Poland saw a mass demonstration over the weekend of tens of thousands of nationalists taking to the streets of Warsaw over the weekend, honoring “God, family and fatherland” after recent election victories put the country on a more globalist path, while at the same time the war in in nearby Ukraine.
At a march organized by nationalist groups to mark Poland’s Independence Day celebrations, 105 years after the nation regained statehood at the end of World War I, Warsaw participants carried the white and red flag of Poland and some burned torches as they marched along route that from the city center to the national stadium.
While many patriotic events take place across the country of 38 million people on November 11, the Associated Press estimated that the annual independence march “has dominated news coverage because it has sometimes been overshadowed by xenophobic slogans and violence.” About 40,000 visitors were present this year and the event was peaceful, said Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski.
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Jack Posobiec, senior editor for Human Events, shared aerial photos of the massive Warsaw crowd with his more than 2.3 million followers on X, formerly Twitter. “Patriots took [to] the streets of Poland today. Honor God, family and country. “This is what the globalists want to destroy,” he wrote.
The End Wokeness account, which has 1.8 million followers, shared the same video and wrote: “POLAND, TODAY: Hundreds of thousands take to the streets to celebrate their country. Is this what it’s like to live in a country that has borders and…”nationality?”
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People hold flares as they take part in an annual Polish Independence Day march in Warsaw, Poland, on Saturday, November 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
This year’s march also comes against the backdrop of recent tensions with Ukraine and the European Union. In response to the march in Warsaw, Dr. Samuel Ramani, lecturer in international relations at Oxford University, to his 213,500 followers on X: “Zelensky [emphasized] The friendship between Poland and Ukraine on November 11th. Tensions remain. “Poland is pushing for limits on Ukrainian truck traffic at the border and the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure is trying to break the impasse.”
Football fans were prominent among the Warsaw demonstrators, some holding banners with right-wing extremist slogans. One group brought EU and LGBTQ+ flags to trample and a rainbow flag was burned, the AP reported. However, many families also took part and there were no arrests. Police removed climate protesters who lined up along the march route.
In a nationwide election last month, Polish officials said voters chose centrist, moderate conservative and left-wing parties in large numbers after eight years of rule by a national conservative party at odds with the European Union.
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Independence Day celebrates the restoration of Poland’s national sovereignty in 1918, at the end of the First World War and after 123 years of foreign rule. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
The far-right Confederation Party, ideologically linked to the independence march, won just 18 seats in the 460-seat Sejm, Poland’s parliament. Meanwhile, Law and Justice, the ruling right-wing nationalist party whose leaders have joined the march in the past, won the most votes but fell short of a parliamentary majority.
Donald Tusk, the winning coalition’s candidate to become the next prime minister, appealed for national unity in a message on X and stressed that the holiday belongs to all Poles.
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“When someone uses the word nation to divide and sow hatred, they are acting against the nation,” said Tusk, who did not join the march. “Today our nation celebrates its independence. The whole nation, all of Poland.”
A man holds a torch as people take part in an annual Polish Independence Day march in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, November 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issues a statement wishing the Polish president and the Polish nation a happy Independence Day, writing: “Ukraine and Poland are united in freedom and will always be together – in the EU, NATO and in all the crucial moments of our shared history.”
“Our nations are bound together by a common purpose and the value of freedom. Whenever we were on the same page, we changed history for the better and won together. Together we are at least twice as strong!” Zelenskyy wrote. “Ukrainians will never lose their gratitude to Poland and will always appreciate Poles’ help in the most difficult moment of Russian aggression.”
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“The Polish nation helped Ukraine survive. I am grateful for the respect shown to all Ukrainians to whom the Poles gave refuge and opened their homes to them,” he said. “A strong, forever free partnership between our nations makes us and our entire Europe stronger!”
Tens of thousands marched for Polish Independence Day in Warsaw, Poland on Saturday, November 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Independence Day celebrates the restoration of Poland’s national sovereignty in 1918, at the end of World War I and after 123 years of rule by Prussia, Austria and Russia.
“For us Poles, this day of November 11th is a day of joy, a day of pride, a day of glory, a day when we remember with emotion that our country, Poland, existed after 123 years of non-existence “reborn,” said President Andrzej Duda in a speech at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
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Duda warned that Russian imperialism was once again threatening not only Ukraine but the entire region.
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“Russian imperialism will go even further: it will want to take over more nations and take away their freedom and their states,” Duda said.
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The AP also noted: “The march has in the past attracted far-right sympathizers from other European countries, including Hungary and Italy. Among those attending this year was Paul Golding, the leader of Britain First, a small far-right party in the United Kingdom.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.