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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
During a speech in Poland’s parliament, far-right politician Konrad Berkowicz displayed an Israeli flag in which the Star of David had been replaced with a Nazi swastika. He accused Israel of being the “new Third Reich” and of committing genocide in Gaza.
Berkowicz’s actions were condemned by the parliamentary speaker, while an MP from Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s ruling coalition called for prosecutors to take action.
Polish MP Konrad Berkowicz compares Israel’s crimes against humanity to those of the Third Reich and displays an Israeli flag with a swastika.
Israel is the new Third Reich! pic.twitter.com/Uo8GBcgQcc
— Sławomir Mentzen (@SlawomirMentzen) April 14, 2026
Konrad Berkowicz is a member of Confederation (Konfederacja), a far-right opposition group that has 16 MPs in the 460-seat Sejm, the more powerful lower house of parliament.
Speaking from the parliamentary rostrum, Berkowicz declared that “the number of children who have died [in Gaza] is dozens of times higher than during the entire war in Ukraine”. He said that “the Jews use phosphorus” munitions against civilians, causing enormous suffering.
“Israel is committing genocide before our eyes with particular cruelty. Israel is the new Third Reich, and its flag should look exactly like this,” declared the MP, before pulling out a modified version of Israel’s flag with the Star of David replaced by a swastika.
Clips of Berkowicz’s speech were shared on social media by official Confederation accounts, as well as by the personal account of one of the group’s leaders, Sławomir Mentzen, who wrote in English: “Israel is the new Third Reich!”
The speaker of the Sejm, Włodzimierz Czarzasty, condemned Berkowicz’s stunt. “Displaying the swastika in the Polish Sejm is in no way justified,” said Czarzasty, quoted by broadcaster TVN, which also reported that cries of criticism could be heard from other MPs in the chamber.
Speaking immediately after Berkowicz, Sławomir Ćwik, an MP from the ruling coalition, called on Czarzasty to forward a transcript of the speech to prosecutors so that they could initiate criminal proceedings.
Under Polish law, displaying Nazi symbols is punishable by up to three years in prison if they are used to “promote a Nazi…system of state or incite hatred based on national, ethnic, racial or religious differences”. Even without displaying symbols, the promotion of hatred based on such differences is a crime under the same law.
During the Nazi-German occupation in World War Two, around 17% of Poland’s population was killed, a higher proportion than any other country during the war. Around half of those roughly six million victims were Polish Jews.
Six people who were filmed celebrating Hitler’s birthday in Poland while wearing Nazi uniforms and saluting in front of a burning swastika have been found guilty of promoting fascism https://t.co/SYPqn3nMd3
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) June 1, 2022
Berkowicz’s actions were also condemned by the US ambassador to Poland, Thomas Rose, who previously spent seven years as publisher and CEO of the Jerusalem Post and is a vocal supporter of Israel.
“SHAME SHAME SHAME on YOU!!, wrote Rose on social media, sharing Mentzen’s clip of Berkowicz’s stunt in the Sejm.
“Maybe even you have noticed that we Jews aren’t so easy to push around anymore, are we? We defend ourselves with all our strength without apology — we stand with our friends and we know how to fight and defeat our enemies!!!” added the ambassador.
SHAME SHAME SHAME on YOU!! Maybe even you have noticed that we Jews aren’t so easy to push around anymore, are we? We defend ourselves with all our strength without apology — we stand with our friends and we know how to fight and defeat our enemies!!! https://t.co/3nZUDTfKKs
— Tom Rose (@TomRoseIndy) April 14, 2026
In 2023, far-right MP Grzegorz Braun – who was then part of Confederation but has since split from the group – attacked a celebration of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah in the Sejm with a fire extinguisher.
His actions were widely condemned by other political parties, and Braun is currently on trial over that incident as well as a number of other alleged crimes.
Last year, Confederation submitted a resolution to parliament that condemned both “the criminal terrorist attacks by Hamas against the civilian population of Israel” as well as “the criminal and genocidal actions against civilians carried out by the Israeli armed forces in Gaza”. However, it has not been voted on by the chamber.
The far-right Confederation party has submitted a resolution to Poland’s parliament condemning Israel’s “genocidal actions” in Gaza, as well as the “criminal terrorist attacks by Hamas”.
It has called on other parties to adopt the resolution in a vote https://t.co/mrbIuzlhAK
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) October 7, 2025
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Slawomir Kaminski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
