Polish EU Lawmaker Charged with Holocaust Denial Over Auschwitz Gas Chamber Remarks

Polish far-right politician and Member of the European Parliament Grzegorz Braun has been charged with denying Nazi crimes for referring to the gas chambers at Auschwitz as "fake." The prosecutor's office stated that Braun is accused of publicly denying, "contrary to the facts," the genocide committed by Nazi Germany at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. This offense carries a potential sentence of up to three years in prison.

The case stems from two interviews Braun gave in July 2025. In one, he claimed that "Auschwitz with its gas chambers is unfortunately fake," and in another, he described claims about the use of gas chambers as part of a "propaganda narrative" supporting a "quasi-religious cult." Braun was summoned as a suspect to the Krakow branch of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance, a state institution authorized to prosecute crimes related to the Nazi occupation and communist rule.

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Auschwitz with its gas chambers is unfortunately fake.

Braun pleaded not guilty but did not deny making the statements. Approximately one million Jews and around 100,000 Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners, and others were killed at Auschwitz during World War II. In March, the European Parliament revoked Braun's parliamentary immunity at the request of the Polish prosecutor's office.

Braun, who leads the Confederation of the Polish Crown party, faces other legal challenges. He was previously involved in an incident where he used a fire extinguisher to put out candles lit for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah in the Polish parliament in 2023. According to recent polls, his party holds about 10.2% support among voters, with the conservative Law and Justice party at 21.3% and the far-right Confederation at 14.9%. While the leader of Law and Justice has ruled out an alliance with Braun's party, a coalition between the fragmented Polish right could become crucial after the next parliamentary elections.

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claims about the use of gas chambers are part of a 'propaganda narrative' that supports a 'quasi-religious cult.'