Performing Paganism Popular History Practices as Doing Metapolitics in Poland Karin Reichenbach A new wave of fascination with the early Middle Ages, the pre-Christian times of the Vikings and Slavs, reached Poland after the end of state socialism in the 1990s. It tied in with an increasingly resurgent interest in Nordic myths and a search for national roots in a remote ancestral past. Though it connected in many ways with former nationalist-cum-romantic perceptions of history, tradition and continuity as well as with pre-war politico-cultural, anti-Catholic and nationalist movements, it was in these early post-socialist days that the Pagan past became a screen onto which ethnic identification and political reorientation could be projected. The Neopagan or “Native Faith” movement, the musical genre of black metal and the field of historical reenactment emerged as practices engaging with pre- Christian history and as popular media responding to a growing fascination with all things mediaeval. However, the overlapping milieus of their enthusiasts and audiences at the time were evidently inclined towards extreme-right-wing ideologies and formed small networks engaged in political activism.1 Yet, these radical political efforts declined soon after the turn of the new millennium, while the level of seemingly unpolitical, cultural engagement in the abovementioned fields increased. Wolin – “the best place for the meeting of our movement” [CN: the following quotation contains a racial slur and provocative language] We are all against the modern system, especially Democracy and the nigger-loving system. We hate Christianity. We see [Democracy] as Z.O.G and Jew occupation. Wolin is a historical site of ancient pagan civilization. [...] Here in Wolin, we feel the spirit of our ancestors. It is the best place for the meeting of our movement.2 This statement is taken from a report on the Festival of Slavs and Vikings, an international festival reenacting early medieval battles that has been held in Wolin, northwestern Poland, almost every summer since 1993. It consists of tournaments in which reenactors compete in individual duels or smaller groups, the highlight being a large-scale battle reenacting the Jomsvikings’ defence of their stronghold against the Piast troops of Poland.3 It is accompanied by a large market where traditional crafts are demonstrated and products are sold as well as by a programme of events such as the staging of Pagan rituals, musical performances and informative talks, occasionally even given by academic historians. The report cited appeared in the 2001 winter issue of the Resistance Magazine, a music magazine linked to the white supremacist record label Resistance Records. At the time, it was owned by William Luther Pearce, who during his lifetime was head of the US neo-Nazi organization National Alliance and author of the infamous The Turner Diaries. The statement above quotes Igor D. Górewicz, by now head of a commercially successful Szczecin-based reenactment troupe and a publishing company, (former) long-time representative of the Polish Native Faith organisation Rodzima Wiara and collaborator on several musical projects inspired by Viking or Pagan history. He belonged to overtly extreme-rightwing Neopagan groups around the turn of the millennium but later abandoned political activism and distanced himself from any radical views.4 The Resistance Magazine’s feature is based on conversations with Polish representatives of the Wolin festival and what they said about uniting the Polish National Socialist skinhead scene with Neopagan/reenactment/black metal groups to work towards their common political goal of “preserving their heritage and building a better future for those who share their pure European bloodlines”.5 They describe the festival as a meeting place for the radical right in Europe that is centred on a Neopagan, nationalist and racist identity. As a “child of transformation”, to borrow Mariusz Filip’s description
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