Written declaration No. 441 | Doc. 12237 | 29 April 2010

The 65th anniversary of the end of World War II

Signatories: Mr Konstantin KOSACHEV, Russian Federation, EDG ; Mr Miloš ALIGRUDIĆ, Serbia, EPP/CD ; Mr Alexander BABAKOV, Russian Federation, SOC ; Lord Tim BOSWELL, United Kingdom, EDG ; Ms Anne BRASSEUR, Luxembourg, ALDE ; Ms Natalia BURYKINA, Russian Federation, EDG ; Mr Boriss CILEVIČS, Latvia, SOC ; Mr Per DALGAARD, Denmark, EDG ; Mr Paata DAVITAIA, Georgia, EDG ; Mr Mátyás EÖRSI, Hungary, ALDE ; Mr Renato FARINA, Italy, EPP/CD ; Mr György FRUNDA, Romania, EPP/CD ; Mr Jean-Charles GARDETTO, Monaco, EPP/CD ; Ms Angelika GRAF, Germany, SOC ; Mr John GREENWAY, United Kingdom ; Mr Andreas GROSS, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Tadeusz IWIŃSKI, Poland, SOC ; Ms Corien W.A. JONKER, Netherlands, EPP/CD ; Mr Tiny KOX, Netherlands, UEL ; Ms Yuliya L'OVOCHKINA, Ukraine, EDG ; Mr Sergey MARKOV, Russian Federation, EDG ; Mr Dick MARTY, Switzerland, ALDE ; Mr Dragoljub MIĆUNOVIĆ, Serbia, SOC ; Mr Jean-Claude MIGNON, France, EPP/CD ; Ms Fiamma NIRENSTEIN, Italy, EPP/CD ; Mr Holger ORTEL, Germany, SOC ; Ms Elsa PAPADIMITRIOU, Greece, EPP/CD ; Mr Valery PARFENOV, Russian Federation, EDG ; Mr Johannes PFLUG, Germany, SOC ; Mr Alexander POCHINOK, Russian Federation, EDG ; Mr Alexander Minovitch PODLESOV, Russian Federation, SOC ; Mr Jørgen POULSEN, Denmark, ALDE ; Mr Christos POURGOURIDES, Cyprus, EPP/CD ; Mr Samad SEYIDOV, Azerbaijan, EDG ; Mr Leonid SLUTSKY, Russian Federation, SOC ; Mr Christoph STRÄSSER, Germany, SOC ; Mr Valeriy SUDARENKOV, Russian Federation, SOC ; Mr Vyacheslav TIMCHENKO, Russian Federation, EDG ; Mr Ilyas UMAKHANOV, Russian Federation, EDG ; Mr Luca VOLONTÈ, Italy, EPP/CD ; Ms Tatiana VOLOZHINSKAYA, Russian Federation, EDG ; Mr Dmitry VYATKIN, Russian Federation, EDG ; Mr David WILSHIRE, United Kingdom, EDG ; Mr Yury ZELENSKIY, Russian Federation, EDG ; Mr Vladimir ZHIDKIKH, Russian Federation, EDG

This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.

1. Sixty-five years have passed since the end of the bloodiest war in history of Europe and the whole mankind. The Nuremberg Trials held by the main Allied powers of World War II condemned those who started the carnage between nations. The Tribunal verdicts maintain their relevance even today.

2. World War II was not just a war between states and peoples. Fascist and national-socialist ideology was not only aimed at occupying other countries. It was deeply inhumane, totalitarian and inherently racist resulting in the Holocaust, gas chambers and mass extermination of civilians.

3. Strong condemnation of any attempts to rehabilitate Nazism and its accomplices, the revival of fascism and similar racial and nationalist ideologies would be a dignified commemoration of those who perished in the war.

4. The Council of Europe member states should not only deny official support to all actions of Nazi collaborators or actions in their honour, but should resolutely outlaw such activities.

5. We are convinced that it is most important to respect the memories of those who died in the war, to preserve their graves and memorials and to educate young Europeans in the spirit of honouring the heroic deeds of those who saved the millions of people from total annihilation.