Union of the Persecuted Nazi Regime

Logo of the organization

The Union of the Persecuted Nazi / Federation of Antifascists (German: Vereinigung der Verfolgten des Naziregimes - Bund der Antifaschistinnen und Antifaschisten, VVN-BDA) is an association founded in 1947 and based in Berlin. The VVN-BdA, formerly VVN, emerged from German victims' associations founded after World War II by political opponents of Nazism.

During the Cold War the VVN was the object of the political struggles between East and West Germany. In the West, the association was seen as an organization controlled by the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), while in the East, the VVN was accused of espionage. Even so, it formed an important part of the GDR's policy, obtaining even 19 seats in the Volkskammer in 1950. In 1953, the VVN was abolished in the GDR and was founded in its replacement by the Antifascist Resistance Committee.

Since 2002, the association has spread throughout Germany, including communities formed by former prisoners of concentration camps as incorporated associations. The VVN-BdA is considered and defined as the largest anti-fascist organization in the Federal Republic of Germany, currently counting around 5800 members.

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