Study Warns of Clear Danger of Revival or Development of New Forms of Nazism

A study of the danger of a revival of Nazism and measures to combat it will be among the topics considered by the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities when it opens its sessions tomorrow. According to a background report prepared by Hernan Santa Cruz of Chile, the Sub-Commission’s special rapporteur, “there is a clear danger of a revival, or a development of new forms, of Nazism.” The report warns that in the light of the “dazzling speed” with which Nazism developed in Germany, manifestations now of these tendencies “however insignificant they may appear, cannot be overlooked or ignored, since under favorable circumstances” like those in Germany prior to the seizure of power by the Nazis, “small nuclei can become dangerous and indeed irresistible forces.” The report warned that “vestiges of Nazism and racial intolerance persist in some parts of the world. Mr. Santa Cruz referred specifically to charges made by government or non-governmental organizations in consultative status concerning the dangers of revival of Nazism in the Federal Republic of Germany and South Africa.

The report, which was prepared for submission to the Human Rights Commission, recommends that the General Assembly should resume, as soon as possible, “its study of the question…with a view to the preparation of effective measures to eliminate any possibility of a revival of Nazism,” and also recommends that the General Assembly “increase public awareness of the danger of a revival of Nazism and racial intolerance, especially among young people, by the preparation and dissemination of information on this subject, by participation in ceremonies commemorating the victims of Nazism and similar ideologies and practices based on terror and racial intolerance.” The report of the Human Rights’ Sub-Commission also urges the General Assembly to invite all states to review and strengthen their legal measures to eradicate “for all time” the danger of a revival of Nazism and racial intolerance; to take measures designed to “ensure the speedy disbandment and disappearance” of such organizations that foster and incite racial discrimination; and to recommend the expansion and strengthening the activities of the United Nations bodies to cooperate in the observance next year of the International Year for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination.