Tracking Right Wing Facism in Poland and Europe

Submitted by Adam Strom

Tracking Right Wing Fascism in Poland and Europe with Rafal Pankowski

What does “Never Again” mean in Poland? The speakers this week have made it clear that the Polish story and the story of Jews are intertwined. Indeed, in the last 25 years of democracy in Poland, there has also been the emergence of a new Jewish identity in Poland. Where that identity will go is the subject of other sessions and other blog posts, however, essential to reckoning with Poland’s past, and the development of its democratic future will depend on how it responds to that Jewish community, and other minority groups.  

Despite the lack of diversity, Poland, like many of its neighbors faced a challenge in the early 1990s with a rise in neo-Nazi and skinhead violence. After a brutal hate motivated arson attack on a hostile housing foreign students in the North of Poland, an informal student group began meeting, looking for a way to respond. Participants in the group noticed that while neo-Nazi revivals were getting attention in Germany, there was relatively little attention paid to similar cases across post-communist Eastern Europe. Rafal Pankowski noted that while victims knew, the popular press was not paying attention to a “Nazi skinhead subculture that was gaining traction among young people.” Before long the student group evolved into Nigdy Wiecej or Never Again. (http://www.nigdywiecej.org/)

According to Pankowski, while the group is interested in history and commemorations, they focus on contemporary lessons as well. He stresses that while they have an academic background, the group is also looking to make a difference in civic life and has focused on documenting hate and raising awareness. Among the groups’ most visible work is their magazine, which they distribute online and in print, with a print circulation of about two thousand copies an issue.

In recent years Never Again has focused on two major initiatives: one combatting hate in music with their program music against racism and the other focusing on racism in sport, particularly football (soccer) fans with the program Let’s Kick Racism Out of Stadiums (http://www.nigdywiecej.org/215). The group’s work on racism in sport gained visibility in the run up to the 2012 European Football Cup in Poland and Ukraine. After BBC aired a documentary called “Stadiums of Hate.” http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01jk4vr

Pankowski believes “antisemitism is central to the far right in Poland today, despite the fact that there are very few Jews.”  He argues that “this goes back to historical traditions in which antisemitsm was central.”

Among the trends Never Again is following is a paradoxical globalization of nationalist movements. In particular he cites the visibility of the symbols of the Hungarian nationalist party Jobbik at a celebration of Polish Independence Day.

While the percentage of people who support far right wing fascist or neo-Nazi political movements in Poland may be as low as 2 or 3%, their influence is larger. Pankowski argues that even a few percentage points can make a difference in elections with low turnouts and warned that just a few years ago an extreme party was rewarded with a role in the ruling coalition. He explains, “the distance from political margins to political mainstream is shorter than we think. What make be considered extreme one day may be perceived as fashionable the next.”

When asked for his outlook on the future, he believes “the cup is both half empty and half full.” He explained that while some young people are attracted to skinhead and racist culture through new means, others are growing to appreciate the benefits of living in multicultural communities and starting to see it as the norm.

As Pankowski spoke, I was reminded of the quotation used in several Facing History and Ourselves resources from Justice Hastie, “Democracy is becoming rather than being. It can easily be lost, but never is fully won. Its essence is eternal struggle.”