On May 9, 1945, in occupied Berlin by the Red Army, the Nazis signed their
surrender to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, putting an end to World War II
or the Great Patriotic War.
On June 22, 1941, the Nazis invaded Soviet borders and arrived at the gates of
Moscow mobilizing about 4.5 million soldiers with the support of 600,000 vehicles, 750,000 horses and about 2,700 aircraft (more than half of the German air force). Forced to retreat because of the resistance, the new Nazi strategy aimed at taking
control of Stalingrad, where in July 1942 the most cruel and violent battle of the
whole war began. The Red Army and the armed people resisted against the conquest of every block, every street, every house, every room. Workers’ militias were formed. One of the
stages of this heroic struggle was the tractor factory where the workers entered the
fight against heavily armed invading troops. On February 2, 1943, Stalingrad was
liberated. When the Red Army was already advancing to the capital of the Nazi state, Hitler
commits suicide, on April 30 and May 9, 1945, the Germans accept the surrender
to the Soviets. This was a decisive strategic victory for the future of mankind. It changed the global
correlation of forces in favor of workers and peoples and has boosted national
liberation movements and decolonization. It was on this historic track that, on
October 3, 1945, the World Federation of Trade Unions was founded. However, 73 years after that date, the threat of a new World War hovers over
international relations. US imperialism and its allies of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) promote conflicts that seriously threaten world peace and
make, in old and new forms, fascism and intolerance grow in various forms. The WFTU salutes the anniversary of this epopee by reaffirming its commitment to
the defense of world peace, the rights of the peoples, in particular the working class
while being convinced of the socialist perspective as the future for humanity. Long live the 9 of May of 1945, Victory Day of the Soviet Union over Fascism and Nazism!

The Secretariat Meeting of WFTU was held at its HQ on 7th May 2018. CITU was represented by Com. Swadesh Dey Roy, Secretary CITU who is also the Vice-President WFTU.