Black Ribbon DayEC calls for the rejection of “extremism, nationalism, xenophobia and hatred”
Today, 23 August, is celebrated in Europe as the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism. It is also called Black Ribbon Day. It commemorates the signing the neutrality pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union – a pact which led, a week later, to the joint invasion and division of Poland by the two powers — the opening move of the Second World War. “Extremism, nationalism, xenophobia and hatred can still be heard in public speech in Europe,” the European Commission said earlier today. “Keeping these memories alive is not only a tribute to the victims but also a way to ensure that these ideologies can be forcefully rejected and such atrocities never happen again.”
Today, 23 August, is celebrated in Europe as the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism. It is also called Black Ribbon Day. It commemorates the signing the neutrality pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union – a pact which led, a week later, to the joint invasion and division of Poland by the two powers.
The invasion of Poland was the opening move of the Second World War.
The 23 August deal is also known as the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop.
Tens of millions of people were deported, tortured, and killed by the Nazi and Soviet regimes.
The pact lasted until June 1941, when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union.
The European Commission issued the following statement earlier today:
Today, 23 August, we mark the Europe-wide Day of Remembrance for the victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. We remember the victims of these regimes and we restate our rejection of the ideologies they were built on.
On 23 August 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which marked the beginning of one of the darkest periods in the recent history of our continent. Totalitarian regimes across Europe restricted people’s freedoms; violated their rights and made millions of ordinary citizens victims of their ideology.
We must remember past horrors to give us the knowledge and strength to reject those who seek to revive these ideologies. The European Union was built on the common values of human dignity, fundamental rights, rule of law and democracy, and on the rejection of extreme nationalism. We must never take these rights and freedoms for granted. We pledge to fight for them every day.
Extremism, nationalism, xenophobia and hatred can still be heard in public speech in Europe. Keeping these memories alive is not only a tribute to the victims but also a way to ensure that these ideologies can be forcefully rejected and such atrocities never happen again.
We stand firm in our defense of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, in Europe and worldwide. There is no place in the European Union for extremism, intolerance and oppression.
