern countries, the participants will come directly to Poland. On Tuesday, May 5, 2015, therefore, about 700 teenagers of Belgium and nearly 200 young people from other countries will start from Belgium with the train to Poland. In Poland, there will be an intensive program with guided tours of the memorial, talking with time-witnesses, commemorations, encounters between young people and impressions of present-day Poland. The return trip takes place on the evening of May 9, so that the participants will be on May 10, 2015. in their home countries. We are very glad that this year, the European Union is supporting this project with a large sum of money. Thus, it is possible to enable young people, especially from Southern European countries travel to Brussels for the common start of the memorial ride. Although there will be held simultaneously official events in different European countries leading representatives of the FIR take part in this “Train of Thousand” and the official ceremony in memorial Auschwitz, at least a Vice-President, the General Secretary and other members of the Executive Committee. At the memorial service on May 8, 2015, the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz is expected to come.

The U.N. Third Committee met in New York on November 26th and approved several texts to be taken up by the General Assembly before Christmas. Among others, the Committee passed a proposal on a global call for concrete action for the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The recommendation express the U.N. deep concerns about the glorification of the Nazi movement, neo-fascism, neo-nazism and former members of the Waffen SS organizations. Warnings include the erection of monuments and memorials and the holding of public demonstrations for the glorification of the nazi-fascist past and the Nazi movement. Moreover, it underlines the anxiety about recurring attempts to desecrate or demolish monuments erected in remembrance of those who fought against Nazism during the Second World War, as well as to unlawfully exhume or remove the remains of such persons.
Although the text of the proposal looks perfectly in line with the apprehensions already expressed by several International Antifascist Organizations, on the increase in the number of racist incidents and the resurgence of racist and xenophobic violence targeting persons belonging to national, ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities, the draft resolution was approved by only 121 countries, with 55 abstentions.
During the discussions, Israel’s representative recalled that his people had always been the victims of racism, but despite an urgent need to tackle racism, certain countries had politicized the issue. Hence, his delegation had no choice but voting against the draft resolution.
The representative of Italy, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said no region was racism-free and regretted that the text remained too focused on meetings, reports and negotiations rather than taking concrete actions, thus calling EU countries to abstain.
Both declarations leave a bad taste, considering that Nazism and neo-fascism shall be a major concern for all countries worldwide and, even more, for an international institution such as the European Union, whose roots have to be found in the Resistance war against Nazi fascism. The international antifascist community is astonished and deeply regrets the choice of all UE Member States to abstain during the vote of this proposal. It is a clear lack of courage, and an outrage to the People who suffered and gave their lives to fight against Nazi fascism.
The European Union’s Governments shall now explain why they have all decided to abstain on a Proposal that called to adopt further measures to provide specific training for the police and other law enforcement bodies on the ideologies of extremist political parties and movements; a compulsory solution to strengthen their capacity to address racist and xenophobic crimes. Likewise, as the Proposal calls to enhance investments in education – to counter the negative influence of extremist political parties, movements and groups – it is hard to understand why these measures should not be enforced in a Europe so deeply stricken by a moral and economic crisis.
It is a lost occasion for Europe, and a very bad start for a brand new European Union, already weakened by the score obtained by extreme right parties at the last May elections.

On the occasion of the 100^th anniversary of the beginning of the WWI on August 1, 1914 and the 75^th anniversary of the aggression of Hitler’s Germany on Poland on September 1, 1939, the beginning of WWII, the International Federation of Resistance Fighters (FIR) – Association of Anti-fascists, the umbrella association of organizations of former resistance fighters, partisans, members of the anti-Hitler coalition, persecuted by the Nazi regime and anti-fascists of today’s generations from twenty-five countries in Europe and Israel calls peace movements, political groups and governments for common activities for a new international policy of peace.

The wars of 1914-18 and 1939-45 were the results neither of „Sleepwalkers“ nor of a „coalition of totalitarian regimes”, but a proof for the fight for imperialist interests, for might and influence in Europe and the world. After the liberation from fascism 1945 the Anti-Hitler-Coalition tried in the decisions of the Potsdam conference and by creating the United Nations to rebuild the international relations and to ban the war out of the life of the peoples. We remind to the fact that forty years ago by political activities of peoples and states in the CSCE – process it has been successful to eliminate the danger of war in Europe.

