For humanity, for humanity's future, for socialism: DKP

Contribution of the German Communist Party (DKP) to the 24th International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties, 7-9 August 2026, Havana, Cuba

The Cuban people and the Communist Party of Cuba are waging a heroic struggle against imperialism's murderous blockade. They wage it for humanity, for humanity's future, for socialism. To hold our international meeting under these conditions deserves gratitude and places on us the responsibility to do everything for Cuba's victory, for its people, for the defense of socialism. Cuba will win!

Imperialism, having been forced onto the defensive, is trying to preserve its hegemony by violent means — economic, political, or military. This includes the war against Russia through Ukraine, which also aims at confrontation with socialist China, whose development of the productive forces now appears impossible to catch up with. It includes the enforcement of imperialist interests in West Asia through the genocide of the Palestinian people and the war of aggression against Iran and Lebanon.

And it includes the attempt to destroy socialism in Cuba. To this end, Cuba has been declared a special threat — a threat that plainly consists in the fact that Cuban society, its free healthcare and education system, its socialist development, and its resistance to imperialist threats stand as a model for other peoples: a model of pursuing a sovereign path of development oriented to the interests of working people. Cuba thereby plays an important role not only in the struggles in Latin America but in struggles across the whole world, including in the imperialist countries — including here in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Cuba does not stand alone in this struggle. The counterforces against US-led imperialism are growing stronger. This concerns the growing economic strength of the People's Republic of China and its global projects such as the Belt and Road initiative, and progress toward a multipolar world order that allows many countries at least partial release from dependency on imperialism. The struggle against neocolonial dependency is intensifying. Of great importance in this process is the cooperation between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation, as well as the BRICS grouping.

But solidarity from within the imperialist countries is also of great importance — most recently visible in the "Nuestra America Convoy" action and the international brigade for May 1st. Solidarity with countries threatened by imperialism — Cuba foremost among them — therefore plays a major role in our party's struggle. We are proud that a solidarity brigade of the SDAJ, our youth organization, with nearly 30 young people from Germany, is in Cuba right now. The anti-imperialist struggle must be waged in all countries simultaneously and jointly. This solidarity cannot therefore be separated from the struggle against German imperialism's war policy — these are two sides of the same coin. German imperialism, despite existing and growing conflicts, still subordinates itself to US imperialism. This was also evident in Germany's vote at the UN General Assembly in July 2026 on Cuba's blockade. A very large majority condemned the blockade; Germany was among those that abstained. Foreign Minister Wadephul had previously declared that he "does not see a blockade." German imperialism has, however, by no means abandoned its ambitions for world-power status; to pursue them it needs NATO, and it also needs the EU, which at Germany's urging is becoming increasingly militarized. It is therefore in German imperialism's interest to rearm NATO and the EU and to fully subordinate Ukraine — as part of Eastern Europe — to imperialist policy. In West Asia too, German imperialism stands at the forefront of imperialist aggression, through its unconditional support for Israel and its refusal to recognize the war of aggression against Iran as a violation of international law.

This imperialist war policy and the extreme rearmament come at the expense of working people, including in the imperialist countries themselves. In Germany, with the approval of all parties in the Bundestag — with the partial exception of members of "Die Linke" — social rights are being dismantled, from pensions to working-time regulations to healthcare and education. A reintroduction of conscription is planned. Infrastructure is increasingly being aligned with military purposes.

The state is responding to the possible growth of protest with a marked rollback of democratic rights. This includes the criminal prosecution of Palestine solidarity activists and of those who publicly point to NATO's responsibility for the war in Ukraine, the banning of Soviet flags at demonstrations, police assaults, and the persecution of young activists in the school strike movement against conscription.

Meanwhile, protest is growing — though by no means to a sufficient degree — as more and more people notice that their living conditions are steadily worsening, and push back. There are now also more openings for this within the trade unions, still largely dominated by the Social Democratic Party and bound into imperialist politics. We see our central task at present as strengthening these openings within the unions, achieving a break of the unions' integration into the politics of imperialism, bringing about cooperation between the workers' movement and the peace movement, and at the same time carrying a consistent anti-NATO course into this struggle.

Let us stress once again: this struggle against imperialist war policy cannot be separated from international solidarity. In our country, in the coming weeks, solidarity actions with socialist Cuba will take place — against the genocidal blockade, against the military threats of US imperialism. Our party, too, will continue its actions in support of socialist Cuba and its Communist Party.

Cuba is resisting, and Cuba will win! Socialism will win!