Statement from the CC of the Workers Party Youth (Ireland) 9 May 2025
On 8 May 1945, Nazi Germany announced their unconditional surrender to allied forces, marking the end of World War II in Europe. Years before the Red Army would storm Berlin, the rise of the Nazi party would be facilitated by capitalists both domestic and foreign. Many of which continue operations in Germany today. The result being numerous crimes against ethnic and religious minorities and attempts to bring all of Europe under its control. Nazi aggression would go on to destroy entire towns, villages and cities. Particularly on the Eastern front, where nearly 6 million Poles and 27 million Soviet soldiers and citizens were killed. In Warsaw, 85% of all buildings were demolished by Nazi bombs and hundreds more villages and towns were destroyed elsewhere.
80 years later, the imperialist plans of the various monopoly groups once again threaten to engulf the whole world in a new conflict. The companies who benefited from the Nazis rise to power, either through the use of forced labour from concentration camps or in other ways, continue to influence the course of Germany’s imperialist plans. Lufthansa, BMW, Siemens, Allianz and others, are all responsible for supporting and collaborating with the Nazi party during the holocaust and many profited directly from it. Few of these companies have ever been held accountable for the role they played in Nazi crimes. Today, the German bourgeoisie continues to be one of the most staunch supporters of the genocide of Palestinians. Support for Israel is framed by the German state as having developed out of a deep reflection on Germany’s dark past. In reality it is only a transformation of the form of their imperialist plans.
Today, we remember those who gave their lives in the fight against fascism. The bourgeoisie of the European Union continue to downplay the decisive role which the Red Army played in the victory over Nazi Germany, while in Russia this history is twisted by the bourgeoisie to rally support for their own imperialist plans. The Red Army was not just defending the ‘homeland’ from fascism, but the first socialist state as well. They did not desire a share of the spoils of war but were defending the working class from Nazi occupation. Their sacrifice must never be forgotten. We also honour the resistance groups and the members of the KPD who gave their lives, many of whom were the first victims of Nazi aggression. Anti-fascism cannot be restrained to the terrain of capitalism, which results in preference being given to one form of capitalist rule over another. We fight for the social liberation of the working class, which necessitates the overthrow of capitalism, the system which gives rise to fascism.