Since the war against Yugoslavia and the civil war in Ukraine we can see that the danger of war is a reality in current Europe. Although one can hear other words than 1914 or 1939, but the only stakes are also today the penetration of interests of power, regions of influence and – growing up – the dominance and reserves for raw material. For that the military alliance NATO claims for itself a global room for activities – ostensibly for “defence of Western values”, while injuries of human rights, even mass murders are evaluated under the aspects of interests in raw material. Also the right of self-determination of peoples is ignored thereby.

As a “peace-messenger” – appointed by the United Nations – we call the UN, the international organizations and social forces to support initiatives for a new international policy of peace. This includes the recognition of the right of existence of all states and the enforcement of an equitable world economic order. Also the states of the European Union could make their contribution in addition if they reject the militarization of the foreign policy.

In this sense we call peace forces, parties, trade unions and critics of the globalisation, to be active in actions, in voting’s and explanations for a new international policy of peace. The FIR calls its member federations to take part in such initiatives with their historical experiences.

The International Federation of resistance Fighters (FIR) – Association of Antifascists calls the actual government of Ukraine to stop the civil war against the own people in eastern Ukraine immediately. The reports on the military activities – even against civilians – and the announcement of President Poroschenko to take revenge against all “separatists” make it clear that any opposition against the current government should be fought with intensive violence.
Those crimes against the own people are possible because the government of the U.S. and the European Union, which decided in may 2014 every minute a new sanction against Russia, because this country was blamed to support the separatists, now are in a death-mans situation and tolerate in fact these massacres. Should OSCE have a political significance in Europa then it must be proved now and OSCE must do its best to finish the war.
Peace in Ukraine is only possible, if the political and military influence of open fascists and ultra-nationalist forces e.g. the “right sector” or the party “Svoboda” can be stopped. These groups are contrary in their statements and their activities to the values and the basics of a democratic Europe. It cannot be and it is not acceptable, that such groups are in responsible positions of the new Ukraine government. As long as fascists in Kiev are sitting on seats of power no European government should be allowed to give support to the current government in Ukraine.
We call the members of the newly elected European Parliament to draw “red line” on this political issue. Otherwise, the tolerance of fascists could become a model for other European countries.

Die Internationale Föderation der Widerstandskämpfer (FIR) – Bund der Antifaschisten fordert von den gegenwärtig in der Ukraine Regierenden, den Bürgerkrieg gegen die eigene Bevölkerung in der Ostukraine sofort einzustellen. Die Berichte über die militärischen Aktionen – auch gegen Zivilisten – und die Ankündigung von Präsident Poroschenko, Rache gegenüber den „Separatisten“ zu nehmen, machen deutlich, dass jeglicher Protest gegen die aktuelle Regierung mit großer Gewalt bekämpft werden soll.
Dieses Verbrechen gegen die eigene Bevölkerung ist möglich, da sich die Regierungen der USA und der EU, die noch im Mai Sanktionen im „Minutentakt“ gegen Russland verkündet haben, weil dieses Land angeblich die Separatisten gefördert habe, nun in Tatenlosigkeit verharren und damit die Massaker faktisch tolerieren. Sollte die OSZE eine politische Bedeutung in Europa haben, dann muss sie diese jetzt in der Ukraine unter Beweis stellen und zu einem Ende des Krieges beitragen.
Frieden in der Ukraine ist nur möglich, wenn der politische und militärische Einfluss der offen faschistischen und extrem nationalistischen Kräfte des „Rechten Sektors“ und der Partei „Svoboda“ begrenzt wird. Diese Gruppen widersprechen in ihren Aussagen und ihren Taten allen Grundlagen eines demokratischen Europas. Es kann und darf nicht toleriert werden, dass solche Gruppen in verantwortlichen Positionen der neuen ukrainischen Regierung eingebunden sind. Solange Faschisten in Kiew an Schaltstellen der Macht sitzen, darf es seitens der europäischen Regierungen keine Unterstützung der gegenwärtigen Regierung in der Ukraine geben.
Wir rufen die Abgeordneten des neu gewählten Europäischen Parlaments auf, in dieser Frage einen klaren Trennungsstrich zu ziehen. Anderenfalls könnte die Toleranz gegenüber Faschisten zum Vorbild für andere europäische Staaten werden.The International Federation of resistance Fighters (FIR) – Association of Antifascists calls the actual government of Ukraine to stop the civil war against the own people in eastern Ukraine immediately. The reports on the military activities – even against civilians – and the announcement of President Poroschenko to take revenge against all “separatists” make it clear that any opposition against the current government should be fought with intensive violence.
Those crimes against the own people are possible because the government of the U.S. and the European Union, which decided in may 2014 every minute a new sanction against Russia, because this country was blamed to support the separatists, now are in a death-mans situation and tolerate in fact these massacres. Should OSCE have a political significance in Europa then it must be proved now and OSCE must do its best to finish the war.
Peace in Ukraine is only possible, if the political and military influence of open fascists and ultra-nationalist forces e.g. the “right sector” or the party “Svoboda” can be stopped. These groups are contrary in their statements and their activities to the values and the basics of a democratic Europe. It cannot be and it is not acceptable, that such groups are in responsible positions of the new Ukraine government. As long as fascists in Kiev are sitting on seats of power no European government should be allowed to give support to the current government in Ukraine.
We call the members of the newly elected European Parliament to draw “red line” on this political issue. Otherwise, the tolerance of fascists could become a model for other European countries.

