GSFL Presidency Expresses Support for Ukraine and Calls for Peace

On the 24th of February 2022, the Putin regime in Russia launched an unprovoked, full-scale military invasion of the sovereign state of Ukraine. In reaction to this unconscionable act of war and in an effort to restore peace, numerous international governing bodies such as the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly, and the European Council of the European Union have overwhelmingly passed a series of resolutions both condemning and sanctioning the Putin administration for its lethal military action against the Ukrainian people. Despite all international attempts to persuade President Vladimir Putin to immediately withdraw all military forces from Ukraine, the violence has not only continued, but escalated. On the 28^th of February 2022, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that, at the behest of 39 ICC nations, it would immediately begin investigations into multiple credible allegations of war crimes, including crimes against humanity and genocide. The GSFL Presidency (GSFL-P) applauds this step.

As explanation for his unjustifiable military invasion of Ukraine, President Putin and his governmental representatives have repeatedly and shamelessly used the memory of the Holocaust, falsely claiming that the war being waged against the Ukrainian people is to liberate them from the Nazi-controlled Ukrainian government. In point of fact, the democratically elected President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is a Jewish Ukrainian whose grandparents experienced the horrors of Nazism first-hand. It is estimated that during WWII, approximately 1.5 million Ukrainian Jews died during the Holocaust. Among those victims were many members of President Zelenskyy’s family. As the founder and administrative head of a German-based organization, the GSFL-P unreservedly condemn the Putin government’s disgraceful misappropriation of the Holocaust in an attempt to justify his own sanguinary actions. The Putin administration’s true and reckless disregard for the horrific loss of life which took place during the Shoah was put on global display on March 3, 2022, when a missile attack of the invading forces set a Holocaust memorial park in Kyiv ablaze, damaging the Ukrainian Babyn Yar memorial site where from Nazis and their auxiliaries perpetrated one of the largest mass killings of Jews, Roma Sinti, Soviet POWS, psychiatric patients, and civilians during WWII.

The GSFL Articles of Association state that our scholarly society was established to “further the ideals of social justice and equality, as well as professional integrity, charity, and responsibility.” In accordance with these guiding principles, the GSFL-P vehemently condemns the wanton, inhumane, and criminal war being waged against Ukraine at the behest of President Putin. The GSFL-P also denounces the mass incarceration of the growing number protesters within the Russian Federation who have bravely raised their voices against the crimes being committed by the Putin regime. The Putin government’s continuing and multifarious assault against human and civil rights has resulted in destruction, despair, displacement, deprivation, and death. Moreover, given the fact that the Putin administration has not only threatened to use the nuclear weapons at his disposal, but has also seized control over Ukraine’s nuclear power facilities, it is clear that his war represents a clear and unambiguous threat to the entire planet. This assault against humanity must be stopped. The GSFL-P stands firmly, strongly, and proudly in support of the people of Ukraine and freedom loving people everywhere. As the inspiring leadership of Ukraine has repeatedly stated, the time to take a stand against this tyranny is NOW! Below is a listing of rescue organizations, large and small, as well as educational resources to learn more.

NON-PROFIT RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDING AID

CARE Ukraine Crisis Fund (raising funds for food, water, hygiene kits, and support services for the people of Ukraine)

Chlebem i Sola / Polska Goscinnosc (a small, local fundraising action for the Ukraine)

Fundacja Ocalenie (a small, refugee-supported, Polish-based humanitarian organization which has started fundraising for Ukraine)

MADRE (an international non-profit dedicated to helping survivors of rape used as a weapon of war)

Polish Humanitarian Action ( Polish-based humanitarian organiziation which assists victims of armed conflict in Ukraine and abroad)

Red Cross

Save The Children (Nonprofit organization which is delivering lifesaving aid to vulnerable children in Ukraine and around the world)

Sunflower of Peace (Non-profit organization raising money to prepare first aid medical backpacks for paramedics and doctors on the front line):

UN Refugee Agency (international organization which is providing emergency assistance to families in Ukraine)

UNICEF (UN International Children’s Emergency Fund has established a special initiative to assist the children of Ukraine)

Voices of Children (the Ukrainian Charitable Foundation designed to provide psychological support for children affected by armed conflict)