900 days – unforgettable

24. Januar 2014

 

The International Federation of Resistance Fighters (FIR ) – Association of antifascists sent to the inhabitants of the Hero City Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, and the veterans of the Soviet Army, best wishes on the occasion of the 70th Anniversary of the liberation of the city by breaking through the blockade on 27 Januar 1944.

The 900 days of blockade by the fascist armed forces brought untold suffering , death and destruction over the city. Nevertheless, people have fought in Leningrad almost three years heroically and – in that way – they resisted not only the fascist beast , but set also a visible sign for all the world that the ” invincible ” Wehrmacht reached its limits .

In the same time, the heroic deeds of the Soviet Army , organizing in the winter supplies for people across the frozen Baltic Sea and blowing up the blockade ring in January 1944 , are unforgettable.

We commemorate the more than one million victims of the blockade and honor the heroes who have sacrified their lives for the liberation from fascism .

 

(Deutsch) FIR Solidarität gegen terroristische Anschläge in Wolgograd

2. Januar 2014

Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch. For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in the alternative language. You may click the link to switch the active language.

Mit Entsetzen und tiefer Trauer haben wir die Nachricht von dem erneuten Bombenanschlag in Wolgograd, der ehemaligen Heldenstadt Stalingrad, zur Kenntnis genommen. Wie schon im Oktober diesen Jahres haben erneut feige Terroristen an einer belebten Stelle der Stadt eine Bombe gezündet, die nur ein Ziel hatte, zufällig anwesende Menschen zu töten oder zumindest schwer zu verletzen. Solche Anschläge sind durch nichts zu rechtfertigende menschenverachtende Gewalttaten.
Die Internationale Föderation der Widerstandskämpfer (FIR) – Bund der Antifaschisten drückt insbesondere den Opfern des Anschlages und ihren Familienangehörigen ihr Beileid aus.
Alle friedliebenden Kräfte Russlands sind aufgerufen, sich solchem Terror entgegenzustellen. Gleichzeitig sollte darauf geachtet werden, dass durch solche Gewalttaten keine öffentliche pauschale Stigmatisierung von Bevölkerungsgruppen zunimmt, wie sie sich vor einigen Wochen bei rassistischen Ausschreitungen in Moskau entladen hatte.

First report in Bulgarian news-paper

8. Oktober 2013

“Kameraden” – Der Generalsekretär begrüßt den ältesten Gast des Kongresses, einen 103-jährigen bulgarischen Antifaschisten.

Successful congress in Sofia

7. Oktober 2013

FIR held in early October in the Bulgarian capital Sofia its XVI annual Congress. 45 delegates from all parts of Europe , from Portugal to Russia, from Denmark to Greece made a bilance of the successful work of the past three years and decided about future activities. Successful congress in Sofia Read the rest of this entry »

XVI regular FIR – Congress in Sofia

28. September 2013

Invited by the Bulgarian antifascist Union we have the possibility to held our next regular congress of FIR in Sofia, the town of Georgii Dimitrov. In the last weeks all member federations received the written invitation for the FIR-congress from October 5/6, 2013 in Sofia. Since the XV regular congress in Berlin we could experience a number of important developments of the political work. Activities like the ceremony for the 60th anniversary, the international youth meeting in Auschwitz, the ceremony of the Michel-Vanderborght-Award and the opening of the exhibition “European resistance” underlined the importance of the work of FIR. The actual political tendencies of right-wing development f.e. in Hungary and the up-growing of extreme right-wing groups shows the necessity of a strong and authorized to act organization.

