European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism – 23 August

European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism is marked today. At the initiative of a number of intellectuals, the European Parliament has declared 23 August as the Remembrance Day i...

European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism is marked today. At the initiative of a number of intellectuals, the European Parliament has declared 23 August as the Remembrance Day in 2008.

This day, which is in Canada and the United States officially recognized as the Black Ribbons Day, coincides with the anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 non-aggression agreement between the then Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. President of the European Parliament in 2010, Jerzy Buzek, described the pact “the collusion of the two worst forms of totalitarianism in the history of humanity.”

The purpose of the Day of Remembrance is to preserve the memory of the victims of mass deportations and exterminations, while promoting democratic values with the aim of reinforcing peace and stability in Europe.