On Distorting the History of the Second World War in Education
Written by Fourth European Communist Meeting on Education. Brussels
The Fourth European Communist Meeting education was held in Brussels on February 5th. This year the meeting engaged with the distortion of the history of the Second World War in the process of education. The meeting was organised by the Communist Party of Greece and took place in the building of the European Parliament. Twenty-five representatives from European Communist and workers parties participated in the meeting. During the meeting the participants presented facts from school and academic books about the falsification of the Second World War history; they unveiled the goals of this campaign and referred to their experiences from their action against the ideological manipulation of the youth.
There are contributions from specific parties such as CP Greece, Communist Workers' Party of Russia, CP of Malta, German CP, Workers' Party of Belgium, CP of Slovakia, and CP of Britain.
The meeting issued the following joint statement:
We, the undersigned parties, condemn the fierce anticommunist campaign that is under way throughout Europe. Imperialist organisations such as the EU, NATO, as well as OSCE, the Council of Europe and almost all of the European bourgeois governments have launched and escalate an anticommunist campaign of lies and slander with the strategic goal being to contaminate workers and people’s consciousness with blatant anticommunism.
Their objective is to erase the unprecedented contribution of socialism in the 20th century and assert the alleged permanence of the capitalist system. In conditions of capitalist crisis anticommunism is the spearhead for the promotion of the most severe offensive against workers. This offensive by the EU, the bourgeois class and the governments that support them (liberal and social-democrat) aims to ensure maximum profitability for capital. They promote anticommunism as regards all historical events distorting the socialist and even the national democratic revolutions, the class struggle and historical development. They aim especially at young people so they may not learn the historical truth and adopt the antisocialist propaganda.
The falsification of History – and especially the history of the USSR - has but one purpose: impeding European workers and peoples merely to conceive the possibility and necessity to overthrow the unbearable capitalist system and replace it by socialism.
One of the central targets of this ideological and political attack is the distortion of World War II history. An attempt is made to identify openly socialism-communism with fascism without any historical basis when it is clear that Nazism and Fascism are based on an ideology of hatred and xenophobia, while communism and socialism are based on an ideology of solidarity and social justice. The two are distinct and opposite ideologies. Particular efforts are made to distort the causes of World War II declaring the 23rd of August as a day of anticommunist remembrance. The attempt to violate historical truth continues through the conscious depreciation of the indispensable role of the USSR in the great Anti-fascist Victory and in the post-war developments. The anti-socialist propaganda and the recent events on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Demolition of the Berlin Wall fall into line with the same reactionary direction of falsification of the historical truth.
The historical truth cannot be erased. The contribution of socialism to the defeat of fascism, to the people’s rights, to the confidence for the future and to people’s achievements in the socialist countries is indisputable. We must also underline the impact of these achievements in favour of the working class in the capitalist countries forcing the capitalists to make concessions towards the struggle of the peoples. Despite any weaknesses and problems, the achievements of socialism are today a pipe dream for the people when capitalism cannot and is not going to solve the problems that afflict people.
We will support with all our strength the struggle to defend and highlight the historical and scientific truth at schools, institutions and universities. We demand the eradication of anti-communism from the school-books and academic teaching. It is necessary that the young generations should be taught and learn the historical truth about World War II, the laws of nature and human society. In particular, they should learn Darwin’s theory of evolution and the Marxist theory of class structure, class struggle and of the analysis of capitalism as an economical system. The role of Communist and Workers’ Parties as well as of the Communist Youth Organizations in this issue is vital as regards the work in wide masses, in particular of young workers and students. To this effort may contribute not only the enlightening but also the scientific work of scientists, educators, academic and social personalities. The working class and the poor popular strata can fight for a society without exploitation, for socialism.
We strongly condemn the persecution and banning of Communist Parties and Communist Youth Organizations; we express our full solidarity with all the victims of anticommunist attacks and of the witch hunt. It becomes evident what the “democracy” of the EU, capital and the multinationals means. It has class content, it is democracy for the few and exploitation and oppression for the many.
1. Workers' Party of Belgium
2. Communist Party of Britain
3. New Communist Party of Britain
4. Party of the Bulgarian Communists
5. Socialist Workers' Party of Croatia
6. AKEL-Cyprus
7. Communist Party of Bohemia Moravia
8. Communist Party in Denmark
9. Communist Party of Denmark
10. Communist Party of Estonia
11. German Communist Party (DKP)
12. Communist Party of Greece
13. The Workers' Party of Ireland
14. Socialist Party of Latvia
15. Socialist Party of Lithuania
16. Communist Party of Luxembourg
17. Communist Party of Malta
18. New Communist Party of the Netherlands
19. Communist Party of Poland
20. Portuguese Communist Party
21. Communist Party of Russian Federation
22. Communist Workers' Party of Russia - Revolutionary Party of Communists
23. Communist Party of Slovakia
24. Union of Communists of Ukraine
As a guest: Pole de Renaissance Communiste en France
The statement is open for further endorsements
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