Nazi Israeli flag: Polish MP Konrad Berkowicz may end up in jail for Swastika stunt; here’s why

A Polish far-right member of parliament has caused major controversy after displaying a modified Israeli flag. It carried a Swastika symbol, referring to Nazi Germany under Hitler.

Konrad Berkowicz did it during a debate in Poland’s parliament. The MP’s action has drawn sharp criticism from both Polish and Israeli officials.

Berkowicz, an MP from the Confederation party, carried out the act on April 14 while speaking about the ongoing Middle East conflict. Standing at the parliamentary podium, he accused Israel of committing war crimes through its alleged use of white phosphorus munitions in Gaza and Lebanon.

He then called Israel “a new Third Reich” and showed the banner. The flag had a Swastika in the place of the Star of David. He said, “Its flag should look exactly like this.”

What is ‘Third Reich’?

The “Third Reich” was the name used by Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 under Adolf Hitler. It means “Third Empire”. It was presented as the successor to earlier German empires like the Holy Roman Empire and the German Empire.

The term was first used in 1922 by writer Arthur Moeller van den Bruck. The Nazis later adopted it to promote their idea of a powerful, unified Germany.

The Third Reich was a totalitarian state with strict control over people’s lives. Democracy was removed, and opposition was not allowed.

The regime followed a racial ideology that led to the Holocaust, where millions of Jews and other minorities were killed.

Hitler claimed his rule would last a “thousand years”. It ended after 12 years.

Reaction

The incident took place on Yom HaShoah. On the same day, thousands of people, including Holocaust survivors, were marching between the former Nazi German camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau in southern Poland.

Israel’s embassy in Poland called the incident an “antisemitic horror”. It has urged Polish authorities to take action against Berkowicz, who has been an MP since 2019.

Poland’s Foreign Ministry said the act was “deeply offensive” and “reprehensible”. Criticism of Israeli policy did not justify such a gesture, it noted.

Sejm Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty called it a “blatant violation of the dignity of the Sejm”. He has announced plans to impose a financial penalty on Berkowicz under parliamentary disciplinary rules.

Possible legal actions

Officials are also set to notify legal authorities about possible offenses. Publicly insulting the flag of a foreign state and promoting Nazism fall under such offenses. Displaying Nazi symbols publicly in Poland can carry a prison sentence of up to three years.

Article 256 of the Polish Penal Code says: “Whoever publicly promotes a Nazi, communist, fascist or other totalitarian system of state or incites hatred based on national, ethnic, racial or religious differences or for reasons of lack of any religious denomination, shall be punishable by imprisonment for up to three years.”

“The same punishment applies to anyone who publicly promotes Nazi, communist, fascist ideology or an ideology calling for the use of violence in order to influence political or social life.”

The law goes further by covering activities such as producing, storing, selling, or distributing materials that contain such content or symbols, if the intent is to spread these ideas.

However, there are exceptions. If such actions are part of artistic, educational, scientific or collecting work, they are not treated as a crime.