President Andrzej Duda has condemned the promotion of Nazism in Poland amid a crackdown on an extreme nationalist organization which a television exposé showed glorifying Hitler and fascism.

“We cannot allow these organisations to exist in Poland … they are anti-Polish, there is no room in Polish society for someone who praises Adolf Hitler, the person responsible for the annihilation of Poles and other nations, especially Jews,” Duda said.

“If someone celebrates the birthday of Adolf Hitler, the person responsible for the deaths of six million Polish people, then the prosecution should look into it and I am very pleased with the quick reaction of the prosecution,” Duda added.

Prosecutors have detained two people, the IAR news agency said on Wednesday, while three other suspected neo-Nazis were earlier detained and charged with propagating fascism after footage aired on Polish television appeared to show the men glorifying Hitler and Nazi Germany.

Last weekend, private broadcaster TVN aired footage from its investigation into nationalists in Poland which included recordings of the Pride and Modernity organisation’s celebrations of Hitler’s birth anniversary last May.

The revelations caused outrage and condemnation in Poland, a country which suffered massive damage after being invaded by Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany in World War II.

The celebrations filmed secretly by TVN featured Nazi German flags, an altar to the Nazi German leader, and the “Sieg Heil” Hitler salute.

Both the ruling conservatives and Polish opposition have called for Pride and Modernity to be delegalised.

Under Polish law, propagating fascist and totalitarian regimes carries penalties of up to two years in jail. (vb/pk)

Source: IAR