"Never Again" Association

"Never Again" Association (Polish: Stowarzyszenie "Nigdy Więcej") is an independent anti-racism organization, based in Warsaw. The organization has its roots in an informal anti-Nazi youth group that was active since 1992, and was formally founded in 1996 at Bydgoszcz by Marcin Kornak. As of 2010, there were several hundred members in the organization, of which some 80% were in Poland and 20% were in other European countries.[2][3] As of 2018, the organization is headed by Rafał Pankowski.[4][5]

"Never Again" Association
Founded1996 (1996)
Typeanti-racist organization[1]
Purposepromote multicultural understanding and to contribute to the development of a democratic civil society in Poland and in the broader region of Central and Eastern Europe. ‘NEVER AGAIN’ is particularly concerned with the problem of education against racial and ethnic prejudices among the young.[1]
Location
Area served
Poland and broader Central and Eastern Europe[1]
Key people
Rafał Pankowski
Websitewww.nigdywiecej.org/en/

"Never Again's" publications have been modeled after the British Searchlight publication,[6] with which it cooperates.[7] "Never Again" regularly cooperates with the Southern Poverty Law Center.[8]

Publications

The organization publishes, since 1994, the "Never Again" magazine.[2] The magazine is focused on countering intolerance, fascism, racism and xenophobia.[9] A 2009 cover story on "Slavic Abuse", by Marcin Kornak, described groups that committed to the pagan Rodzimowierstwo beliefs coupled with right-wing leanings. Kornak described in the article the far-right, fascist, appropriation of neo-paganism with roots in Jan Stachniuk's pre-WWII Zadruga movement. Kornak asserted that fascist neo-paganism sees the role of paganism as "an ideological fist aimed the Judeo-Christian concept of charity, humility, ..." saying this was a perversion of the original Slavic religion which certainly was not based on antisemitic complexes. Kornak's article elicited a response in Gniazdo periodical in which the writer noted that in his view Kornak's basic thesis was correct but complained that Kornak "sees "little Nazis" almost everywhere".[9]

The organization's Brown Book (Polish: „Brunatna Księga”),[10] compiles xenophobic, racist, and anti-gay incidents.[11][12]

Activities

In 2003, "Never Again" organized a campaign with the slogan "Let's Kick Racism out of the Stadiums", imploring the Polish Football Association to act against racism in the sport.[13][14] "Never Again" subsequently gave a presentation at a conference on stadium security organized by the football association. Among other endorsements, Poland's first black international player Emmanuel Olisadebe endorsed their work.[14]

In 2012, ahead of UEFA Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, "Never Again" launched one of the most extensive anti-racist campaigns in football,[15] as part of the Fare network in which "Never Again" is a co-founder.[16]

In 2017, "Never Again's" Rafał Pankowski condemned the sale in the Parliament of Poland of "lucky Jew" figurines which depict Jews with money, as "deeply rooted in negative stereotypes". Following Pankowski's condemnation, the figurines were removed from sale.[17][18]

In 2018, after over a decade of lobbying, "Never Again" convinced the Allegro site to halt sales of item bearing Nazi symbols. A team of "Never Again" volunteers reported sales of over 1,000 such auctions to Allegro which then took them down. While such items are illegal in Poland and prohibited by Allegro's terms of use, prior to "Never Again's" activities the sale of such items on Allegro were widespread.[19]

See also

References
  1. Never Again: Mission
  2. Tatar, Anna (2010). "The Association "Never Again" and its Activities". Politeja (14): 599–608. ISSN 1733-6716. JSTOR 24919405.
  3. Konze, Andre. "Deredicalisation of foreign fighters", Criminal Justice and Security in Central and Eastern Europe 351.352: 281-282.
  4. Israel disturbed by Polish treatment of anti-racism activist, AP (Times of Israel reprint), 28 March 2018
  5. Far-right Polish priest detained at Stansted airport, Guardian, 25 February 2017, Mark Townsend and Rajeev Syal, quote: "Poland’s leading anti-racist organisation Never Again"
  6. Anti-Racist Movements in the EU: Between Europeanisation and National Trajectories, page 186, chapter by Kazimiera Wodz and Maciej Witkowski
  7. European Football in Black and White: Tackling Racism in Football, Christos Kassimeris, Lexington Books, page 136
  8. Hatred, free speech and one developer's connections with Poland's far right (correction), Polygon, Charlie Hall, 18 December 2014
  9. Cosmopolitanism, Nationalism, and Modern Paganism: chapter Only Slavic Gods: Nativeness in Polish Rodzimowierstwo, chapter by Scott Simpson, Palgrave Studies in New Religions and Alternative Spiritualities, page 73
  10. "Brunatna Księga". Stowarzyszenie „Nigdy Więcej” (in Polish). Retrieved 2019-06-06.
  11. Transforming the Transformation?: The East European Radical Right in the political process, edited by By Michael Minkenberg
  12. European Islamophobia Report 2015, edited by Enes Bayraklı, Farid Hafez, page 436
  13. Poland's Threatening Other: The Image of the Jew from 1880 to the Present, Joanna Michlic, University of Nebraska Press, page 264
  14. Anti-Racism in European Football: Fair Play for All, Christos Kassimeris, Lexington Books, page 45-46
  15. Crusaders in the crowd: Fighting Poland's right-wing football ultras, Deutsche Welle, 15 June 2016
  16. Jurczyszyn, Lukasz. "'Respect–Diversity Football Unites' UEFA/FARE Program at EURO 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. Between Pro-diversity Project and Security Policy Towards Far-right Groups." Journal for Deradicalization 4: 226-255.
  17. Polish parliament gift shop removes Jewish figurines from sale, The Art Newspaper, 15 December 2017
  18. Why 'Lucky Jew' imagery is so popular in Poland, Times of Israel (JTA reprint), 18 August 2018
  19. Nazi-inspired jewellery, trinkets wiped from auction site, Al-Jazeera, Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska, 29 July 2018
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