Centre for Civic Education (CCE), on the International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism, which is marked on 9 November, reminds that this fight has never ended and that we must constantly oppose the politics of hatred and disrespect for diversity, which in the past caused the greatest suffering in Europe and the world.
This day is marked in memory of “Kristallnacht”, the violence committed against Jews on German squares and streets, on the night between 9 and 10 November 1938, which marked the beginning of the organised and publicly supported persecution of Jews. During that night, the Nazis killed at least 100 Jews, deported around 30,000 Jewish men to concentration camps, destroyed over 1,400 synagogues and places of worship, and damaged or destroyed over 7,000 shops owned by Jews. What followed was the Second World War and the Holocaust, in which six million Jews from all parts of Europe were killed.
Before the Second World War, around 30 Jews lived in Montenegro, and only two of them survived. Nevertheless, Montenegro was at that time a refuge for many who fled persecution and joined the partisan movement. Among them was Lujo Davičo, a ballet dancer, pedagogue, composer, and participant in the National Liberation Struggle from Belgrade, who came to Podgorica after the occupation and was later executed in Nikšić by the Italian occupiers.
This day reminds us of the obligation to remember and honour the victims of the Nazi regime and its collaborators, including the Chetnik and Ustasha movements. Although antisemitism has never been part of the Montenegrin state ideology, it is worrying that today the Chetnik collaborationist movement and the Chetnik commander Pavle Đurišić, who was awarded the Iron Cross by Adolf Hitler, are increasingly being glorified. The fact that his monument has found a place in a church indicates a dangerous undermining of the anti-fascist values on which our society is founded.
Montenegro must remain an anti-fascist society dedicated to unity and resilient to extremism. “Kristallnacht” warns us that responsibility is also borne by those who slept through it or turned their heads away, as well as by the law enforcement authorities who at that time did not do their job. Silence in the face of dangerous narratives and phenomena is permission for them to continue and spread. Therefore, one must always raise their voice against fascism, and institutions must show a clear distance from all forms of hatred towards groups of people.
Sara Čabarkapa, Active Citizenship Programme Coordinator