Guerrilla patriotism and mnemonic wars: cursed soldiers as role models for football fans in Poland

Abstract

Most national symbols – the flag, the coat of arms, the anthem, the pantheon of historical figures – belong to the common symbolic space. However, there are also those which divide the society: controversial figures or historical events which are difficult to assess and vulnerable to contradictory interpretations. In Poland, one case in point are the Cursed Soldiers. This paper discusses a specific mode of patriotism of football fans influenced by the figures of Cursed Soldiers. The first part provides a theoretical frame for further arguments. The second draws the relation between Polish football fans and nationalism. The third introduces the figure of Cursed Soldiers: their history, political context and social perceptions. The fourth part analyses fans’ guerrilla patriotism. It revolves around performative content produced within football fandom, mainly by ultras groups. The article concludes with a discussion of specifics and universals of the proposed model of guerrilla patriotism.

Keywords:

• Nationalism
• Poland
• football fandom
• cursed soldiers
• memory policy
• mnemonic regime

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was provided by the author(s).