Agenda 

  1. Political report of the president and the executive committee

  2. Discussion about the work of the past years and planning of new projects

  3. Election of the leading committees

  4. Resolutions to political declaration and other request

Exhibition “European resistance movement” in the European Parliament

24. September 2013

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8 July 2013 opened in the foyer of the European Parliament, the joint exhibition of the Institut des Vétérans and the International Federation of Resistance Fighters (FIR) – Association of Anti-Fascists about the “European resistance movement against Nazism” on invitation of the Vice-President of the European Parliament Miguel Angel Martinez and in presence of numerous members of the European Parliament, of employees but also of guests from the international anti-fascist organizations. The exhibition includes 50 panels for all European countries at that time were they have been involved in the fight against Nazism: Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Great Britain, Soviet Union, Hungary, Albania, Yugoslavia, Greece, Bulgaria and Romania.IMGP0054

The exhibition lives through impressive images and reproduced documents that underscore the small explanatory texts. In the selection of illustrations, which have often been given by the national associations of resistance fighters and anti-fascists, such images were particularly chosen, they show men and women of the resistance movement, they were able to express national characteristics of the combat and general trends. So you can find photos of the Slovak National Uprising, the Copenhagen general strikes, the Yugoslav partisan armies or the leaflet of the Communist Party of 1938 “Against the Jewish pogroms,” one of the few examples of public protest against the anti-Semitic attacks in Germany. The exhibition of course does not exhaustive, but it shows that the resistance movement has taken place in all European countries in different shapes and taking into account national peculiarities. All texts are available in three languages ​​(English, French, Dutch).

FIR awarded Michel-Vanderborght Price

24. September 2013

 

On an impressive ceremony at the second weekend of July the International Federation of Resistance Fighters (FIR) – Association of Anti-Fascists awarded the Michel Vanderborght Price in the ballroom of the Belgian Parliament in Brussels to eight personalities and initiatives. This prize, named after the Belgian Partisans and last president of the FIR, should honor those, which have been in accordance with the ideals of the anti-fascist resistance engaged for the preservation of historical memory, the social and political interests of the survivors and for the continuation of the anti-fascist legacy distinguished by special engagement against old and new Nazis.

 

At the opening of the ceremony spoke André Flahaut, President of the Belgian Parliament. He praised the merits of Michel Vanderborght and stressed how important today is the common democratic and anti-fascist resistance against extreme right and populist movements in various European countries. He stressed that the memory of the resistance was not only a historic task, but a responsibility to future generations to preserve the ideals of democracy, freedom and humanism.

 

 

After a short address by the President of the FIR Vilmos Hanti, who explained the intention of the price once again, the awards were given to the honorees. It was a Belgian national institution that has made a special contribution to the teaching of history, a Bulgarian historian who has made against the political mainstream preserving the memory of the resistance to the task for many years, a German initiative, that organizes financial and moral support for former forced laborers, a Greek painter, expressing in his pictures the experience of the anti-fascist struggle, an Israeli partisan who campained especially for the memory of the Jewish fighters, an anti-fascist committed journalist from Italy and – as a political feature – the representatives of the 13th Municipality of Budapest, oppose engaged the right mainstream of Fidesz and Jobbik in Hungary. In his acceptance speech, the mayor of the district underlined this recognition of the FIR as important to its actual political work.

 

By the Michel Vanderborght price of FIR these initiatives and volunteers were given thanks and appreciation of the international anti-fascist movement. In which tradition the organization and its award winners stands, documented the Institute of Vétérans and the FIR, presenting to the guests in the framework programm some exhibition boards of the first comprehensive exhibition about the anti-fascist resistance movement in Europe, which has been opened for the first time at the next day in the premises of the European Parliament.

 

 

75 Years International Brigades in Spain

1. Januar 2012

We wish all comrades, friends and combatants a good and peaceful New Year 2012.

Nous souhaitons à tous les camarades, amis et alliés une bonne et paisible nouvelle année 2012.

Wir wünschen allen Kameradinnen und Kameraden, Freunden und Mitstreitern ein gutes und friedliches Jahr 2012.

