crimes committed by totalitarian regimes - Ministrstvo za pravosodje

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Crimes committed by totalitarian regimes Our current community of 27 EU Member States – a community which is already looking forward to the membership of half a dozen more post-communist countries from Southern Europe – is committed to taking responsibility for the future of the European community. In just the same way these 27 states have a common responsibility to address the heritage of Communist totalitarian regimes. This is not merely a question of nostalgia. In the 20 th century, two totalitarian powers plunged Europe into a devastating war, committed massive crimes against humanity, carried out genocide, brutally suppressed European values and cultural tradition. In order to be sure that such ideologies never again ascend to power in Europe, it is imperative for the EU as a whole to analyze and draw conclusions from both totalitarian systems as well as from the experiences of tens of millions of Europeans from all walks of life who had their lives and futures crushed and blighted by these inhuman regimes. As we see from President Truman’s letters and countless other sources, Western nations have long had enough information to conduct this kind of analysis leading to a clear moral and political condemnation of totalitarian Communism. Unfortunately, a reluctance to carry this out – a reluctance even to use the correct terminology, to avoid using terms derived from Soviet propaganda – has already seriously impaired the development of genuinely democratic, rule of law societies in post-Communist countries. Through the Cold War years policy-making concentrated on pragmatic forms of coexistence with the Communist system which was expected to last indefinitely. As a result, the West was unprepared for the collapse of the Soviet Union and reluctant to declare victory in the Cold War. Western inability to behave as winners in the defeat of totalitarian Communism in 1991 – as was done after the defeat of the Nazi regime in World War Two – meant the waste of a great opportunity to guarantee a better future for all of Europe, and Russia itself, and remains the source of many of today’s problems. Instead of welcoming and supporting the new democratic forces, the West turned its attention to economic issues and to preserving the stability of the old relationships. The old Communist elites were accepted as born again democrats and normal partners. Even the KGB made a “soft landing” into the new situation. Moral criteria were not applied and the responsibility of the Communist regime for crimes against humanity, the suppression of freedom and human rights, was not evaluated. This gave the Communist elites credibility, enabling them to continue political careers and to perpetuate their habitual non-democratic methods and practices. Continued failure to condemn Communist crimes with an internationally authoritative verdict will perpetuate the gap between the West and millions of victims of Communist totalitarianism and their descendants. These people will eventually lose hope that justice will ever prevail. The nations that suffered under Communist regimes do not enjoy the same assurances of “never again” that the victims of the Holocaust have. Frustration of the hopes finally to see justice proclaimed and accepted on the international level will not disappear automatically – in real life these frustrations continue to find often irrational political outlets, including support for neo-Communist or radical populist movements. All this is a major handicap in the formation of robust civil societies in post-Communist countries. It is also one of the main sources of wide-spread cynicism, moral permissiveness and corruption. While a comprehensive analysis and assessment of Communist totalitarianism has been delayed, it is certainly not too late to carry out this crucial mission. In this regard, it is useful to recall that the Holocaust was not defined as such nor brought to the forefront of international attention until 15 years after the end of World War Two in Europe, beginning with the 1960 Eichmann trial. Practical steps to be taken 1. To generate political will to take a comprehensive approach to the problems of the totalitarian Communism on the same level as the crimes of Nazism. 2. To initiate conferences, workshops and various meetings with the goal of advancing better mutual understanding of 20 th century history as well as integration of different historic perceptions. Participants in these events should include politicians, researchers and representatives of citizens from both parts of Europe. 22
Crimes committed by totalitarian regimes 3. To contribute actively to creating an international centre for the study of the totalitarian Communist regimes. 4. To support the establishing of a European Memorial Day to commemorate, on the European scale, the millions of victims of totalitarian regimes. One possible option would be 23 August 1939 – the day when two totalitarian dictators concluded a friendship pact and decided to launch the Second World War. 5. To contribute to the idea of preparing jointly new European history textbooks on 20 th century history. 6. To be precise in terminology, avoiding repeating Lenin and Stalin’s propaganda that divided the world into “capitalist” and “socialist” camps. Using the correct name – Communist dictatorships – will clarify much muddled thinking about such Communist cover names as “former socialist countries”, “true socialism” etc. We should remember that some of the most hated enemies of Communists were the genuine social-democrats. Communist totalitarian dictatorships worked for the annihilation of all rival political movements, regardless of whether they were situated on the left or the right of the political spectrum. 23
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