On May 9, 1945, with the capitulation of Nazi Germany and the end of the fascist axis, the fascist machine that butchered the peoples has been defeated. The red flag with the hammer and sickle had been raised in the German Reichstag already since April 1945.
The WFTU salutes and honors the anniversary of the great anti-fascist victory of the peoples, with the capitulation of Nazi Germany on May 9, 1945, and pays tribute to the millions of victims of Nazi and fascist atrocities.
It especially honors the memory of the fighters everywhere who gave their lives on the battlefields, in the concentration camps, and in every form of anti-fascist action.
9 May is the symbol of the great victory over Fascism and Nazism which in the times of the II World War seemed impossible to many.
The defeat of fascism was accompanied by a new air of hope and optimism for a better world, without wars and disasters, without racial or other discrimination, free of exploitation and social injustice, and without colonialism and national oppression.
It changed the global correlation of forces in favor of workers and peoples and has boosted national liberation movements and decolonization and the struggle against colonialism. But first of all, it proved that only the organized people can really put an end to Fascism and the system that gives birth to it. Peoples united can achieve victories that seem impossible.
Today, the importance of this Victory is more topical than ever. In a period when the capitalists and their governments, the USA and the EU are trying to falsify history and erase the colossal contribution of the peoples, of the Soviet Union, of the partisan movements in the victory over fascism, our task is even more urgent. Peoples’ enemies did not even hesitate to characterize May 9 as “Europe Day” in order to change the true content of this date.
Today, in a time period in which neo-fascism and the extreme right is on the rise, under the tolerance or even the energetic support of the capitalist states, it is a duty of the class union movement not to let memory be erased, not to let historical truth be forgotten. The class unions must inform, spread the truth to the new generation of trade unionists.
The WFTU salutes the anniversary of this epopee by reaffirming its commitment to the defense of world peace, the rights of peoples, especially the working class, to the socialist perspective.
Long live May 9, 1945, the day of the victory of the peoples against Nazism and fascism!
