Anniversary of the Defeat of Nazi Fascism in World War II
We Salute All Those Who Fought in the Anti-Fascist War to Secure Peace, Freedom and Democracy
On
May 9, 1945, Nazi Germany surrendered to the Soviet Red Army in
Berlin.
This historic event is recognized throughout the world with the
photograph of the flag of the Soviet Red Army flying over the
Reichstag, the German Parliament. To this day, that flag is
recognized
as the Victory Banner,
celebrated in Russia and the former Soviet Republics and many
countries
in the world in recognition of the great sacrifices made by the
anti-fascist forces, and the Red Army in particular which went
all the
way to Berlin to make sure the Nazis were unconditionally
defeated.
Nevertheless, the end of the war is celebrated on May 8 in Canada, the U.S. and Western Europe, with claims the Nazis had already surrendered to them prior to May 9, although the fighting was not yet over. On the basis of the intrigues they organized at that time, the ruling elites in those countries choose not to recall the massive sacrifice of the peoples of the world, led by the then Soviet Union, to defeat Nazi fascism in World War II. They go so far as to cut out the Soviet Union altogether and declare that they won the war. Today, they spew venom at the very mention of the name Russia to the extent that the parades of the Immortal Regiment organized by the descendants of those who gave their lives during World War II have been made illegal in some countries and cannot take place in others because the security of the Russians resident in those countries is not protected.
March of the Immortal
Regiment, Montreal, May 9, 2019.
Despite this and the attempts of the U.S./NATO countries to isolate Russia, more than 120 countries have approved the organizers' applications to hold the event, Co-Chairman of the Central Headquarters of Russia's Immortal Regiment Public Movement Sergey Makarov informed. Some others, like Toronto Canada, will not be holding an Immortal Regiment Day as has been the past practice, out of concern for the safety of participants, Makarov said. The United States prohibited an Immortal Regiment march and a flower-laying ceremony at the Spirit of the Elbe memorial, while the Irish authorities also revoked permission to hold the march this year.
The Immortal Regiment march is a citizen-inspired annual public event that has been held in Russia on Victory Day on May 9 since 2012, when the first event took place in the city of Tomsk. The 2019 march, the last before the COVID-19 pandemic -- the event went online in 2020 and 2021 -- involved over ten million people in 3,700 cities and towns across Russia and thousands in many other countries. The idea to hold parades in recognition of the sacrifice of the anti-fascist fighters was born in the Russian Siberian city of Tyumen in 2007 when the march was called the Victors' Parade. In 2012, another Siberian city, Tomsk, took up the torch renaming the rally 'Immortal Regiment.' The next year, about 120 cities joined in. A year later, in 500 cities in seven countries, people carried portraits of their relatives who had fought during World War II, Since 2015, the 'Immortal Regiment' march has officially become a nationwide and international event.
Moscow, May 9, 2019.
On this occasion, the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) salutes all Canadians who contributed to the victory against fascism. It salutes the peoples of Europe, Asia, Africa and the entire world who contributed to this historic victory. CPC(M-L) pays deepest respects to the memory of all those from the occupied countries who fought and died as a result of the Nazi onslaught and thanks the resistance fighters who worked as one to defeat the fascist occupier. Most importantly, CPC(M-L) recognizes and salutes the courage and sacrifice of the peoples of the Soviet Union under the leadership of J.V. Stalin. The peoples that made up Soviet Russia and the Soviet Republics rose as one and broke the back of the Nazi war machine at tremendous cost. All of them fought for peace, freedom and democracy so that humanity would never again know the scourge of fascism and war.
Canada, joined by then-British colony Newfoundland, played its part by sending 1.1 million troops to fight in the war, including more than 130,000 Quebeckers. They distinguished themselves in many battles and campaigns, particularly in the Normandy landings, the Italian campaign and the liberation of the Netherlands.
Today, this anniversary is held under conditions of the U.S./NATO eastward expansion as they attempt to isolate and crush Russia and turn the tables on the verdicts written in the blood of the peoples during World War II. The campaign of lies, disinformation and warmongering about the causes and solutions to the crisis in Ukraine seeks to demonize anything Russian. The U.S. and NATO countries -- including Canada which plays a dirty role in resuscitating World War II Nazi-collaborators -- think that by making false parallels comparing Russian President Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler, they will get the peoples to forget the sacrifices the peoples of the former Soviet Union made to defeat the Nazis. Endless U.S. propaganda mocks the victory parades of the Immortal Regiment organized every May 9 throughout Russia and the world saying that Putin hopes to celebrate a victory in Ukraine on that occasion and that he is staging the parades accordingly. In fact, the parades to salute the Immortal Regiment -- all those who gave their lives to defeat the Nazis -- are organized by ordinary people in different cities where Russians reside, not the Russian state. They include participation by veterans from all the Allied countries and their descendants.
March of the Immortal
Regiment, Odessa, Ukraine, May 9, 2019.
All over Europe, the U.S., Canada and other countries, the voice of the peoples has been silenced by the U.S./NATO propaganda machine but the peoples are nonetheless striving for peace, freedom and democracy. Even as humankind unites to defend itself in the face of the threats issued every day by the U.S./NATO leaders, it also faces heinous attempts to arouse animosity towards Russia, as well as China, that go so far as to deny the Soviet Union's role in the anti-fascist war.
The U.S. imperialists and their unscrupulous adjuncts have now launched new rounds of sanctions against Russia while they continue sanctions against Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and others, and the occupation of Palestine and deprivation and imprisonment of its people. They are actively engaging in provocations and outright acts of war. Their rendering of what was at stake in World War II is an Anglo-American chauvinist and anti-communist attempt to promote the anachronistic liberal democratic institutions as the pinnacle of human freedom, even as they show their utter contempt for the well-being of the people and their mission to use the state to silence them and take them to war.
The 77th anniversary of the magnificent victory over the Nazis is an occasion to relaunch an impassioned defence of the cause of peace, freedom and democracy in today's conditions by opposing U.S./NATO expansion to Russia's borders and into the sea routes which threatens the security of the countries of the Asia-Pacific and in other parts of the world.
Paris, France, May 8, 2019.
Today more than ever, it is necessary to oppose wars of aggression and occupation and the use of force to resolve conflicts between nations, so that the dangers of another world war and other calamities that threaten humanity in the most profound ways can be stemmed and prevented. The role Canada is playing internationally as a henchman for U.S. imperialist interests and its active participation in the U.S./NATO war machine is unacceptable.
Let us dismantle the U.S.-led warmongering alliances NATO and NORAD, demand that all troops on foreign soil return home, and end the wars of aggression and occupation, coups d'état to achieve regime change, provocations and imperialist sanctions, which are criminal acts of war and violations of human rights.
On May 8, which is May 9 in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union, we pay homage to the memory of all those who fought to defeat fascism by working to make Canada a zone for peace, opposing Canada's political and economic integration into the U.S. war machine, and opposing the use of force to resolve conflicts between nations and within nations.
This article was published in
Volume 52
Number 4 - May 8, 2022
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2022/Articles/MS52041.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca