The Medyka-Shehyni border crossing has become emblematic of the humanitarian and racial complexities that emerged in the early days of the war in Ukraine. While Poland opened its borders to millions of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion in February 2022, the initial wave of solidarity revealed underlying racial biases and inequities in the treatment of refugees. The Humanitarian Divide During the first days of the conflict, images of long lines at the Medyka crossing were broadcast...
The New Nationalism at the Heart of Europe is a large photo and video-art project, in which Tomáš Rafa maps the public manifestations of nationalism, extreme right, racism and lack of tolerance in different countries. Since 2009, the artist documents meetings of radical and revolutionary groups, but also the anti-government and anti-extremist demonstrations, marches and supporting events for the rights of the minorities or clashes of anti-Fascists with supporters of ultra right movements. read more
On September 29, 2012, promoters of the far-right People’s Party Our Slovakia (Ľudová strana Naše Slovensko – LSNS) are planning an event to “clean up” the Romani settlement in Krásná Hôrka, Slovakia. The party is inviting people to attend the event through social networks and its website, claiming that more than 300 people might participate. Marián Kotleba, the party’s leading candidate, has requested the Slovak State Police to coordinate the event. Kotleba recently...
On 25 March 2025, Erik Ždiľa, a student at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, presented his work Hymna (Anthem) in front of the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava. The work was a sound installation in which a compressed-air compressor played the Slovak national anthem on a set of beer bottles. The work was presented in front of the Slovak National Gallery as part of the relay protest Art Will Not Be Silent! The relay protest took place in front of the Slovak National Gallery...
On April 11, 2016, the far-right National Radical Camp (Obóz Narodowo-Radykalny, ONR) organized a street demonstration in Warsaw against the presence of immigrants in Poland. The protest took place during the height of the European refugee crisis, a period when nationalist groups across the continent sought to mobilize public fears about migration and cultural change. Led by figures such as Robert Bąkiewicz, ONR activists marched with white-and-red flags, nationalist insignia, and banners...
A pre-election rally organized by far-right politician Marián Kotleba and members of his People’s Party Our Slovakia (ĽSNS) in Žilina escalated into violence on Saturday, July 11, 2015. The event, staged under an anti-immigration banner, drew several hundred participants, including sympathizers from the extremist group VZDOR Kysuce and other regional branches of the Slovak radical right. The gathering was held in Žilina’s city center as part of a series of nationalist demonstrations that...
On November 11th, 2012, Poland celebrated its Independence Day, but the celebrations were overshadowed by a controversial march known as the Marsz Niepodleglosci (March of Independence). The march was organized by far-right groups, and it attracted thousands of participants, many of whom espoused nationalist and anti-Semitic views. The march began peacefully, with participants carrying Polish flags and chanting slogans in support of their country. However, as the march progressed, tensions...
On July 20, 2024, Bratislava’s Námestie slobody became a vibrant hub of solidarity and resilience as thousands gathered for the 14th annual Dúhový PRIDE Bratislava. This year’s event held profound significance, serving as a poignant protest against homophobia and intolerance, especially in the wake of the tragic terrorist attack on Zámocká Street in October 2022. The 2022 attack, which claimed the lives of two young members of the LGBTQ+ community outside the Tepláreň bar, cast a...
Berlin Wedding, Germany, 30th April 2012 7,000 police officers were deployed on Monday and Tuesday to keep the demonstrations under control. Traditionally, the violent “anticapitalist Walpurgis Night demo” has passed through Friedrichshain and Prenzlauer Berg. This time, it was unexpectedly relocated to the Sprengelkiez and Brüsseler Kiez in Wedding, an area between the Wedding S-Bahn station, the northern shore of the Berlin-Spandauer Shipping Canal, and See- and Müllerstraße. This...
Poland
V102: Press Conference of “14 Women from the Bridge” – Withdrawal from Counter-Protest, Warsaw, November 10, 2021
On November 10, 2021, in front of the Zachęta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw, the civic group known as “14 Women from the Bridge” held a press conference. The women, who in earlier years had stood on the Poniatowski Bridge to block the annual Independence March, announced that they would withdraw from their planned counter-demonstration scheduled for November 11 at Rondo Praw Kobiet (formerly Rondo Dmowskiego). The decision followed the government’s move to grant the Independence March...
Far-right protests in Ceske Budejovice against the Roma community turned violent on Saturday, 29 June 2013, resulting in eight people being injured, including two police officers. More than 100 people were detained during the clashes, and police found baseball bats, brass knuckles, gas pistols and other weapons in possession of the demonstrators. Protestors had attempted to reach neighborhoods where the Roma population was prominent, leading to confrontations with the police. Officers used tear...
On March 16, 2013, around 200 people gathered at SNP Square in Bratislava to block the path of far-right extremists marching to the grave of Jozef Tiso. The blockade was personally supported by the city’s mayor, Milan Ftáčnik, who led the procession waiting for the arrival of the neo-Nazis. The office announced the blockade at the mayor’s request the day before the event. Ftáčnik emphasized the importance of expressing opposition to the far-right in a lawful and peaceful manner, so...
01.05.2017 Brno residents are not planning to block the 1 May march by the ultra-right convened by the Workers’ Youth this year. Instead, they are calling on people through Facebook to organize creative, entertaining, non-violent activities in the city center on 1 May under the slogan “You can’t salute the Nazis if you’re having a good time” (“Kdo si hraje, nehajluje”). In recent years, 1 May in Brno has repeatedly become a scene of neo-Nazi provocation...