Speech by Esther Lynch, ETUC General Secretary
In Memory of Trade Union and Resistance Fighters
Fort Breendonk - 4 May 2025
We gather today at Fort Breendonk, not just to remember, but to recommit.
To recommit to the fight against fascism, tyranny, and hatred – and to honour the brave women and men, many from our own labour movement, who gave their lives in that struggle.
They were workers, trade union organisers, courageous people who stood up against the Nazi regime and its collaborators. They smuggled food, passed vital messages, hid fugitives, and resisted – when to resist meant torture or death. They acted not just for national freedom, but for social justice, for a Europe where no one would be enslaved by persecution, fear and poverty
The strikes in Belgium during 1941 and 1942, especially the 1941 "May Strike of 100,000" were bold acts of resistance. These strikes and demonstrations symbolised defiance, unity, and the crucial role of labour in fighting fascism with united trade union aims. This place – Fort Breendonk – was a site of horror, a machine of repression. But even here, the human spirit of resistance endured.
Today, 80 years on – many of those who survived and were able to remind subsequent generations of their experience are no longer with us. Our tribute to them is that we continue in their footsteps to keep the memory of the collective horror alive.
Their message, is now ours: never again.
Labour leaders who were brutalised here never abandoned their values. Their defiance is part of our legacy. Let us be absolutely clear: the labour movement is not – and has never been – neutral in the face of fascism. We are its opposite.
And in today’s Europe, where the far right is once again marching into parliaments and poisoning public debate with racism, antisemitism, transphobia, and migrant scapegoating, radicalising and attacking working people, their trade unions and our demands for social justice —we must be louder, prouder, and stronger in our resistance.
This place is not just history. This place is a warning.
Because silence and indifference is what allowed fascism to rise before. Fascism thrived by exploiting workers fear and desperation, it blamed democracy for economic hardship, and turned social struggle into hatred, division, and violence and it made trade unionism a crime.
We will not let it happen again. Not on our watch.
We must remember with pride the defeat of fascism, the victory of hope over hate. That's why the ETUC joins your demand that May 8th – the day fascism was defeated in Europe – be restored as a public holiday in Belgium. A day to renew our commitment to democracy and our collective struggle for social justice.
It would be a powerful symbol for the Europe of the human rights values we share and a reminder that freedom must never be taken for granted. Our universal obligation to prevent war crimes and human rights violations everywhere.
Making the 8th of May a public holiday in Belgium would honour all resistance fighters and reaffirm our commitment to never again allow fascism, hatred, oppression, or authoritarianism to take root.
Memory must inspire action.
Friends, today Fort Breendonk stands as a rallying cry, to organise, to resist fascism and the growth of the far right and to never forget whose side we are on.
To the trade unionists who resisted – we remember you, we thank you, and we pledge to carry your fight forward.
Thank you.
[Ends]
