09.11.2006 Who, if not we? Where, if not here? When, if not now?

The 9th of November is the international day against fascism and anti-Semitism. A pan-European company is held on this day. The aim of such company is to remember the events of the «Crystal Night» and to protest against intolerance, racism, xenophobia and to protect respect and tolerance in the modern world. On this day, on the previous and on the following days YHRG usually conducts lections, seminars on the theme «Lessons of Holocaust is the Way to Tolerance and Civil Activity». Such meetings took place in the public library and schools of Petrozavodsk. In Russia this day is especially acute. The marsh of neo Nazis on the 4th 4of November last year is the stain on the newly appeared holiday — «The Day of Folk Unity ».Accepting this day instead of the 7th of November, the authorities supposed to make an illusion of social and international unity in our society. Thus in spite of all mythical tries this day is becoming the holiday for neo Nazis, the day of international discord, hatred and xenophobia. They call it «Russian march». Possibly, there will not be any swastikas on their banners and flags and they can hide behind the banners of fight with «illegal immigration », appeals to «Russian order », and turning to «indigenously Russian values ».But in the gist of their ideas there is hatred to “Otherness”, callings for “cleanings” and deportations. As the basis for their propaganda there is a lie about national superiority. One of the Nazi’s ideas of propaganda is the hatred to gastarbeiters. Neo Nazis accuse them of all social problems we have – poverty, unemployment and criminality.
Business uses labor migration as a means of cheap and rightless human power. And when they need to frighten or to get rid of the immigrants not having paid for work they turn to Neo Nazis. Authorities also need ultra right. The myth about gastarbeiters leads national unsatisfuction from the social sphere to the sphere of international stereotypes. And if neo Nazis ever go out the state control, the state which has brought them up can always become a fighter against fascism and the protector of the society against them. Hatred brings good dividends and political points. All these «Fuhrers » make their name promoting fascism. They receive money and from building companies, thriving on immigrants’ labor, helping them to get rid of used rightless workers, not having paid salaries. Other politicians welcome leaders of western fascism parties and of Ku-Klux-Klan, organize round tables with the authors of books about Hitler, use antiimmigrant politics for the victory on the elections. Neither politicians nor governors should stop fascism. It cannot be defeated by declarations or troops of Special Police Force. We can defeat fascism only by our civil movement for the society, built on the principles of equality, freedom and social justice, where there is no international hatred and xenophobia.
The history of “Crystal Night”. On the 9th of November 1938 Nazis started Jewish pogroms in Germany. Upon coming to power in 1933, harsh discriminating laws against Jewish people were accepted. They had to pass their business to representatives of «Arian race», to buy products only in the shops which belonged to Jewish, send children only to Jewish schools etc. Then Jewish faced with all-round systematical violence. Before the 9th of November 1938 all the pogroms were unsanctioned by the Nazis’ party and the government of Germany. On the 6th of November a young Jewish Hershel Greenspan received a postcard from his father, who together with 18 thousand of other German Jewish was deported to the Polish border on the 27th of October. Awful conditions in which the deported existed were described in the postcard. Hershel Greenspan was furious about that, so that he went to the German Council in Paris and killed the first of the German clerks whom he saw - the Diplomat assistant Ernst von Rat, who died from wounds on the 8th of November 1938. The news about his death reached Germany the following day. Hitler and Gabbles were at that moment at the meeting of NSDAP on the occasion of 10th anniversary of Hitler’s putsch on the 9th of November 1923. Gabbles immediately used the chance to make a speech, filled with hatred for Jewish. A pogrom, nonofficially organized by Hitler’s troops started on the 9th of November 1938 in Berlin. Synagogues were burned, shopwindows were broken all-round the country. This fact caused the name of this pogrom – «Crystal night».Many Jewish were beaten. More than 7 thousand of Jewish factories and plants round the country were demolished. Nazis burned Jewish books. About 200 synagogues were destroyed. The assault continued for 24 hours and 91 Jewish were killed. More than 30 thousand of Jewish were arrested and deported to concentration camps. Many of them were killed within 2 months after the pogrom.
«Crystal Night» is usually taken as the beginning of Holocaust–massive annihilation of Jewish population. Apart from almost 6 millions of Jewish, who turned out to be the aim of Nazi’s politics of annihilation, else over 5, 5 millions of people were considered to be enemies of the German state. Among them are killers and asocial elements, mentally ill, homosexualists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, political opponents such as communists and socialists, Roma and Sinti. Estimated total, the number of killed Roma and Sinti is from 200.000 to 1.500.000. The number of killed in the concentration camps homosexualists is from 10.000 to 15.000.

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