Polish lawmaker Grzegorz Braun, a controversial far-right figure known for anti-Jewish statements, ignited a political storm after delivering a series of inflammatory remarks outside the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp.
Speaking over the weekend, Braun accused Jews of seeking “special treatment” in Poland and claimed police give Jews preferential treatment. His comments came as the Polish government advances a national plan to combat antisemitism and strengthen Jewish life in the country between 2025 and 2030.
Braun declared that “Poland is for Poles,” arguing that other peoples, including Jews, “have their own states.” He mocked government programs supporting Jewish culture in Poland, comparing them to “inviting a dangerous neighbor to move in next door.” He also vowed that if his party ever comes to power, it would dismantle the Auschwitz International Council by stripping it of its legal authority.
Braun, who years ago extinguished a Hanukkah menorah inside parliament with a fire extinguisher, went on to say that the grounds of the former Nazi death camp are “effectively an extraterritorial area,” implying that it no longer belongs to Poland.
Grzegorz Braun violently extinguished a Hanukkah menorah lit by Israel’s ambassador to Poland, and members of the Jewish community
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His comments drew sharp condemnation. Waldemar Żurek, Poland’s justice minister and attorney general, said he will take legal action against Braun, stressing that antisemitic rhetoric has no place in Poland and damages the country’s international standing. Żurek accused Braun of turning Auschwitz — a symbol of the atrocities committed on Polish soil during World War II — into “a political playground.”
Earlier this year, Braun claimed in a radio interview that the Auschwitz gas chambers were “fake” and was removed from the broadcast. He has also faced attempts to lift his parliamentary immunity over comments minimizing Nazi crimes, which are illegal under Polish law.