The Black Ribbon Day, officially known in the European Union as the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism and also referred to as the Europe-wide Day of Remembrance for the victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, is an international day of remembrance for victims of totalitarianism regimes, specifically Stalinist, communist, Nazi and fascist regimes. Formally recognised by the European Union, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and some other countries, it is observed on 23 August. It symbolises the rejection of "extremism, intolerance and oppression" according to the European Union. The purpose of the Day of Remembrance is to preserve the memory of the victims of mass deportations and exterminations, while promoting democratic values to reinforce peace and stability in Europe. It is one of the two official remembrance days or observances of the European Union, alongside Europe Day. Under the name Black Ribbon Day it is an official remembrance day of Canada. The European Union has used both names alongside each other.
The remembrance day has its origins in Cold War-era protests in Western countries against the Soviet Union, which gained prominence in the years leading up to the Revolutions of 1989 and that inspired the 1989 Baltic Way, a major demonstration where two million people joined their hands to call for an end to the Soviet occupation. Canadian and other Western communities of refugees from the Soviet Union were instrumental in establishing the remembrance day in 1986. It was proposed as an official European remembrance day by Václav Havel, Joachim Gauck and a group of human rights activists and former political prisoners from Central and Eastern Europe during a conference organised by the Czech Government, and was formally designated by the European Parliament in 2008/2009 as "a Europe-wide Day of Remembrance for the victims of all authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, to be commemorated with dignity and impartiality"; it has been observed annually by the institutions of the European Union since 2009. The European Parliament's 2009 resolution on European conscience and totalitarianism, co-sponsored by the European People's Party, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, The Greens–European Free Alliance, and the Union for Europe of the Nations, called for its implementation in all of Europe. The establishment of 23 August as an international remembrance day for victims of totalitarianism was also supported by the 2009 Vilnius Declaration of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
23 August was chosen to coincide with the date of the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, a 1939 non-aggression pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany which contained a protocol dividing Romania, Poland, the Baltic states, and Finland into designated Soviet and German spheres of influence. The treaty was described by the European Parliament's president Jerzy Buzek in 2010 as "the collusion of the two worst forms of totalitarianism in the history of humanity." The remembrance day is part of a common European response to Russian disinformation that seeks to deny Soviet war crimes and other atrocities and justify Soviet invasions and occupations. Vladimir Putin's Russian government has attacked it for its condemnation of Stalinism. In a 2019 resolution, the European Parliament described the date of 23 August as important in pushing back against a Russian "information war waged against democratic Europe." In 2022 European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted the remembrance day's importance in standing against "Russia's illegal and unjustified war against Ukraine."
History Revolutions of 1989
Both the date of 23 August as a remembrance day and the name "Black Ribbon Day" originated in protests held in western countries against the Soviet Union in the 1980s, which gained prominence in the years leading up to the Revolutions of 1989.
Canadian and other Western communities of refugees from the Soviet Union were instrumental in establishing Black Ribbon Day as "a day of protest against the Soviet Union" during the Cold War in 1986. Markus Hess of the Estonian Central Council in Canada, the later chairman of the Central and Eastern European Council of Canada, proposed the name Black Ribbon Day and the concept of using black ribbons as a form of protest in 1985. He gathered representatives of affected communities and formed the International Black Ribbon Day Committee. David Somerville's idea of using the anniversary of the signing of the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact as Black Ribbon Day was accepted by the committee in February 1986. The committee launched its campaign for the first Black Ribbon Day by organising committees in 21 cities worldwide. Television commercials describing the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact and its secret protocols and aftermath were broadcast nationally in Canada. On 23 August 1986, Black Ribbon Day demonstrations were held in 21 western cities, including New York City, Ottawa, London, Stockholm, Seattle, Los Angeles, Perth, Australia and Washington DC. The demonstrations were coordinated by the International Black Ribbon Day Committee, which opened up offices in Toronto. Markus Hess was elected president and David Somerville was elected vice president of the International Black Ribbon Day Committee. Under their leadership, the movement expanded annually and by 1991, demonstrations were held in 56 cities.2013 National Black Ribbon Day Commemoration events announced , eesti.ca
In 1987, Black Ribbon Day protests spread to the Baltic countries and culminated in the Baltic Way in 1989, a historical event during the revolutions of 1989. Two million people joined their hands to form a human chain, to protest against the continued Soviet occupation.Jānis Škapars, The Baltic Way to Freedom: Non-violent Struggle of the Baltic States in a Global Context, Zelta Grauds, 2005,
Proclamation by the European Parliament, support from the OSCE and official adoption in national legislation
The European Public Hearing on Crimes Committed by Totalitarian Regimes was organised by the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Commission in April 2008. It aimed at improving knowledge and public awareness about totalitarian crimes.
