Braun charged in Poland with denying Nazi crimes
In Poland, far-right politician and Member of the European Parliament Grzegorz Braun has been charged with publicly denying Nazi crimes. The charge concerns his statements about the gas chambers at the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, which the politician called fake. This was reported by Notes from Poland.
On August 25, Braun was summoned as a suspect to the Krakow branch of Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance. Prosecutor Robert Janicki said that the politician is accused of publicly denying, contrary to the facts, the genocide crimes committed by officials of the Third Reich at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Statements about Auschwitz
The charges were based on two interviews Braun gave in July 2025. According to the outlet, he stated in them that Auschwitz with its gas chambers was fake and called claims about the use of gas chambers part of a propaganda narrative supported by a quasi-religious cult.
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Janicki noted that Braun’s statements contradict historical knowledge based on documents, eyewitness testimony, statements by perpetrators, and the findings of previous criminal proceedings. According to Notes from Poland, around 900,000 people, mostly Jews, were killed in the gas chambers of Auschwitz, located in German-occupied Poland.
European Parliament member’s immunity
Denying Nazi crimes is a criminal offense in Poland punishable by up to three years in prison. Following Braun’s statements, Polish Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek asked the European Parliament to strip the politician of his immunity. In March, the European Parliament approved the request, making it possible to bring charges over the comments about Auschwitz and other alleged offenses.
Braun is also already on trial in a case involving four other alleged crimes, including an attack with a fire extinguisher on a Hanukkah ceremony in the Polish parliament in December 2023. Separately, in February, Żurek appealed to the European Parliament regarding another case in which Braun called the gas chambers at Auschwitz and Majdanek fake.
