Washington, DC— Following a Capitol Hill summit earlier this month on the distressing rise in Nazi movements across the globe, a distinguished international panel from seven countries released a series of recommendations to identify and stop the resurgent movements.
America Without Nazism, the U.S. arm of World Without Nazism, organized the recommendations of officials from the U.S. Department of State, members of Congress, members of European parliaments, and other international leaders.
In a joint statement, the group called for the Helsinki Commission of the U.S. Congress to conduct a special hearing on the issue.
Noting the lack of attention paid to the matter, the statement calls for clear and immediate action, stating, “It was hoped and believed that never again would the world accept Nazi ideology, actions and policies. But now, there is clear evidence that the old ideology, tactics and hatreds are being revived, and the world must, this time, name and confront this awful reality at its inception, not when the only tool to defeat it is violence. Better we are too active, too concerned, too vigilant than we again stand silent and hope for the best.”
World Without Nazism and America Without Nazism have identified over 1,000 resurgent Nazi movements and organizations. In several nations, the Nazi movements officially registered political parties sanctioned by the government—for example, Golden Dawn in Greece, the Jobbik party in Hungary.
Others are active political movements outside government, like the National Christian Movement in Moldova. All share the common traits of ethnic, religious and national hatreds, intolerance of minorities, and resort to violence as a tool of political activity. Some, like Perkun Krust in Latvia, and the Society of Friends of the 20th Grenadier Division of the SS in Estonia, are not widely known outside their home countries. Some, like Great Russia, the Russian Movement against Illegal Immigration, or the Ukrainian Freedom Party, are the subject of intense political and public interest. Many receive quiet support and approval from mainstream political movements.
In addition to the group’s appeal to the Helsinki Commission, they offered a series of recommendations for those looking to take the next steps in combating the growing threat, including:
• The creation of a national political declaration identifying the problem of resurgent Nazism and committing to ending it;
• The creation of organizations to monitor and publicize Nazi activity;
• Statements by national and regional political organizations acknowledging the problem of resurgent Nazi movements and refusing to cooperate or participate in common political efforts or coalitions with them;
• Regular meetings, both national and international, of national political leaders and community based organizations to cooperate in anti-Nazi efforts.
The statement concluded with a call to continue the work of the summit, stating,
“World Without Nazism will continue its own efforts and work with all others committed to again confronting and ending resurgent Nazi movements.
We will continue to speak out and organize, in the name of our historical and contemporary obligations to democracy, decency, peace and cooperation. We will provide further details about the situation in Europe, the former Soviet Union, Baltic counties and elsewhere to the governments, parliaments and international organizations. We welcome all in that effort.”
World Without Nazism has active members in 33 countries.
Source: WWW Conference Final Statement
