Poland – For more than a decade, each year on the 11th of November, the major event happening in the Polish capital city is the Independence March (Marsz Niepodległości). For most people, 11 November 1918 means the end of the war, but for Poland it is the day it regained its independence after 123 years of Russian, Prussian, German and Austrian partition. Organised by a patriotic association close to the Polish national right, the march is nonetheless non-partisan, and all Polish patriots and friends of Poland are welcome.
Many families, youth, elderly, and women join with the patriots, nationalists and football fans every year, thus showing a united face of Poland that we wanted to present here through a selection of photographs.
The participants gathered at the foot of the Palace of Culture in Warsaw while prayers were said. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyA father and son during the Independence March. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyTwo young women talk during the march, one with a Polish flag on her shoulders. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássySome politicians take part in the march, such as PiS MP Dominik Tarczyński. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyMany women attend the march. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyAlong the way, many locals wave to the crowd. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyA Pole wearing a sweatshirt evoking the Polish-Hungarian friendship. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyMany elderly people also participate in the event. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyA man has a tattoo on his neck, meaning “We remember” in Polish, the first letter being the symbol of the Warsaw insurgents of 1944. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyNumerous smoke bombs and pyrotechnic elements create a unique atmosphere during the entire march. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyA Polish family attending the 11 November commemorations and the Independence March. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyA group of Poles displayed a banner against Bandera, a Ukrainian nationalist figure and initiator of the ethnic cleansing of Poles in Volhynia. Several participants came to ask for explanations, sometimes vehemently, as the banner was seen as an anti-Ukrainian provocation by some. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyA young Polish couple who came to attend the Independence March. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyEncounter of French readers of the Visegrád Post! Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyA flag of the Virgin Mary, carried by Catholics reciting psalms. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyFrom the Poniatowski Bridge, a participant observes the huge crowd. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyCatholic activists carrying a banner saying “Poland is Catholic, not secular”. In the background, an anti-abortion banner showing the shredded body of an aborted foetus. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyAs night falls, the participants arrive at the national stadium. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyBanner against the Ukrainization of Poland. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, several million Ukrainians have joined the two to three million already living in Poland. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyNational Socialist, LGBT and communist symbols crossed out on the banners of the participants of the Independence March. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyTwo young Poles have just lit a torch. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyMany re-enactors participate in the event. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc AlmássyAn football ultra poses in front of the national stadium. Photo: Visegrád Post / Ferenc Almássy
Ferenc Almássy is the founder and editor-in-chief of the Visegrád Post. He is an independent Franco-Hungarian journalist specialised in Central Europe, France and migration related issues. He is also the Central European correspondent for TV Libertés and a writer for the Hungarian weekly paper “Magyar Demokrata” and daily newspaper "Magyar Nemzet".
