Grzegorz Braun has a history of hostility to Jews, from extinguishing Chanukah candles in the Polish parliament to claiming the gas chambers were “fake”
November 25, 2025 15:18
Far-right Polish politician Grzegorz Braun, the head of the Confederation of the Polish Crown party, has said that "Poland is for Poles, not Jews" in a speech held outside Auschwitz.
Braun, who has a long history of anti-Jewish actions, including defacing a menorah in the Polish parliament with a fire extinguisher and claiming that the gas chambers were "fake", has now used his platform outside Europe's most infamous death camp to showcase his antisemitism.
His comments came after a draft paper on the adoption of a new strategy to combat antisemitism was released by the Chancellery of the Prime Minister's website last month.
In his speech outside Auschwitz, Braun said: “Jews want to be super-humans in Poland, entitled to a better status, and the Polish police dance to their tune.
“Poland is for Poles. Other nations have their own countries, including the Jews.”
The Jerusalem Post reported that he said that promoting Jewish life in the Eastern European country would be like "inviting Hannibal Lecter to move in next door”.
He went on to say that "[our party] will scatter the International Auschwitz Council to the four winds”.
“The area of the German Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau is de facto an extraterritorial zone. It is no longer a Polish territory.”
It comes after Braun caused uproar when he simultaneously reignited a blood libel and partially denied the Holocaust, claiming that “ritual murder [by Jews] is a fact, and such a thing as Auschwitz with its gas chambers is unfortunately a fake".
Last year, he used a fire extinguisher to put out Chanukah candles after a lighting ceremony in parliament, calling the annual celebration "Satanic" and insisting that, by putting out the candles, he was restoring "normality".
The BBC reported at the time that Braun said: "Those who take part in acts of satanic worship should be ashamed."
He was fined in December and ended up losing parliamentary immunity, which means he could face criminal charges for his actions or any future incidents.
Braun has been condemned for his repeated anti-Jewish behaviour by both the Polish and Israeli governments.
On his comments outside Auschwitz, Poland’s Prosecutor General and Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek said he would take action against Braun and his party, according to the Polish Press Agency.
“I will not leave this without a response," he said. "There is no place for antisemitism in Poland, and such statements cause significant damage to the Polish state internationally and within our country.
"We will not allow anyone to express such views with impunity. We will pursue them resolutely. It is truly shameful for Poles that someone like this, in the 21st century, after what happened in Poland during the Second World War, is turning this place [Auschwitz] into some hideous political game."
To get more news, click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter.