Narodowe Odrodzenie Polski
Encyclopedia
National Rebirth of Poland , abbreviated to NOP, is a nationalist and national-revolutionary (or Third Position
) political party in Poland
registered by the District Court in Warsaw and National Electoral Commission. The party has no seats in the Polish parliament
. It was a member of European National Front
.
National Rebirth of Poland was founded as a nationalist discussion group for young people on 10 November 1981. It joined the Christian National Union when that party was founded in 1989, before leaving in February 1990. The NOP registered as a political party in 1992. The party is the only far-right organisation to claim to be a successor to the National Radical Camp Falanga
(RNR), the pre-war nationalist youth organisation, which was banned in 1934.
NOP publishes the magazine Szczerbiec (the name of the Polish royal coronation sword
), which lists neofascists Derek Holland and Roberto Fiore
among the members of its editorial board, Młodzież Narodowa (National Youth), Myśl (The Thought), and 17 - Cywilizacja Czasów Próby.
In 2009, NOP membership in Poland was estimated at 1000. NOP also has supporters outside Poland, notably among the United States Polish community, including Polish Patriots’ Association, residing in New York City
and the revisionist Polish Historical Institute in Chicago
.
In 2001, the NOP tried to enter parliamentary politics for the first time. The newly created NOP front organization, the New Forces Alliance (Sojusz Nowych Sil), joined the nationalist electoral bloc, Alternative Social Movement (Ruch Spoleczny Alternatywa, RSA). Among the NOP candidates were Marcin Radzewicz, the leader of the openly neo-Nazi
National Socialist Front (Front Narodowo-Socjalistyczny). RSA gained just below 0.5% of the votes, and the alliance was dissolved.
In the 2005 parliamentary elections
, the NOP received 0.06% of the vote. In the 2006 self-government regional elections, it received 0.30%, or about 41 000 votes. In the 2007 parliamentary election, the NOP received 42 407 votes in four electoral districts. In the self-government regional elections in 2010, the party received 0.24% of the vote.
In the 2011 parliamentary elections
, NOP senate candidate Anetta Stemler, running in the 1st electoral district, received 2 934 votes, or 3.10%.
The NOP is known for trying to get media attention with its shock value
campaigns. During the 2007 parliamentary election
, the NOP distributed election campaign posters with the slogan "Fascism? We are worse."
Another, openly homophobic shock value campaign conducted by the NOP was called Zakaz Pedałowania (Faggotry Forbidden). On 17 May 2006 in Toruń
, the NOP organized a counter-demonstration against a public LGBT
rights supporters' meeting. NOP members chanted slogans, including "gas the queers" (pedały do gazu) and "there will be a baton for each queer face" (znajdzie się kij na pedalski ryj).
, and the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance
(ECRI). According to The Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism, the NOP is promoting violent forms of neo-fascism
and antisemitism, including Holocaust denial
.
According to the British historian, Dr John Pollard, neo-Nazi elements in the NOP and their racism and homophobia continue to give rise to concern in other member countries of the European Union.
NOP actions were also condemned by the Anti-Defamation League
, which claims that the NOP is an openly anti-Semitic extremist organization. According to the magazine The Warsaw voice
, the manifesto of the National Revival of Poland, which contains a sentence stating that "Jews will be removed from Poland, and their possessions will be confiscated", is taken directly from Adolf Hitler
's Mein Kampf
. The magazine also claims that the official greeting gesture used in the party is the Nazi-like gesture of the raised arm.
A number of NOP-related incidents received some media coverage in Poland and abroad. According to the European Roma Rights Centre
, on July 3, 1998, NOP supporters vandalised the Roma community centre in Łódź. Along with racist graffiti, swastika
s were sprayed onto the office walls. The perpetrators also left behind their signature as NOP - Narodowe Odrodzenie Polski. During the same night, the same group reportedly vandalised the premises of the Jehovah's Witnesses
religious group.
In March 2000, in Łódź, swastikas and the slogan "Jews out!" along with NOP symbols were spray-painted on the home of Marek Edelman
, who was the deputy commander in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising
and the last of the leaders of the uprising still alive. The incident was condemned by the president and prime minister of Poland, who sent Edelman letters of support and apology.
NOP front organization
National-Radical Institute (Instytut Narodowo-Radykalny, INR) was involved in publishing Western and Polish Holocaust denial literature. In 1997, INR published a volume of translated works of Western Holocaust deniers under the title The Myth of the Holocaust. The same year, INR announced that there were no exterminations in gas chambers
at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
In 2006, the NOP was involved in campaigning to free convicted British Holocaust denier David Irving
from prison in Austria
, and produced a poster containing the slogan "David Irving - Uwolnić prawdę" ("David Irving - Free the truth".)
The party also expressed support for the bombing of Israel
at the time of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, with a poster image stating, "Bomby na Izrael - Już czas !!!" ("Bombs against Israel - it's about time!!!"). On August 13, 2006, NOP leader Adam Gmurczyk published a declaration on behalf of the NOP Executive Council titled Izrael musi zostać zniszczony! (Israel must be destroyed!), calling for the international military takeover of Israel, and offering to put administrative control of Jerusalem in the hands of Pope Benedict XVI
and his successors.
On April 14, 2007, in Krakow
, anti-Semitic slogans were shouted and fascist-like gestures made by the participants of an NOP demonstration. Investigations by the Public Prosecutor’s Office were discontinued on November 26, 2007, as no perpetrators were identified and the case was not classified as an offense.
Third Position
Third Position is a revolutionary nationalist political ideology that emphasizes its opposition to both communism and capitalism. Advocates of Third Position politics typically present themselves as "beyond left and right", instead claiming to syncretize radical ideas from both ends of the...
) political party in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
registered by the District Court in Warsaw and National Electoral Commission. The party has no seats in the Polish parliament
Polish parliament
Polish parliament is an expression referring to the historical Polish parliaments. It implies chaos and general disorder, and that no real decision can be reached during sessions...
. It was a member of European National Front
European National Front
European National Front is a coordinating structure of European Third Positionist, anti-communist and nationalist parties. Sometimes members of the ENF also use anti-capitalist rhetoric...
.
History and politics
National Radical Camp Falanga
National Radical Camp Falanga was a Polish political group. It was one of two groups to emerge following the banning of the National Radical Camp in 1934.-Formation and ideology:...
(RNR), the pre-war nationalist youth organisation, which was banned in 1934.
NOP publishes the magazine Szczerbiec (the name of the Polish royal coronation sword
Szczerbiec
Szczerbiec is the coronation sword that was used in crowning ceremonies of most kings of Poland from 1320 to 1764. It is currently on display in the treasure vault of the Royal Wawel Castle in Kraków as the only preserved piece of Polish Crown Jewels...
), which lists neofascists Derek Holland and Roberto Fiore
Roberto Fiore
Roberto Fiore is an Italian nationalist politician and a founding member of the European third position movement which is against both communism and capitalism...
among the members of its editorial board, Młodzież Narodowa (National Youth), Myśl (The Thought), and 17 - Cywilizacja Czasów Próby.
In 2009, NOP membership in Poland was estimated at 1000. NOP also has supporters outside Poland, notably among the United States Polish community, including Polish Patriots’ Association, residing in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and the revisionist Polish Historical Institute in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
In 2001, the NOP tried to enter parliamentary politics for the first time. The newly created NOP front organization, the New Forces Alliance (Sojusz Nowych Sil), joined the nationalist electoral bloc, Alternative Social Movement (Ruch Spoleczny Alternatywa, RSA). Among the NOP candidates were Marcin Radzewicz, the leader of the openly neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
National Socialist Front (Front Narodowo-Socjalistyczny). RSA gained just below 0.5% of the votes, and the alliance was dissolved.
In the 2005 parliamentary elections
Polish parliamentary election, 2005
Parliamentary elections for both houses of the Parliament of Poland were held on September 25, 2005. Thirty million voters were eligible to vote for all 460 members of the lower house, the Assembly of the Republic of Poland , and all 100 members of the upper house, the Senate of the Republic of...
, the NOP received 0.06% of the vote. In the 2006 self-government regional elections, it received 0.30%, or about 41 000 votes. In the 2007 parliamentary election, the NOP received 42 407 votes in four electoral districts. In the self-government regional elections in 2010, the party received 0.24% of the vote.
In the 2011 parliamentary elections
Polish parliamentary election, 2011
A parliamentary election to both the Senate and the Sejm was held in Poland on 9 October 2011. The previous election, in 2007, resulted in a Civic Platform–Polish People's Party government...
, NOP senate candidate Anetta Stemler, running in the 1st electoral district, received 2 934 votes, or 3.10%.
The NOP is known for trying to get media attention with its shock value
Shock value
Shock value is the potential of an action , image, text, or other form of communication to provoke a reaction of disgust, shock, anger, fear, or similar negative emotions.-Shock value as humor:...
campaigns. During the 2007 parliamentary election
Polish parliamentary election, 2007
Early parliamentary elections for both houses of parliament were held in Poland on 21 October 2007 after the Sejm voted for its own dissolution on 7 September 2007. The election took place two years before the maximum tenure of four years, with the previous elections having been in September 2005...
, the NOP distributed election campaign posters with the slogan "Fascism? We are worse."
Another, openly homophobic shock value campaign conducted by the NOP was called Zakaz Pedałowania (Faggotry Forbidden). On 17 May 2006 in Toruń
Torun
Toruń is an ancient city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River. Its population is more than 205,934 as of June 2009. Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus....
, the NOP organized a counter-demonstration against a public LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
rights supporters' meeting. NOP members chanted slogans, including "gas the queers" (pedały do gazu) and "there will be a baton for each queer face" (znajdzie się kij na pedalski ryj).
Party program
The official NOP's program includes:- The interests of the whole (Polish) nation always come before everything – social class, religious beliefs, skin color or political views.
- Minimal government bureaucracy.
- It wants to end conscriptionConscriptionConscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
and to introduce a voluntary army. - The party is pro-lifePro-lifeOpposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
and thus opposes euthanasiaEuthanasiaEuthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
and abortionAbortionAbortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
. - It is against same-sex marriageSame-sex marriageSame-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
and LGBT adoption. - Strong opposition to EU and NATO.
- DecommunizationDecommunizationDecommunization is a process of overcoming the legacies of the communist state establishments, culture, and psychology in the post-Communist states. It is similar to denazification after Nazism fell...
and LustrationLustrationLustration is the government process regulating the participation of former communists, especially informants of the communist secret police, in the successor political appointee positions or in civil service positions in the period after the fall of the various European Communist states in 1989 –...
. - It calls for a return of capital punishmentCapital punishmentCapital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
(for murderMurderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ers, rapistsRapeRape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, paedophilesPedophiliaAs a medical diagnosis, pedophilia is defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents typically characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children...
, drug dealing, organized crime and for acting against the state of Poland) as well as large penalties for any immoral acts such as corruption. - It is against any form of socialism and liberalism with respect to moral and economic conduct.
- The National Rebirth of Poland says that the party's ideology does not fit in with any form of left-wingLeft-wing politicsIn politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
and right-wingRight-wing politicsIn politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
politics, preferring to call itself the "Third PositionThird PositionThird Position is a revolutionary nationalist political ideology that emphasizes its opposition to both communism and capitalism. Advocates of Third Position politics typically present themselves as "beyond left and right", instead claiming to syncretize radical ideas from both ends of the...
movement".
Anti-Semitism and racism
The NOP is stated to be an anti-Semitic organisation by a number of government bodies, nongovernmental organizations, academic institutions and individual experts worldwide, such as the United States Department of StateUnited States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
, and the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance
European Commission against Racism and Intolerance
European Commission against Racism and Intolerance is the Council of Europe’s independent human rights monitoring body specialised in combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, antisemitism and intolerance. It consists of 47 experts, one from every CoE member state. ECRI publishes...
