Far-right Polish MP Grzegorz Braun sparked widespread outrage after making antisemitic remarks outside the Auschwitz concentration camp. Speaking amid news of the government’s plans to adopt a resolution combating antisemitism, Braun declared: “Jews want to be super-humans in Poland, entitled to a better status, and the Polish police dance to their tune.”
Braun, head of the Confederation of the Polish Crown party, continued: “Poland is for Poles. Other nations have their own countries, including the Jews.” He likened the promotion of Jewish life in Poland to “inviting Hannibal Lecter to move in next door.” He also threatened that his party, if it gained influence in government, “will scatter the International Auschwitz Council to the four winds,” leaving it without legal or financial basis.
The speech came shortly after the Polish government released a draft resolution on the National Strategy for Counteracting Antisemitism and Supporting Jewish Life for 2025–2030. The resolution, published on the website of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister in October, aims to strengthen protections for Jewish communities and combat antisemitism across the country.
The comments prompted strong condemnation across Poland. Prosecutor General and Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek told the Polish Press Agency that he would take action against Braun and his party. “There is no place for antisemitism in Poland, and such statements cause significant damage to the Polish state internationally and within our country,” Żurek said. “We will not allow anyone to express such views with impunity. It is truly shameful for Poles that someone like this, in the 21st century, after what happened in Poland during World War II, is turning this place [Auschwitz] into some hideous political game.”
Żurek has previously acted against Braun. He personally signed a request to strip the MP of parliamentary immunity following Braun’s comments denying the existence of gas chambers in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Such statements violate Polish law, specifically Article 55 of the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN Act), which prohibits public denial of Nazi crimes, gross distortion of events in German-run concentration camps, or claims suggesting Polish responsibility.
Braun has a long history of antisemitic actions. He gained international attention in 2021 when he approached a Hanukkah display in the Polish Parliament and extinguished the hanukkiah, calling it “anti-Polish.” He also opposes restitution for Holocaust survivors. Earlier this year, Braun finished fourth in the Polish presidential elections.
