National Radical Camp Falanga was a Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 political group. It was one of two groups to emerge following the banning of the National Radical Camp in 1934.

Formation and ideology

The ONR-Falanga was formed in 1934 following a split by members of the National Radical Camp held in Detention Camp Bereza Kartuska. Adopting the name of Ruch Narodowo-Radykalny (National Political Movement), it soon became known as Falanga as that was the name of its journal (the same thing happening to the rival group, which was known as National Radical Camp ABC).

The group was led by Bolesław Piasecki and advocated a 'Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 totalitarianism

Totalitarianism

Totalitarianism is a political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible...

' inspired by Falangism

Falangism

Falangism is the political ideology of the Spanish Falange as well as derivatives of it in other countries. In its original form, Falangism is widely associated as a fascist ideology, the Spanish Falange denied this, claiming it was not a copy of any foreign movement...

. However, although clearly derived from Falangism, it has been argued that their Catholicism was even more central than that of the Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 group and indeed their pronouncment that 'God is the highest form of man' recalled the religious fanaticism of Corneliu Zelea Codreanu

Corneliu Zelea Codreanu

Corneliu Zelea Codreanu was a Romanian politician of the far right, the founder and charismatic leader of the Iron Guard or The Legion of the Archangel Michael , an ultra-nationalist and violently antisemitic organization active throughout most of the interwar period...

. The group is widely considered to have been a fascist

Fascism

Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...

 movement.

Development

Largely based on university campuses, it followed a policy of anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism

Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...

 and although it only had a few members from this basis launched attacks on Jewish students and businesses. Left-wing activists were also as part of this violent activity.

Its support for totalitarianism

Totalitarianism

Totalitarianism is a political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible...

 and "National Revolution" meant that Józef Piłsudski initially considered incorporating the group into his own movement. However this did not occur and the group soon came under scrutiny from government forces. Indeed, unlike similar movements in other European countries who regularly held public rallies, the ONR-Falanga held only two such gatherings, in 1934 and 1937, both of which were quickly broken up by police.

For a time the movement became associated with the Camp of National Unity (OZN) as Colonel Adam Koc

Adam Koc

Adam Ignacy Koc was a Polish politician, soldier and journalist.-Honours and awards:...

, impressed by the organisation of the ONR-Falanga, placed Piasecki in charge of the OZN youth group. Koc called for the creation of a one-party state and hoped to use the youth movement to ensure this although his pronouncements upset many pro-government moderates. As such, Koc was removed from the leadership of the OZN in 1938 and replaced by General Stanisław Skwarczyński who quickly severed any ties to the ONR-Falanga.

Disappearance

As a Polish nationalist movement the ONR-Falanga opposed the German occupation of Poland and the movement quickly disappeared to be replaced by the Konfederacja Narodu

Konfederacja Narodu

Konfederacja Narodu was one of the Polish resistance organizations in occupied Poland during World War II. KN was created in 1940 by far-right National Radical Camp political party from several smaller underground organizations, including the Secret Polish Army...

, a group within the Polish resistance

Polish resistance movement in World War II

The Polish resistance movement in World War II, with the Home Army at its forefront, was the largest underground resistance in all of Nazi-occupied Europe, covering both German and Soviet zones of occupation. The Polish defence against the Nazi occupation was an important part of the European...

 that retained far right

Far right

Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...

 views. Following the establishment of communism Piasecki was allowed to lead the PAX Association

PAX Association

The PAX Association was a pro-communist secular Catholic organization created in 1947 in the People's Republic of Poland. In 1953, PAX gave its support to the Stalinist show trial of the Kraków Curia, and took over the publication of the Catholic weekly magazine Tygodnik Powszechny – until the...

, a Catholic organisation that was a front group of the NKVD

NKVD

The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....

and which aimed to promote the new communist regime to Poland's Catholics whilst turning them away from the Vatican.