(ECRI). According to The Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism, the NOP is promoting violent forms of neo-fascism
Neo-Fascism
Neo-fascism is a post–World War II ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. The term neo-fascist may apply to groups that express a specific admiration for Benito Mussolini and Italian Fascism or any other fascist leader/state...
and antisemitism, including Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
.
According to the British historian, Dr John Pollard, neo-Nazi elements in the NOP and their racism and homophobia continue to give rise to concern in other member countries of the European Union.
NOP actions were also condemned by the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
, which claims that the NOP is an openly anti-Semitic extremist organization. According to the magazine The Warsaw voice
Warsaw Voice
Warsaw Voice: Polish and Central European Review is an English language newspaper printed in Poland, concentrating on news about Poland and its neighbours. First released in October 1988, it is a general news magazine with sections on political, economic, social and cultural news and with opinions...
, the manifesto of the National Revival of Poland, which contains a sentence stating that "Jews will be removed from Poland, and their possessions will be confiscated", is taken directly from Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
. The magazine also claims that the official greeting gesture used in the party is the Nazi-like gesture of the raised arm.
A number of NOP-related incidents received some media coverage in Poland and abroad. According to the European Roma Rights Centre
European Roma Rights Centre
The European Roma Rights Centre is an international public interest law organisation engaging in a range of activities aimed at combating anti-Romani racism and human rights abuse of Roma. The approach of the ERRC involves, in particular, strategic litigation, international advocacy, research and...
, on July 3, 1998, NOP supporters vandalised the Roma community centre in Łódź. Along with racist graffiti, swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
s were sprayed onto the office walls. The perpetrators also left behind their signature as NOP - Narodowe Odrodzenie Polski. During the same night, the same group reportedly vandalised the premises of the Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
religious group.
In March 2000, in Łódź, swastikas and the slogan "Jews out!" along with NOP symbols were spray-painted on the home of Marek Edelman
Marek Edelman
Marek Edelman was a Jewish-Polish political and social activist and cardiologist.Before World War II, he was a General Jewish Labour Bund activist. During the war he co-founded the Jewish Combat Organization. He took part in the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, becoming its leader after the death of...
, who was the deputy commander in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the Jewish resistance that arose within the Warsaw Ghetto in German occupied Poland during World War II, and which opposed Nazi Germany's effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to Treblinka extermination camp....
and the last of the leaders of the uprising still alive. The incident was condemned by the president and prime minister of Poland, who sent Edelman letters of support and apology.
NOP front organization
Front organization
A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy groups, or corporations...
National-Radical Institute (Instytut Narodowo-Radykalny, INR) was involved in publishing Western and Polish Holocaust denial literature. In 1997, INR published a volume of translated works of Western Holocaust deniers under the title The Myth of the Holocaust. The same year, INR announced that there were no exterminations in gas chambers
Gas Chambers
Gas Chambers is a fast, hollow and shallow point break type of wave. Being that it is a high performance wave it is well suited for the average to pro level surfer. Gas Chambers is located on the North Shore of Oahu about a 1/4 of a mile north of Ehukai Beach Park and 1/2 a mile west of Sunset...
at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
In 2006, the NOP was involved in campaigning to free convicted British Holocaust denier David Irving
David Irving
David John Cawdell Irving is an English writer,best known for his denial of the Holocaust, who specialises in the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany...
from prison in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, and produced a poster containing the slogan "David Irving - Uwolnić prawdę" ("David Irving - Free the truth".)
The party also expressed support for the bombing of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
at the time of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, with a poster image stating, "Bomby na Izrael - Już czas !!!" ("Bombs against Israel - it's about time!!!"). On August 13, 2006, NOP leader Adam Gmurczyk published a declaration on behalf of the NOP Executive Council titled Izrael musi zostać zniszczony! (Israel must be destroyed!), calling for the international military takeover of Israel, and offering to put administrative control of Jerusalem in the hands of Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
and his successors.
On April 14, 2007, in Krakow
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, anti-Semitic slogans were shouted and fascist-like gestures made by the participants of an NOP demonstration. Investigations by the Public Prosecutor’s Office were discontinued on November 26, 2007, as no perpetrators were identified and the case was not classified as an offense.