DISINFO: The EU glorifies Nazism
SUMMARY
The European Union is turning into a centre of resistance against efforts to combat the glorification of Nazism, while other regions of the world continue to support such efforts. The fact that Western countries voted against a resolution aimed at fighting the glorification of Nazism shows that, in reality, Europe—and even the United States, which once fought Nazi Germany—are reluctant to distance themselves from it. This is because Nazi Germany sought to destroy the Soviet Union, and today, by supporting neo-Nazis in Kyiv, the West seems to share a similar agenda. It echoes the actions of those who, in 1941, invaded the USSR, committing acts of violence and destruction. Those who harbor hatred for Russia and Russians, infected by the dangerous spread of Russophobia, exhibit a hostility that is alarmingly similar to the racial hatred promoted by the Nazis.
RESPONSE
This disinformation claim concerns proceedings at the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly Third Committee after a vote on the draft Resolution A/C.3/76/L.57/Rev.1: Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fueling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
The vote place on the 12 November 2024 in New York. A statement released on behalf of the European Union, the Candidate Countries Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina* and Georgia, as well as San Marino stated:
"Our joint fight against contemporary forms of extremist and totalitarian ideologies, including neo-Nazism, is and remains a key priority. The EU stands firmly against all forms of antisemitism, which is incompatible with the core values and principles on which the EU is founded. The EU and its Member States have taken extensive legal and policy measures to combat acts of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
We support and encourage a constructive discussion in the context of the global rise in neo-Nazism and antisemitism. This resolution, on the contrary, abuses this agenda and continues to put an emphasis in a selective and twisted manner on issues that in essence are far from combating racism and discrimination. It is a thinly veiled attempt by the Russian Federation to promote its own distorted version of history under the guise of combating neo-Nazism. It is important to remember that for many European countries the end of the Second World War did not bring freedom but further occupation and exploitation, more repression and crimes against humanity by other totalitarian regimes".
Pro-Kremlin outlets repeatedly talk about the “revival” of Nazism in the West. Labeling Russia’s adversaries as Nazis is a widespread pro-Kremlin disinformation technique, and has been used by Russia to justify the invasion of Ukraine by portraying it as a “denazification operation”. Russia spent years preparing the information battleground before its kinetic attack, with “Nazi Ukraine” being one of its most prominent disinformation features.
The EU was founded after WWII to promote peace, democracy, human rights, economic cooperation, social justice and cultural diversity. EU founding treaties emphasise economic cooperation to prevent future wars. Founders of the EU, such as Robert Schuman, Jean Monnet, and Konrad Adenauer, were all active opponents of Nazi Germany. Part of their opposition to Nazism was the EU project itself, thinking that by establishing a political and economic union between European countries, they can ensure ideologies such as Nazism never rise again.
Read other disinformation cases claiming that Western ignorance of history leads to the resurgence of Nazism in Europe, that European Nazism is alive and it manifests itself in Russophobia, that Nazism has revived in Ukraine and actively cultivated by the West, that Zelenskyy is the heir of German Nazism, that West turned a blind eye to Nazism, that The US and Ukraine support Nazism, Poland, Ukraine, and the Baltic authorities associate themselves with Hitler.