Excerpts from speech by Fidel Castro Ruz, May 8, 1975
"Fascism arises in the world just after the October Revolution, fascism arises in the world as a tool against Marxism-Leninism.
Were the capitalist countries and the imperialist countries that created the conditions for the emergence of fascism in the world, and the campaign of the fascists, from which emerged in Europe, was heading for anti-communism, the extermination of the Communists and to the destruction of the Soviet Union.
Once defeated the first intervention against the October Revolution, began to emerge with the brutal force political current in Europe. Fascism was the ultimate expression of bourgeois and imperialist reactionary thought, and since Hitler came to public arena declared their intention to attack one day to the Soviet Union proclaimed its racist doctrines and ideas about the extermination of entire peoples, of the enslavement of tens of millions of men and conquest of new territories.
It must be said that all mankind paid dearly for this political phenomenon, that all mankind paid dearly for this travesty of the bourgeoisie and imperialism, because even the capitalist countries, at a given time, were attacked by fascism.
We all remember those tragic years that preceded the war, we all remember the policy of conciliation with the fascism of the capitalist countries, we all remember the criminal division of Czechoslovakia, which was broken up and distributed to satisfy the expansionist ambitions of fascism, the capitalist governments shamefully giving in meet the demands of Hitler.
In essence, the policy of those powers is poised to launch fascism against the Soviet Union, to push Hitler's hordes to Russia.
We all remember how at that time began the war by invading Poland, the reactionary government of then chose the risks of isolation and aggression to coordinate their defense with the Soviet Union.
We all remember how, after the invasion of Poland, began the invasion of Norway, Holland, Belgium, France, Denmark. And remember too how the armies of capitalist countries virtually collapsed without resistance. Within days, in some cases and in others a matter of weeks, one after the other nations were defeated.
The news that the tanks were in the rear and aerial bombardments, completely demoralized the bourgeois armies, who were unable to resist Hitler's aggression. And when the fascists had virtually dominated Europe, with all the resources and technology of the European economy, began in June 1941, the cowardly and treacherous attack against the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union had endeavored to preserve peace, the Soviet Union had attempted to unite all anti-fascist forces in Europe, the Soviet Union got tired of constantly preach the need to stop fascism. But it hit the blindness and deafness of the leaders of the capitalist countries.
What happened, however, when the invasion of the Soviet Union? All know the saga of Brest-Litovsk, in that strength for weeks when Nazi troops were already deep in his rear, resisted heroically, with a handful of men, the charge of an entire division.
The Soviet people are not demoralized, Soviet soldiers did not lose even when tanks and enemy troops were tens of kilometers in the rear!
Hitler's armies were accustomed to combat reactionary social systems, social systems against capitalists, against bourgeois armies. And when there is aggression against the Soviet Union meet for the first time with a different type of army with a different type of soldier, with a type of people moved by other motives, and are from the first moment fierce resistance : Soviet soldiers died defending their positions!
The Soviet soldiers refused to surrender, Soviet troops were not ever up! And when they were surrounded, and again attacked and fought back to try to get through. And despite the tremendous blows dealt the treachery of the enemy in the early days of the war and in the early months, at no time this people and this army is demoralized.
The example of the Soviet Union, and the epic of its Great Patriotic War, show, first and foremost, the superiority of the socialist system, the strength of the socialist system and the strength of the Marxist-Leninist ideas!
Nazi troops, accustomed to walk victorious in Europe, proud of his victories, convinced of the invincibility of blitzkrieg tactics, also imagined that the Soviet Union would collapse, Leningrad and Moscow would be taken within weeks, the war Lightning would win there too. And yet, everywhere met fierce resistance. It even came to Leningrad, but failed to take the city of Lenin. And the people of Leningrad endured the fascist siege for 900 days!
If we analyze the history of all wars, will be very difficult to find a city that has withstood a siege of 900 days. Leningrad died of cold and starvation, collapsed on the streets constantly bombarded by artillery fascist but men and women of Leningrad did not surrender!
Fascist troops approached Moscow with the bulk of their forces ... but Moscow could not be taken, Moscow did not give up, resisted Moscow, and not only resisted but counterattacked and took the offensive.
They moved the second year of the war on Stalingrad considerable fascist forces, and came to Stalingrad, and even took a part of Stalingrad. But Soviet troops, a few hundred meters between the city and the river, resisted. And there fought the greatest battle in the history of wars! ...
Again, in the third year of war, the fascists tried to take the initiative and powerful forces met again toward Moscow. And he pounds the famous Battle of Kursk Arch, which was one of the fiercest fighting of the war, in which again the fascist troops crash continues the heroic resistance of the Soviet soldiers.
And then, when the Soviet army takes the offensive, when it was finally time to settle accounts, it starts moving towards the territory of the fascists. And write immortal and glorious pages in projecting the heroism of the soldier, the patriotism of the people, the superiority of the technique and, above all, the superiority of revolutionary principles.
Soviet troops did not stop until the very heart of fascist Germany, until the day that the top of the Reichstag brought the glorious and victorious banner of the Soviet people! ...
How could the Soviet people react, recover from the initial shock of more than 5 million soldiers and the most powerful war machine aggressively until then had known the world? How could those people in the midst of this attack, despite the depth of the advance of enemy troops, despite the enormous material and human losses, recover? For if great was the feat of the soldiers was unusually large feat of all people.
This is explained primarily by the presence of a seasoned Party: the Party of Lenin, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, organizer of the revolution, construction organizer, organizer of the people and armed forces, organizer defending the socialist homeland.
... The fact remains, historical, indisputable is that precisely the people and the Soviet army who carried the main burden and decisive in the defeat of fascism. It was the Soviet people who paid the higher price, and that made the main contribution to the victory. Without that contribution would have been absolutely impossible to defeat fascism. You can not compare the participation of any other country to supply the Soviet ...
What would have been the fate of humanity? What would have been for all the peoples of the world? What would have meant the absence of such a force that shield? If humanity did not meet again the horrors of a world war, this is due to the policy of peace and the might of the Soviet Union.
The overthrow of fascism created new conditions for everyone. Before the Second World War, if we looked at the maps of Africa, we were that there was not a free people throughout the African continent, if we looked to Asia, we saw that there were few who were not colonized peoples on that continent; if we looked to Latin America, we saw absolutely dominated by U.S. imperialism. A few powers had divided the world, enslaved and exploited.
Because when the Soviets fought and died in Leningrad, Moscow, Stalingrad, Kursk, Berlin, were struggling and were dying for us too! His heroes are therefore also our heroes. Its martyrs are our martyrs. His blood is our blood! ...
Forwards victoriously the cause of revolution and socialism, the cause of Marx, Engels and Lenin, Ho Chi Minh cause, the cause of Martà and Maceo, Camilo and Che, the revolutionary cause of all the Because of the Marxist-Leninists, the cause of socialism, the fair cause of communism. And the extraordinary contribution that the Soviet people has given to this cause of humanity, the peoples of the world will be eternally grateful! "
