Victory over fascism in Italy remembered

By New Worker
correspondent

Theo Russell speaking

Comrades from Greece, Italy, Spain and Britain came together at a meeting organised by the Communist Party (Italy)  last Saturday to remember the victory over fascism in Italy on 25^th April 1945, at London’s historic Marx Memorial Library in Clerkenwell Green.

Mikhail Monocholias, of the Greek communist KKE, said that in Greece the KKE had led the anti-fascist struggle, which became the greatest mass movement in the nation’s history. He recalled the many atrocities carried out by the Nazis, such as the extermination of the entire male population and the total destruction of the town of Kalavryta in which 700 civilians were executed.

He noted the recent rise of the fascist Golden Dawn in Greece, its links with the state’s forces of repression and criminal organisations, and said that neither the bourgeois state nor bourgeois anti-fascist groups could defeat fascism.

David Delgado, speaking on behalf of the Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE), said that in Spain the fight against Franco turned into a mass democratic movement that united the working class.

He pointed out that the fascists had never actually been defeated in Spain, but had changed their organisation names and tactics. As a result, the anti-fascist struggle in Spain is still continuing.

Alain Fissore, of the Communist Party (Italy), said that the victory over fascism could not be celebrated in the same way as bourgeois parties, but in the spirit of the resistance, which fought for a better Italy free from social and economic exploitation.

He said capitalism is moving factories and jobs to more convenient countries to do business, destroying jobs, whilst across Europe the working class is under attack from employers. “Today’s resistance means attacking such a capitalist agenda by reinforcing the idea of a much-needed control of the workplace by workers, defending our jobs and getting rid of bosses who exploit the workers.”

Theo Russell delivered greetings on behalf of the New Communist Party of Britain (NCP), praising the active and dedicated support of CPI members in Britain for anti-fascist and other actions.

He said that the victory over fascism in the Second World War, led by the Soviet Union, in which millions participated around the world, had paved the way for major advances for national liberation movements in the struggles against colonialism and imperialism, and led to the emergence of new socialist countries that supported and protected the sovereignty of small developing nations.

The common message was that whilst the struggle against fascism continues today, the only guarantee of total victory would be by destroying capitalism itself.