This month marks the 75th anniversary of the turning point of the Second World War – the Battle of Stalingrad. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Canada salutes this historic victory over Hitler fascism by the Soviet Red Army, a victory which was won at such great cost to the people of the Soviet Union. Their heroic sacrifices blocked the threat of fascism in Europe and on a global scale.
The victory at Stalingrad was followed by the relentless military advances of the Red Army and the allies of the Soviet Union towards Berlin, culminating in the defeat of Nazi Germany in May 1945. The socialist USSR played the key role in this victory, becoming a beacon for all peoples struggling for peace, freedom, democracy, and social justice. In a very real way, the victory at Stalingrad opened the way for smashing the imperialist colonial system, and for the working class to win major economic, political and social advances over the next several decades. This included the establishment of the community of socialist states, which was the bulwark of the international working class for over four decades.
As we pay tribute to the Red Army, and to the peoples of the USSR and their political leadership, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, we also draw attention to the grave new fascist menace which has emerged in many countries. The bitter anti-communist hatred fanned by the ruling classes of the imperialist states has been a major factor in the process of giving modern-day fascism a cover for its vicious ideology of racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, male patriarchy, homophobia, transphobia and other forms of hatred. Just as in the 1930s ‘40s, fascism today serves as a tool of the capitalist class to divide and weaken the working class struggle for peace, democracy, equality and social progress. The Communist Party of Canada, side by side with all communist and workers’ Parties around the world, takes this occasion to state that our fight to defeat the new fascist danger will be stepped up. No Pasaran – the fascists shall not pass!
Special resolution of the Central Committee, Communist Party of Canada, Feb 11th, 2018