Remembrance
Against War

Russia has been waging an all-out war of aggression against Ukraine for over two years. Unfortunately, the Second World War and its commemoration are often instrumentalized to justify the aggression against Ukraine or to demand a passive stance of Germany in this conflict.

Russia is trying to establish a link between the USSR’s “Great Patriotic War” against the Third Reich and its ongoing invasion of Ukraine by falsely presenting its actions as “denazification”. Some German politicians, on the other hand, emphasize Germany’s historical responsibility towards Russia in order to demand that Ukraine be denied support.

We would like to point out that Ukraine suffered at least as much as Russia during the Second World War and that the argument is therefore inconclusive. It is important for us to emphasize that Ukraine needs the full support of its allies in order to live up to the central lesson of the Second World War and Nazi Germany’s brutal attack on the Soviet Union: the rejection of any war of aggression whose sole aim is the territorial expansion of the aggressor.

May 9, which marks the end of the Second World War in Russia, is an important day for Putin supporters both in Russia and worldwide. On this day, Russian propaganda will again be particularly active, as will self-organized right-wing groups, which have already undertaken several motorcades through Berlin and other German cities in recent years.

For this reason, we, representatives of non-governmental organizations with a connection to Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe experts and anti-war activists continue to stand together to oppose the use of the memory of the Second World War for the goals of Russia’s illegal and criminal invasion of Ukraine.

On this website you will find our manifesto – 2022 and 2023 – and our appeal, a list of commemorative and anti-war events for May 8/9, 2024, as well as a collection of information to familiarize yourself with the topic.