Far-right Brotherhood
Marsz Niepodległości 2024
*The aim of this blog is not to promote extremist ideas but to bring a perspective on international networking.
The Independence March (Polish: Marsz Niepodległości) is a significant annual event in Warsaw, held on Poland's Independence Day, November 11. Since its inception in 2011, the march has grown into a prominent patriotic and nationalist demonstration, drawing up to tens of thousands of participants each year. Key participants are currently Konfederacja Wolność i Niepodległość (Confederation), Młodzież Wszechpolska (All-Polish Youth), and Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (Law and Justice). The extreme right, as part of this march, is organised by Obóz Narodowo-Radykalny (National Radical Camp).
This year, according to more conservative estimates, some 90 000 people took part in the march. March organisers put the numbers as high as 200,000, but based on the footage, the lower number is closer to the truth. Older videos of the marches, which had a higher turnout, were massively circulated on social media. This may have largely confused people who were not closely interested in the march.
This blog will only take a closer look at the participants from the far-right group led by the Obóz Narodowo-Radykalny (ONR). It will not delve into political issues concerning the relations between the opposition and the government in Poland.
According to publicly available sources, it can be said that this year has been a successful one for the ONR in terms of the number of their foreign partners visiting this event. There are several videos and photos that show the participation of different organisations from all over Europe, but also from the US. In addition, the participants' activities on social media, where they made no secret of their participation, contributed to the identification of the specific groups. On the other hand, these groups should be commended for their good OPSEC (operational security), as it is impossible to identify them personally from most of the shots, due to them being sufficiently veiled and hiding their faces even on social networks.
What is ONR? They describes themselves as “a social movement uniting young Poles who care about values such as God, honour, homeland, family, tradition and friendship. We are not a political party because we are not interested in participating in oligarchic parliamentary games.” In general terms, the ONR can be described as the successor to the same organisation that emerged in the 1930s on the basis of Italian fascism. At that time, however, it was only short-lived. The current organisation is active since 1993 and focuses mainly on street and educational activism and building international relations.
ONR is known for its extensive international cooperation and contacts. This was evident in the international participation at the march. Organizations belonging to the far-right phenomenon Active Club, but also to the White Lives Matter initiative, were largely represented here.
For those, who are not familiar with Active Club phenomenom, I recommed to read this pieces:
Neo-Nazi Active Clubs Spreading Globally, Allying with Similar Extremists, and Taking to the Streets - GRAHE
From Pixels to Punches: Geolocating a neo-Nazi and White Nationalist Combat Event in Los Angeles - Bellingcat
Active Club Network - ADL
Fraternity, Fitness, and Fascism: Active Clubs in Germany - Cemas
In short, it is a global decentralised white extremist movement that aims to build a new young generation that will spread and promote extreme ideas (great replacement theory for example). The movement focuses on combat sports, networking and street activism, which attract mostly young people, which is also visible in the publications of these groups on social networks. The fathers of the current state of movement are the american extremist Robert Rundo and Denis Kapustin (Denis Nikitin/White Rex), leader of the unit Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) fighting against Russia in Ukraine, who promoted this idea through his social media and network in Europe.
Here is the graphics depicting the represented Active Club based on shared photos:
However, it must be added that not all Active Clubs that took part in the march had their flag there. Some delegations write about foreign participants who did not publicly present themselves with insignia or flags. For example, the Czech Active Club, which was there under different flags.
This event is significant as it highlights the strong connections between the Active Club network and extremist groups. Many Active Club members are often already affiliated with established organizations, reflecting a clear trend in far-right networking across Europe and the United States.
List of foreign organisations that, according to public sources and claims, participated in the event:
Serbia Division (Serbia)
Patriot Front (US)
Clann Éireann (Ireland)
Nacionalisté, Active Club (Czech republic)
Edelweiss-Savoie, Clermont Non Conforme, Aquilla popularis Nice (France)
White Boys Stockholm, Active Club Sverige (Sweden)
CasaPound, Blocco Studentesco, Active Club Venetia (Italy),
Active Club (Denmark)
Golden Dawn (Greece) *based on the red flag, which GD used to have before. There is a possibility, that flag belongs to Polish organization.
Windenland (Slovakia)
Active Club Dietsland (Netherlands)
Hatvannégy Vármegye Ifjúsági Mozgalom (Hungary)
Active Club (Lithuania)
Active Club Tallinn (Estonia)
Active Club Germania (Germany)
Countries without specification: Croatia, Belgium or Spain.
Polish organizations:
Obóz Narodowo-Radykalny
Autonomiczni Nacjonalisci
Slavic Brothers
Barykada
Narodowa Czestochowa
White Boys
Korpus Ekologiczny
*I might have missed some organization, or forgot to include them. List is definitely not complete, as it relies on open source and the number of organizations was high.
Here is the graphics depicting some groups, which were present:
On Sunday, November 10th, a sport event took place at the Palestra Warszawa Gym. According to the organizers, participants included members of ONR the Autonomous Nationalists (AN), along with their French counterparts from Clermont Non Conforme. Additionally, representatives from the Active Club network attended, with delegations from the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Estonia, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands. The organizers described the event as an excellent opportunity not only to engage in competitive sparring but also to collectively uphold the sporting ethos of modern nationalism, emphasizing spiritual, intellectual, and physical development.
After the sports activities, participants gathered for a small conference at unknown place. Speakers included representatives from the ONR and AN, as well as an activist from the Italian CasaPound movement, whose members attended in significant numbers this year, led by the movement’s chairman, Gianluca Ianonne. The discussions focused primarily on the concept of cognitive warfare, explored from both Polish and Italian perspectives. The ONR representative elaborated on related issues, such as disinformation and manipulation.
White Lives Matter initiative brings together members from the US and Europe, mainly to spread their ideological education through the social media, street activism and international networking. It is not specifically different from other initiatives and is most likely deeply connected to the Active club scene.
Despite the fact that the total number of people in this march’ group did not exceed a few hundred (mostly Poles), it is one of the most significant events of the far right on the European continent. The year 2024 edition has shown that networking is not dead but evolving and encompassing a wide range of countries and organisations.