Veteran Austrian anti-imperialist Willi Langthaler, with Palestine Solidarity Austria, told Workers World that the event “is memorable, because it is the first time in many decades that anti-fascism has been publicly returned to where it came from, namely as a component of the struggle against capitalism and imperialism. The concentration camp prisoners of Mauthausen expressed this in a magnificent and unmistakable way in their oath.”

Langthaler added that the régime had cynically used false anti-fascism to vilify any political leaders — mostly those from the Global South — who opposed [neo]imperialism, calling them “new Hitlers,” and Palestinians who resisted colonization were called “antisemites.”

“The event in Morzinplatz,” said Langthaler, “although still at a symbolic level, shows that witnessing nine months of genocide has made a change in the consciousness of the people and that anti-fascism can regain its place in the anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist struggle. This is vital not only in Austria, but also in France and Germany and throughout Europe.”