Black Ribbon Day, officially known in the European Union as the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism, is an international day of remembrance for victims of totalitarian regimes, specifically Stalinist, communist, Nazi and fascist
regimes. It is observed on 23 August and symbolizes the rejection of
"extremism, intolerance and oppression". It is one of the official
remembrance days of the European Union. Under the name Black Ribbon Day it is also an official remembrance day of Canada and the United States, among other countries.
The remembrance day has its origins in protests in western countries against the Soviet Union that gained prominence in the years leading up to the Revolutions of 1989 and that inspired the Baltic Way, a major demonstration against the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states in 1989. It was proposed as an official European remembrance day by Václav Havel, Joachim Gauck
and a group of freedom fighters 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 totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, to be commemorated with dignity and impartiality"; it has been observed annually by the bodies 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 USSR and Nazi Germany which contained a protocol dividing Romania, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland into designated German and Soviet 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 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 to reinforce peace and stability in
Europe.
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