Today we celebrate the 77th. anniversary of the Victory over Nazi-fascism. On May 9, 1945, Nazi Germany declared its defeat in Berlin, before the Red Army and representatives of the Allies. World War II would end months later, with the defeat of Japanese militarism in early September.

World War II, which lasted from 1939 to 1945, was the result of the heightening of the contradictions between the imperialist powers and, simultaneously, of their aim to destroy the USSR, expressed, namely, in the support and connivance of the United Kingdom, France and the United States of America with the rearmament and expansionist ambition of Nazi Germany.

World War II is inseparable from the deep crisis into which capitalism plunged in 1929 and, in that context, of the rise of fascism, which the large economic and financial groups saw as an instrument to further their policy of exploitation, oppression and domination.

Nazi-fascism was the most violent and criminal form of domination generated by capitalism, with its anti-communism, its xenophobia, its attack on freedoms and democratic rights, its apology of violence, militarism and war.

Nazi-fascism was responsible for the horror of the concentration camps, the systematic massacre of populations, slave labour, for boundless and cruel sufferings and deprivations, for the most devastating war imposed on Humanity.

For such barbarism never to happen, it is essential not to conceal it and make us forget the origin and class character of Nazi-fascism, as well as its heinous crimes.

But to celebrate the May 9, Victory Day, is chiefly to pay tribute to the millions of men, women and young people, who heroically resisted and fought, giving their lives, if necessary, to free their countries from Nazi-fascist barbarism.

Without underestimating the role of the coalition of allied countries that was formed during the course of the war, it is fair to stress the decisive contribution of the USSR, the Soviet people and their Red Army, which – at the cost of more than 20 million dead and huge sacrifices – determined the course of the war and made it possible to free Humanity from Nazi-fascism.

As it is essential to highlight the contribution of the anti-fascist resistance – in which the communists, with the workers' movement, assumed a fundamental role – in which thousands gave their lives for the cause of freedom.

The attempts of those who today seek to belittle, misrepresent and deny the role of the Soviet Union and of the communists in the victory over Nazi-fascism, which under new cloaks seek to rehabilitate fascism and who through anti-communism hide the most reactionary conceptions and the most reactionary and anti-democratic projects, should deserve a firm denunciation and rejection by democrats.

The Victory over Nazi-fascism is a feat of extraordinary dimension and historical scope. With the advance of the forces of peace and social progress, of socialism, of the workers' movement in capitalist countries, of the national liberation movement, the process of emancipation of workers and peoples accomplished, throughout the world, historical achievements, which profoundly marked the 20th. century and which, despite the huge setback experienced 30 years ago, continue to have repercussions today.

The celebration of the Victory over Nazi-fascism assumes, in the current international moment, a particular meaning and an added importance, namely in view of the serious escalation of political, economic and military confrontation into which imperialism wants to drag all of Humanity.

In view of the dramatic worsening of the war in Ukraine, following a path of interference, violence and confrontation, the 2014 coup d'état promoted by the US, which established a xenophobic and warmongering power, and the recent military intervention by Russia, the US, with their NATO and EU allies, instead of committing themselves, as all parties involved in the conflict should, to an urgent negotiated and political solution, are promoting a dangerous escalation of war that holds serious risks for the peoples of Europe and from all over the world.

The PCP reaffirms the urgency of initiatives that contribute to a process of dialogue with a view to the political solution of the conflict in Ukraine, the response to collective security problems in Europe, compliance with the principles of the United Nations Charter and the Helsinki Final Act. The struggle for disarmament, and in the first place for nuclear disarmament, for the dissolution of military blocs, for cooperation and friendship among all the peoples of the world is an imperative of the present time.

To celebrate the 77th. anniversary of the Victory over Nazi-fascism is to act so that a new war of such tragic proportions never happens. It is to give more strength to the struggle for peace.