Skip to main content
Work with the NEU
Victory Day belongs to the left
The internationalism and patriotism of all those who fought fascism in the 1920s, 1930s, and yes, WWII should be celebrated — socialists and communists must fight for the soul and meaning of days like VE Day, writes ROBERT GRIFFITHS

MY father fought in WWII with the 48th Royal Marine Commandos. He took part in D-Day and many other military operations in Europe and North Africa and had the medals to prove it.

Yet he never reminisced very much about his own exploits. He never talked about the shooting, the killing and the dying, although he must have seen plenty of all three.

He preferred wartime stories in which rank-and-file soldiers put one over upper-class officers, or peasant girls brought the troops chickens to cook as they helped liberate France.

Robert Griffiths is General Secretary of the Communist Party of Britain.
The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
A poster by Otto Lander designed for May 1, 1901: Proletarians of all lands, unite!
Full Marx / 2 August 2026
2 August 2026

Internationalism is deeply embedded in socialist theory and practice. Examination illuminates its complexity asserts the Marx Memorial Library and Workers’ School

Richard Baxell speaking at the Marx Memorial Library in London [Pic: Karl Weiss]
Spanish Civil War 90th Anniversary / 4 July 2026
4 July 2026

Driven by anti-fascism and anger at Britain’s policy of non-intervention, thousands volunteered to fight in the Spanish civil war. Historian RICHARD BAXELL reflects on their sacrifices and enduring significance

Tom Mooney Company from the Lincoln Battalion, during the Spanish Civil War, Jarama, Spain, 1937
History / 24 February 2026
24 February 2026

CJ ATKINS commemorates one of the most dramatic moments in working-class history

RITUALS: Wooden crosses with poppies and names of those being remembered at the Cenotaph in Victoria Square, St Helens, Merseyside
Features / 11 November 2025
11 November 2025

WILL DRY speaks to three former members of the armed forces about the political hypocrisy surrounding Armistice Day, how war is a function of class society, and the far right’s use of militarism and nationalism to divide working people