This year, on the 95th anniversary of Polish statehood, the violence was particularly pronounced. On a supposedly joyous national holiday, in a stable country that has been called Europe's 'green island' during the financial crisis, having never descended into red while the rest of Europe was hurting, cars are trashed, Molotov cocktails fly in the air and parents warn their children to stay at home. In recent years, the country's capital has regularly spun into complete mayhem on Independence Day. This November, young men in balaclavas set fire to two significant elements of the Warsaw landscape: a huge rainbow in the city center, seen by many as a symbol of tolerance and openness - or gay rights - and the guard post at the Russian embassy, reflecting age-old tensions between the two countries. It's from the bright flares held by violent nationalist protesters. That's not because there's been an elaborate fireworks show. Now, on Poland's Independence Day, the capital's sky gives off a red glow and its streets are enveloped in smoke. 11 1918, the end of World War I, Poland regained its place on the map of Europe, after having been wiped off for 123 years.