The election for the European Parliament has shown nationally very different results, which must be especially evaluated by the respective member associations of the FIR and the social forces in the countries concerned. But nevertheless also generalized statements can be made:

1 The different election results in the participating European countries have a common problem: the low turnout. Even in countries where voting is compulsory did not participate in the election of a large number of voters. The lowest turnout has been registreted in Slovenia with less than 20%. The overall result is that the “party of non-voters” has become the real election winner.

This shows that many people have seen no political future for themselves in elections to the European Parliament. Perhaps because they saw no way to be able to take a real impact on the political situation in Europe, perhaps because they have no overall expectations of Europe. Here it is clear that the current policy of the European Union does not meet the needs of the majority of citizens in the member countries.

2 Dramatic are the results of the extreme right and right-wing populist parties in many European countries. In the UK UKIP reached 27.5%, in Denmark the DF 26.6%, in France the National Front 25% and in Austria the FPÖ 19.5% of the votes. These are not “exceptions”, but the visible signs of the political development of extrem right parties. And there are openly fascist and violent Nazi organizations represented in the European Parliament, Jobbik from Hungary (14.7%), from Sweden “Sweden Democrats” (9.7%), from Greece the “Golden Dawn” (9.4%), from Belgium Flaams Belang (4.2%) and from Germany for the first time NPD (1%). This shows that racist ideology, nationalist responses to the crisis experiences and their militant enforcement can actually mobilize a large number of voters.
This also applies in cases where extreme right-wing groups in relation to the last European elections or the recent national elections could no longer reach the previous number of votes. Both Wilders PVV and the Flaams Belang in Belgium lost recognizable voices.

3 The consequences: First, the existing right fractions will in the future occur with greater voting power and second there will be a fraction (with all funds and political influence) which openly advocates right-wing populist and neo-fascist positions. Unlike 2007, this fraction likely to continue indefinitely, because the participants are less guided by nationalist ideology, but of political power interests.

4 Despite all the drama on the extreme right, we can highlight positive that anti-fascist, left-oriented and democratic organizations got more influence – documented by the number of votes – in different countries. This includes the result of “SYRIZA” in Greece, the results of the various parties of the “indignados” in Spain and the Socialist Party in the Netherlands. As a result, the fractions with which the FIR has worked confidently in the past (PSE and GUE-NGL) has been strengthened, which may be a hopeful sign for us.

5 For FIR, the election results have the consequence that we must strenghen our work together with those forces in the European Parliament they are accessible for anti-fascist themes. The support for our call was a good start. It is our responsibility and the task of our member federations to use the possibilities of the results.