Vilmos Hanti (President)
Dr. Ulrich Schneider (General secretary)

Einladung zur Präsentation:

17. März 2011

“Landkarte der Lager und anderer Nazi-Haftstätten”

In Kooperation mit dem Institut des Vétérans – Institut National des Invalides de Guerre, Anciens Combattants et Victimes de Guerre, Bruxelles, laden wir herzlich zur Vorstellung einer bislang einmaligen Publikation, die gemeinsam vom Institut des Vétérans (Brüssel) und der Internationalen Föderation der Widerstandskämpfer (FIR, Berlin) herausgegeben wird, ein, der “Landkarte der Lager und anderer Nazi-Haftstätten”.

In mehrjähriger Forschungsarbeit und mit Unterstützung des belgischen Nationalen Geographischen Instituts entstand eine Landkarte von Belgien bis zur belorussischen Grenze, von Dänemark bis nach Österreich, auf der weit über 2000 Lager und faschistische Haftorte verortet sind.

Hierin sind verzeichnet die Konzentrations- und Vernichtungslager mit ihren Außenlagern, die Lager für Kriegsgefangene (Stalags und Oflags), die Einrichtungen der rassistischen Deportationen, Euthanasie-Mordstätten, Arbeitserziehungslager sowie große Einrichtungen der Zwangsarbeit in Deutschland. Eine solch umfangreiche Auflistung existierte bislang nicht.

Diese Karte soll den Medien und einem interessierten Publikum vorgestellt werden:

am Freitag, den 01. April 2011

17.00 – 18.30 Uhr

in den Räumen der Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung,
Franz-Mehring-Platz 1, 10243 Berlin

– Eintritt frei –

In der Veranstaltung werden Vertreter des Institut des Vétérans und der Internationalen Föderation der Widerstandskämpfer (FIR) das Projekt vorstellen und die wissenschaftliche und pädagogische Bedeutung dieser Veröffentlichung erläutern.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Dr. Ulrich Schneider,
Generalsekretär der FIR

Obituary Michel Vanderborght

12. September 2010

(1925 – 2010)

With deep mourning we must report the death of the president of the international federation of the resistance fighters (FIR) – federation of the anti-fascists, Michel Vanderborght. On 12 September 2010 he died at the age of 85 years.

Already as a young man he joined the resistance and fought himself actively in the partisan army in the region Leuven (Louvain). The partisan army made an important contribution for the liberation of the country from the fascist occupation. After the liberation of Belgium Michel Vanderborght became active in the communist youth organization of Belgium and he was the Belgian representative in the world league of democratic youth (WBDJ). Since 1947 he participated in all “World festivals of the youth and student”as delegate and later as guest.

In the 50’s and 60’s he worked for the communist party of Belgium and supported the anticolonial democratic MNC (Mouvement National Congolais) of Patrice Lumumba. In the context of these international contacts he met also with Fidel Castro and other representatives of the anti-colonial liberation movements.

He organized 1960 in Belgium the first march against atomic rockets to the location of American nuclear weapons. Since this time Michel Vanderborght was active in the Belgian peace movement. He was a chairman of the group “Vrede “and publisher of the magazine of the same name. Supra regional and in his surrounding field he organized various peace activities.

For decades he worked in the ranks of the “Front l’ Indépendance” (F.I.) for the memory of the antifascist fight and retaining the historical memory of the Belgium occupation. In the context of the antifascist memory work he carried many years the responsibility for “the resistance museum “in Brussels and works in the supervisory board of the “Institut de Vétérans”.

At that 13th congress of FIR in Berlin 2004 he was elected as president of the organization. Despite his high age and health problems he filled out this task with large commitment and wealth ideas. To his initiative went back the conference of the FIR in the location of the European parliament and the preparation and realization of the great International Youth meeting 2008 in Buchenwald. He suggested further projects, which proved the aliveness of the organization and its solidarity with the today’s generations. For his political and historical work he received numerous Belgian and international honors.

We lose a president, who exerted himself with high personal authority and large commitment for the common ideas of all anti-fascist and veteran organizations. He combined a clear political conviction with the ability to build bridges to all democratic forces. We owe him much and we will miss him.

Our deep sympathy is valid for his wife and combat companion of many years Marie Louise and his family. We will retain an honoring memory to him.

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