Aydın Kara | Communist Labor Party of Türkiye/Leninist
Introduction
In the aftermath of the Second World War, the imperialist countries embarked on a relentless campaign to distort historical truth, seeking to shift blame for fascism onto the Soviet Union while whitewashing the role of Western imperialism in enabling Nazi Germany. This ideological warfare did not end with the “end” of the Cold War; instead, it has intensified in recent years, particularly with the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine. Today, the imperialist West is experiencing a resurgence of fascist tendencies, driven by the deepening crisis of monopoly capitalism and the bourgeoisie’s fear of revolutionary upheaval. The war in Ukraine has become a key lever for the Nazification of Western societies, as ruling elites seek to rehabilitate fascist collaborators, suppress communist movements, and rewrite history to serve their class interests.
The Distortion of History: From the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact to Contemporary Anticommunism
Immediately after the Second World War, Western propaganda outlets launched a campaign to equate the USSR with Nazi Germany, focusing particularly on the 1939 non-aggression pact between the two states (the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact). These accusations ignored the fact that the Western powers themselves had pursued a policy of appeasement toward Hitler, most notably through the Munich Agreement of 1938, which handed Czechoslovakia (The Sudetenland) to the Nazis. Stalin responded to these distortions in his 1948 pamphlet “The Distortionists of History”, exposing how the imperialists (Western Europe and the USA) sought to downplay its own complicity in fascism’s rise while vilifying the Soviet Union, which had borne the brunt of the war against Nazism and sacrificed millions to defeat it.
Today the imperialist propaganda machine is trying to rewrite the history of the war against the Nazis. According to their narrative, US forces saved Europe from fascism! The famous “Normandy landings”, the invasion of Italy… They claim that the US-British alliance finished off Nazi Germany! In fact, eighty percent of the German army’s casualties in the war, i.e. 4 out of every 5 German soldiers, died in clashes with the Red Army. On the other hand, it is instructive to compare the number of US and Red Army soldiers who died in clashes with the Germans during the war. 80 Red Army soldiers for every one US soldier! In 1942, 80 percent of the German-Italian and all the fascist alliance forces were on the Eastern Front! In early 1943, only 1.5 percent of the ground troops were in the Western zone! Obviously, all fascist troops were fighting against the Red Army. However, this “second front” from the West did not open in time. Moreover, the Anglo-American powers all knew that the German forces were not in the West, but in the East. They were waiting for the Soviet weakening.
Anti-fascist war and resistance took many forms: the Soviet Union’s pivotal role on the Eastern Front, partisan movements in occupied Europe (e.g., Yugoslav communists), and anti-colonial uprisings in Asia and Africa (especially in Vietnam, under the command Ho Chi Minh and the communists—Vietnamese Workers Party). The Soviet Union’s sacrifices—27 million dead—and its defeat of 80% of Nazi forces cemented socialism as a bulwark against fascism.
Imperialist powers like Britain and France were fighting fascist forces in Europe and North Africa, while trying to preserve their colonial empires. When the US represent Willkie demanded the preemptive dissolution of the British and French empires. Churchill famously replied, “I have not become the king’s first minister to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire.”
These are only some of facts. However, today, this historical revisionism has reached new heights. Western propaganda systematically downplays the role of the Red Army in defeating fascism, instead promoting narratives that equate communism with Nazism. Monuments to Soviet soldiers are torn down across Eastern Europe, while collaborators with the Nazi regime—such as Stepan Bandera in Ukraine—are glorified as “national heroes.” This is not an accident but a deliberate ideological project aimed at erasing the legacy of anti-fascist resistance and justifying the imperialists’ own turn toward authoritarianism.
Attempts to Nazify of Western Societies
The war in Ukraine has accelerated the efforts of the imperialist monopolies to strengthen fascist tendencies in Western societies. NATO-backed regimes in Europe and North America have embraced far-right extremists (i.e. fascists/neo-Nazis), integrating them into state structures while suppressing revolutionary democratic/socialist opposition. In Ukraine, openly neo-Nazi battalions like the Azov Regiment have been armed, funded, and facilities by Western governments, despite their well-documented history of racism and terrorism. Meanwhile, in Europe and the U.S., anticommunism has become state policy: communist parties are banned in some countries, socialist movements are smeared as “foreign agents,” and historical memory is manipulated to portray fascism as a lesser evil compared to communism.
This ideological orientation is not merely rhetorical—it reflects the material interests of the imperialist bourgeoisie. As the global capitalist crisis deepens, the ruling class (bourgeoisie) increasingly relies on fascist methods to maintain control. The suppression of workers’ movements, the militarization of police, and the scapegoating of minorities and leftists are all hallmarks of this process. The West’s support for Ukrainian fascism is not an exception but a template for its own future: a fascist state in which revolutionary communist forces and democratic opposition are crushed under the guise of “national security”.
Fascism as the Bourgeoisie’s Response to Revolutionary Crisis
The current global situation is marked by deepening economic crises, imperialist aggression, and rising uprisings and social revolutions against bourgeois rule and the capitalist system of exploitation. As we described a quarter century ago, it’s a “global civil war”, “global revolutionary situation”, in brief a “new stage” in the history of class struggle. From mass protests in France to strikes across the U.S. and the growing influence of socialist movements in Latin America, the capitalist system is facing unprecedented challenges. In response, the bourgeoisie resorts to fascism—not as a deviation, but as a logical instrument of monopoly capital in crisis, as an act of counter-revolution.
Fascism has always been the weapon of the monopoly capitalists class when bourgeois democracy fails to contain revolutionary movements. In the 1930s, German industrialists funded Hitler to crush the communist threat; today, Western oligarchs and militarists promote fascist forces to prevent the resurgence of socialism. The demonization of Russia and China, the escalation of militarism, and the suppression of social revolution movement thought are all part of this strategy.
Conclusion
The imperialist West is returning to its fascist roots, not by accident but by necessity. As capitalism enters its terminal crisis, the bourgeoisie can no longer rule through “democracy”—it must resort to repression, historical falsification, and outright fascism. The war in Ukraine is both a symptom and an accelerator of this process, serving as a testing ground for the imperialist Western countries’ own descent into authoritarianism.
The task of revolutionaries today is to expose this reactionary fascist orientation, defend the truth of history, and build a militant anti-fascist resistance. The struggle against contemporary fascism is inseparable from the struggle against imperialism and capitalism itself. Only by overthrowing the decaying system that breeds fascism can humanity finally achieve liberation.
Historical experience has proven that fascism can be defeated through mass mobilization under the command of communist forces. Today, as neo-fascism reemerges, this history reminds us once again that vigilance and internationalism are essential. It underlines in bold lines that in order to defeat fascism, it is necessary to take advantage of the crisis of capitalism for the revolution of the working peoples, to overthrow the monopoly capitalist order, which is the material basis of fascism, and to establish the power of the workers and toilers.