The date of 23 August was adopted as an official day of remembrance for victims of totalitarianism by international bodies and various countries after it was proposed by the 2008 Prague Declaration, initiated by the Czech government and signed by (among others) Václav Havel, Joachim Gauck, Vytautas Landsbergis, Emanuelis Zingeris, and Łukasz Kamiński on 3 June 2008. The declaration concluded the conference European Conscience and Communism. This international conference took place at the Czech Senate from 2 to 3 June 2008, hosted by the Senate Committee on Education, Science, Culture, Human Rights and Petitions, under the auspices of Alexandr Vondra, Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic for European Affairs.
On 23 September 2008, 409 members of the European Parliament signed a declaration on the proclamation of 23 August as European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism. The declaration pointed out: "The mass deportations, murders, kleptocracies and enslavements committed in the context of the acts of aggression by Stalinism and Nazism fall into the category of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Under international law, statutory limitations do not apply to war crimes and crimes against humanity."
On 2 April 2009, a resolution of the European Parliament on European conscience and totalitarianism, calling, among other things, on its member states and other European countries to implement the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism, was passed by a vote of 533–44 with 33 abstentions.
On 3 July 2009, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) adopted the Vilnius Declaration, which supported 23 August as the international remembrance day for Victims of totalitarianism and urged its member states to increase awareness of totalitarian crimes. The resolution, which was adopted nearly unanimously, stated that Europe had "experienced two major totalitarian regimes, Nazi and Stalinist, which brought about genocide, violations of human rights and freedoms, war crimes and crimes against humanity," urged all OSCE members to take a "united stand against all totalitarian rule from whatever ideological background" and condemned "the glorification of the totalitarian regimes, including the holding of public demonstrations glorifying the Nazi or Stalinist past."
After the European Parliament had proclaimed the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism, the president of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, highlighted the insufficient attention given to Soviet totalitarianism and Soviet war crimes, and thanked the governments of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia for their efforts to better inform Western Europe. Pöttering brought up the classic study on totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, which developed "the scientific basis criteria to describe totalitarianism", concluding that "both totalitarian systems (Stalinism and Nazism) are comparable and terrible", Pöttering said. Joseph Daul, chairman of the European People's Party group, stated:
2009 is a deeply symbolic year, since we celebrate both the 60th anniversary of the creation of NATO and the beginnings of the cold war, and the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which ended it. This is why we have proposed to launch a Europe-wide day of remembrance which will help Europe reconcile its totalitarian legacy, both from the Nazis and the Communists.
In December 2010, the foreign ministers of six EU member states affected by communist occupation and dictatorship called upon the European Commission to make "the approval, denial or belittling of communist crimes" an EU-wide criminal offence. "Alongside the prosecution and punishment of criminals, the denial of every international crime should be treated according to the same standards, to prevent favourable conditions for the rehabilitation and rebirth of totalitarian ideologies," the foreign ministers wrote. Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg compared the denial of communist crimes to the denial of Nazi crimes and said, "there is a fundamental concern here that totalitarian systems be measured by the same standard."
On 10 June 2011, the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council, that is, the justice and home affairs ministers of all EU Member States, adopted conclusions stating, among other things, that it reaffirmed "the importance of raising awareness of the crimes committed by totalitarian regimes, of promoting a shared memory of these crimes across the Union and underlining the significant role that this can play in preventing the rehabilitation or rebirth of totalitarian ideologies," and highlighted "the Europe-wide Day of Remembrance of the victims of the totalitarian regimes (23 August)," inviting "Members States to consider how to commemorate it."