A Polish Independence Day march may have taken a turn for the nationalist with signs that say “Europe will be white”

The annual Polish independence day celebration took an unsettling turn on Saturday when white nationalist marchers flooded the streets of Warsaw, Poland, waving banners that read “Pray for an Islamic Holocaust” and chanting “Europe will be white.”
Tens of thousands of demonstrators (read: white supremacists like those from Charlottesville) from across Europe gathered in the country’s capital to protest Muslim immigration, gay rights, the European Union, and more. Like the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, the crowd was largely comprised of young white men. And together, they ignited flares and chanted “fatherland.” Some wore masks and carried signs that read “White Europe” and “Clean Blood.” The march’s organizer, a Polish nationalist youth movement called National Radical Camp, seeks to eliminate Jews and Muslims from Poland in order to create an “ethnically pure” nation-state. This year, Radical Camp adopted a new slogan: “We want God.” Taken from a Polish hymn, the phrase was quoted by President Donald Trump in a speech addressing Poland in July. Saturday’s Independence Day march is believed to be the Radical Camp’s largest ever. According to police estimates, some 60,000 demonstrators took part.
At first, the group’s Independence Day marches, held annually since 2009, struggled to attract more than a few hundred participants. Today, it is one of the largest nationalist marches of its kind in Europe. In fact, it is the largest Independence Day event in Poland.
"Pure Poland, white Poland"
Far-right march in Warsaw attracts more than 60,000 people. pic.twitter.com/p5uGOWuC3d
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) November 12, 2017
I’ve been in Warsaw at the National Day march. Young, mostly male. Angry. Didn’t feel like a celebration. Felt like an aggressive call to war. pic.twitter.com/RlEBSu6eyE
— James Longman (@JamesAALongman) November 11, 2017
Unfortunately, Poland is not the only country experiencing a rise in white nationalist ideology among its people.
Back in August, an angry mob of white nationalists marched across the University of Virginia’s Charlottesville campus, carrying tiki torches and chanting “White Lives Matter” and “You will not replace us.” Just a few hours later, white supremacists took to the streets, brandishing assault rifles and chanting, “Blood and soil,” a well-known Nazi rallying cry. In the months since, white supremacists have returned to Charlottesville and have organized demonstrations in Tennessee.
Some stressed that the Polish Independence Day march wasn’t inherently nationalist.
But it is just as alarming that the people there to celebrate Poland’s Independence Day didn’t seem to have a problem sharing their platform with nationalists.
1. Today’s Independence Day march was hijacked by fascists.
2. The organisers don’t seem bothered about that; nor do the police.
3. Most of those attending were not fascists.
4. The biggest problem is that these people did not react against the fascists.— Ben Stanley (@BDStanley) November 11, 2017
This is irresponsible reporting. The vast majority of those marching are not themselves fascist. The problem is that fascists have become normalised to the extent that their presence is tolerated. https://t.co/Kkc3SfkEkH
— Ben Stanley (@BDStanley) November 11, 2017
In the wake of Saturday’s march, Twitter users drew parallels between today’s frightening spread of white nationalist extremism and its far-reaching influence in 20th century Europe.
Some 60,000 Neo-Nazis march in Warsaw. Banners reading:
"Clean Blood"
"White Poland"
"Pure Poland"
Europe has been here before. https://t.co/OHlNY1EIBs pic.twitter.com/3EKluxeIba
— Andrew Stroehlein (@astroehlein) November 12, 2017
My grandmother fled Krakow with her parents when facism started spreading through Europe.
Some of her relatives never survived.
I can't fathom how Poland can wake up this morning and support the event that took place in Warsaw. pic.twitter.com/2xNacvlKit
— Ted Corcoran (RedTRaccoon) (@RedTRaccoon) November 12, 2017
White Europe? Isn't that what Hitler said? 60,000 Nazis marching in Poland and forgetting their country's history. Shameful.
— Zab Mustefa (@ZabMustefa) November 12, 2017
Poland’s Independence Day march commemorates the country’s 1918 reclamation of sovereignty following over a century’s rule by Russia, Prussia, and the Austro-Hungarian empire.