The Independence March is a Powerful Symbol of Polish Freedom

The recent Independence March (Marsz Niepodległości) on November 11, Poland’s Independence Day, generated much controversy in Western media. Headlines from outlets, such as CNN and The New York Times, blared that “60,000 fascists” marched in Warsaw. A young Fulbright scholar from New York hid in his bathroom, fearing to even look out of his window, telling readers of The Forward, that “I came [to Poland] to prove that true anti-Semitism is over. It isn’t.” The hysterical coverage was not representative of the “facts on the ground” however. The story that was omitted was that roughly sixty thousand Poles, including families with children and seniors, peacefully manifested their love for their country on its independence day. I took part in the march for the second year in a row, not as a supporter of any political faction, but as a Pole. I couldn’t have felt prouder to walk across the Poniatowski Bridge, where my grandfather faced off against the Nazis as a defender of Warsaw in September 1939. The slur of “fascist” against the marchers would be absurd if it weren’t so mendacious.