Fédération Internationale des Résistants FIR

Fédération Internationale des Résistants (FIR) 

international grouping of national associations of former fighters in the Resistance Movement, guerrillas, prisoners in fascist concentration camps, persons who were interned, relatives of victims, and all who participated in the struggle against fascism.

The federation was formed on July 3, 1951, in Vienna. In 1972 the FIR had 55 member organizations from Austria, Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, the German Democratic Republic, Greece, Denmark, Israel, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Rumania, the USSR, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Czechoslovakia, and West Berlin (total membership of more than 5 million). The FIR wages a struggle for peace, is against the rebirth of fascism in all its forms, and defends the rights and interests of Resistance fighters. The highest body of the FIR is the congress (between July 1951 and November 1973 there were seven congresses). At the congresses a president, vice-presidents, and members of the bureau and general council are elected. The executive agency is the secretariat. The headquarters of the organization is in Vienna. The FIR publishes a monthly journal in French (Resistance unie) and German (Widerstandskämpfer).