Today, 9th of May, marks the 80th anniversary of the triumphant victory of the Soviet people over German fascism. The Connolly Youth Movement celebrates this day as a monument to the resilience and determination of the international working class to rid Europe of fascism.
The victory over fascism won by the Soviet people could not have been achieved without the superior system of socialism. We honour the 20,000,000 soldiers and people estimated to have fallen in the struggle. We reject the attempts of the modern day ruling class of Europe to erase or downplay the key role played by the Soviet people in freeing Europe from fascist rule, and we re-assert that it is only the force of a united working class, under the banner of socialism, which can defeat fascism.
The legacy of fascism still haunts Europe to this day. At this time, we must remember the destruction and bloodshed caused by the fascist regimes of the 20th century. We also must remember that fascism is only a specific expression of capitalist rule. According to Georgi Dimitrov, it is “the open terrorist dictatorship of the most reactionary, most chauvinistic and most imperialist elements of finance capital”.
Fascism represents capitalist rule necessitated by the ruling class when the system is in decay. The fascist movements in the 20th century found their base in a Europe destroyed by the First World War, where industrial capitalists needed to expand and hence further exploit the proletariat. Therefore, the system of bourgeois democracy was not suitable for their increased exploitation of the proletariat at the time.
As long as the capitalist system prevails, fascism will continue to take root within our societies. Even today, ultra-right-wing nationalism and fascist rhetoric are taking hold across Europe and even in Ireland. There has been an increase in imported ethno-nationalist propaganda and talking points, which have been pushed in working-class communities as of late by agitators. It is our task as the working youth of Ireland to combat the rising reactionary sentiment amongst our class and to energetically struggle against the presence of fascist agitators within our communities.
We oppose the strategy of alliance with bourgeois forces, in the form of the “popular front” as a vehicle to defeat fascism. The acceptance of reformism and unification with bourgeois forces by communist leaders will only lead to a further alienation of the working class from our ranks and further distrust. Only from standing on its own, united against all capitalist tyranny, can the working class be victorious against the forces of fascism.
Within our schools, universities and workplaces, we must struggle against the root of fascist ideology taking hold. We must be equipped for the defeat of fascism in the ideological and political sphere. We must oppose all divisions of our class on lines of race, gender or nationality, and provide a genuine socialist education to the youth.
The task of anti-fascism remains as the task of the class-conscious working people, to struggle against the wave of reaction and rise in fascist rhetoric and fight for the establishment of socialism. Only then can fascist power truly be destroyed. 80 years since the defeat of fascism: never again!