Polish Soccer Fans Burn Jewish Effigies, Hang anti-Semitic Banners in Lodz
In reference to team that many Poles associate with Jews, demonstrators reportedly light up at least three puppets hanging from a bridge.
Several dozen soccer fans in Poland hung a banner containing anti-Semitic language at a train station in Lodz at a demonstration that featured the burning of Jews in effigy.
- Lithuania marks WWII massacre of Jews in first high-profile event
- Yad Vashem officials slam Polish government: 'New bill is very close to Holocaust denial'
- Czech bus company advertises trips to Auschwitz as entertainment
Approximately 50 men were photographed on a bridge at the Lodz Kaliska station on August 26 with a banner reading “19.08, today the Jews got a name. Let them burn,” followed by an obscenity, the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper reported.
The message referenced to the KS ód team, which was founded in 1908 and many Poles associate with Jews because of the rich Jewish history of Lodz. The city in central Poland had a large Jewish population before the Holocaust, partly because it was a capital of the local textile industry.
The fans, some wearing balaclavas, set fire to at least three puppets hanging from the bridge and are understood to symbolize burning Jews.