Politics of the past: the use and abuse of history - Socialists ...

Moscow-style communism proved to be mistaken. In many cases,
they turned to the United States and not to Western Europe, with
dubious results.
Conclusion
Social democratic theory since the First World War shows a consistent
opposition to all forms of totalitarian dictatorship. Social democrats,
for their part, were the victims of both National Socialist
and communist terror. The dividing line between social democrats
and the various forms of totalitarianism was primarily, both in theory
and in practice, the issue of democracy, the issue of recognition
of human and civil rights, and the welfare state under the rule
of law. The defeat of the totalitarian dictatorships took a very different
course in each case. However, social democrats played a
considerable part, although it must be freely acknowledged that
they occasionally made mistakes.
In the light of this history, I am firmly convinced that social democracy
can be regarded as a European liberation movement – possibly
the most important liberation movement of the 20 th century. It is
in any case a tradition which should not be forgotten in national and
European cultural heritages. It should be openly acknowledged as
part of the European identity. In my view, the Socialist Group in the
European Parliament also has a duty to make it widely known.
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