On the basis of the following statement, the IYSSE are running in this year’s Student Parliament (StuPa) elections at Humboldt University of Berlin (HU) on July 12. Two online election meetings (see below) will be streamed live here and are open to all interested parties. Information on polling places and the details of absentee voting can be found below.

No third world war! Stop rearmament!

The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) are running in the Student Parliament (StuPa) elections to build a socialist movement against war, social inequality and the rise of the extreme right. We intend to prevent universities from once again being turned into state-run cadre schools for right-wing and militarist ideology, as they were before both world wars.

The danger of a third world war has never been greater. The NATO powers have systematically provoked Putin’s reactionary invasion of Ukraine and continue to escalate the conflict daily. They are waging a proxy war at the expense of the Ukrainian population, which could quickly lead to a nuclear confrontation. Germany is actively involved in this and intends to build up the largest army in Europe with the €100 billion large-scale armament program. Seventy-seven years after the end of World War II, German tanks are again rolling against Russia.

The same lack of consideration for human life is evident in the “profits before life” policy pursued during the pandemic that has killed millions. These politics are expressed every day in growing inequality, horrendous inflation and cuts in education and health. There is money only for banks, companies and weapons!

Science instead of war propaganda!

We oppose this development! In the last years we have clearly shown the central role played by the universities in the return of German militarism. Here at the HU, Prof. Herfried Münkler demanded that Germany should once again act as a “taskmaster” (Zuchtmeister) in Europe. The right-wing radical Prof. Jörg Baberowski is known for his trivialization of Nazi crimes and even went so far as to physically attack left-wing students on campus.

Although the District Court (Amtgericht) has ordered Baberowski to pay a €4,000 fine as a consequence of his attack on one of our StuPa deputies, the university administration continues to refuse to take even the slightest disciplinary action against him. It has even defended his violence against students as “humanly understandable”!

For a socialist perspective!

The vast majority of students strongly reject the actions of the university leadership and the government’s war drive. But the question of political perspective and orientation is decisive. Only an international socialist movement of the working class against capitalism can stop a return to barbarism and a third world war. This is what we, as the youth organization of the Fourth International, are fighting for, not only in Germany but across the world.

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Online events

Monday, June 27, 6:30 p.m.

Stop the war! €100 billion for education and health instead of weapons!

The war in Ukraine is not about “democracy” or “human rights,” but about geopolitical and economic interests. Germany is using Putin’s reactionary invasion to flood Ukraine with weapons and to march once again into Eastern Europe. Months before the war began, the largest rearmament since Hitler was decided behind the backs of the population and is now being put into action.

While hospitals and educational institutions are facing cuts, an additional €100 billion is made available overnight for armaments and weapons. Resistance to this policy is growing among workers and young people, both in Germany and around the world. At this event, we will discuss how to put an end to militarism and avert the catastrophe of a third world war.

You can register for and participate in the event at www.iysse.de/events.

Thursday, July 7, 6:30 p.m.

How the return of German militarism was prepared at the HU.

Our university plays an important role in ideologically preparing the return of German militarism. In particular, German crimes are relativized and trivialized in order to prepare for new wars. “It is hardly possible to conduct a responsible policy in Europe if you have the conception: We were to blame for everything. In relation to 1914, this is a legend,” then-Humboldt Professor Herfried Münkler declared in 2014.

His colleague Jörg Baberowski even claimed that Hitler “was not vicious” and that the Holocaust was no different than shootings during the Russian Civil War. He presented the Nazis’ planned war of extermination as a consequence of the Red Army’s conduct in the civil war. To this day, the university leadership completely backs Baberowski and even defends his physical attack on our StuPa deputy.

At the event we will trace the events at our university and show how these radical right-wing viewpoints have become official government policy in the face of rearmament and war.

You can register for and attend the event at www.iysse.de/events.

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Apply now for absentee ballot to vote for IYSSE candidates!

All HU students can request an absentee ballot by sending an email to wahl@refrat.hu-berlin.de by 3 p.m. on June 28. To do so, the email must contain the following information:

Name

Matriculation number

Course(s) of study / major

Address where the documents should be sent

The ballot will be held on July 12. The list of polling stations can be found here as soon as they are determined.