Proposal to Create International Anti-Fascist Committee Put Forward at Congress in Minsk

The IV Anti-Fascist Congress continued its work in Minsk on 26 June, bringing together representatives from around forty countries. The main focus of the forum was strengthening international security, protecting historical truth, and countering the spread of fascist and Nazi ideas in the modern world.

In his address to the participants, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko emphasized that the truthful history of the Great Victory remains the most important counterargument against the policy of Western European revanchism."June 1941 changed the course of history. It was here, on the territory of occupied Belarus, that crimes were committed on a scale the world had never seen before," the President noted. He stressed that today, as heirs of the victors, Belarus and its allies are fighting to preserve the memory of the heroes and millions of innocent victims, uncovering previously unknown mass graves and bringing to light new facts about Nazi punishers who escaped justice.

The congress is taking place in the year marking the 85th anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Participants laid flowers at the Eternal Flame at the Victory Monument in Minsk as a tribute to those who defended the Motherland.

Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin stated that the Great Victory must not only be remembered, but there should be no doubt that it happened and that the Soviet people accomplished a great feat. He described attempts by Western countries to rewrite history as nothing less than the revival of modern Nazism.

State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Alexander Volfovich noted that many European leaders appear to have forgotten the tragic consequences that fascism brought 85 years ago. He stressed that Belarus has consistently opposed the spread of fascism and worked to preserve historical memory.

During the war, Belarus paid an extremely high price for Victory. Every third Belarusian was killed. On the territory of the republic, the Nazis operated more than 260 death factories. On 26 June, congress participants visited the Trostenets memorial complex to honor the memory of hundreds of thousands of civilians and prisoners of war killed there.

New data continues to emerge as part of the criminal investigation into the genocide of the Belarusian people. According to Valery Tolkachev, head of a department at the Prosecutor General’s Office of Belarus, it has now been established that at least 12,868 settlements in Belarus were completely or partially destroyed along with their inhabitants. Of these, 290 settlements suffered the same fate as Khatyn — 104 more than previously known."We continue to work on identifying additional settlements," he said.

Participants of the congress stressed that humanity is once again being tested on how well it has learned the lessons of the past. They expressed concern over the growth of nationalist and neo-Nazi sentiments in several countries, particularly in Ukraine and parts of Europe, where monuments are being demolished and history is being rewritten.

Russian political scientist Andrei Manoilo pointed out that new models of national socialism, very similar to German Nazism, are emerging in Ukraine. He warned that the ideas of fascism have not been fully eradicated and are being revived on Ukrainian soil and beyond.

International participants also highlighted the importance of preserving historical truth and uniting progressive forces. Imtiaz Ahmad, Deputy Chairman of the British Labour Party’s Workers’ Party, stressed the need to educate young people with accurate history to prevent the glorification of war.

A central idea voiced at this year’s congress was that the fight against neo-Nazism cannot be waged alone. Just as during the Great Patriotic War victory over fascism required unity of all progressive forces, today a coordinated international effort is essential.

During the forum, a proposal was put forward to create an International Anti-Fascist Committee — a structure that would coordinate efforts to combat neo-Nazism worldwide.