60,000 nationalists march in Poland, chanting, 'Europe must be white'

Nationalist demonstrators in Warsaw, Poland

(Image credit: Janek Skarzynski/Getty Images)

last updated 12 November 2017

An estimated 60,000 nationalists marched in Warsaw to celebrate Poland's 99 years of independence on Saturday.

While many simply waved Polish flags, some demonstrators threw red smoke bombs and carried signs with slogans like "Europe must be white," "white Europe of brotherly nations," and "pray for an Islamic Holocaust." They shouted chants including "glory to our heroes," "pure Poland, white Poland, "refugees get out," and "death to enemies of the homeland."

Among the marchers were supporters of Poland's governing party, Law and Justice (PiS). Interior Minister Mariusz Blaszczak downplayed the racist elements in comments praising the "beautiful sight" of Poles celebrating independence.

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A significantly smaller counter-protest was also organized in which demonstrators carried signs opposing fascism. View scenes from the main rally below. Bonnie Kristian

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.