The Polish prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into remarks made by MEP Grzegorz Braun, who questioned the historical significance of Nazi crimes at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Piotr Antoni Skiba, spokesperson for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw, indicated that this inquiry relates to a potential violation of Article 55 of the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance, which prohibits denying Nazi crimes.
PAP Agency reported that Justice Minister Adam Bodnar has communicated with Andrzej Pozorski, Deputy Prosecutor General, about Braun’s statements. The Warsaw branch of the Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation is currently reviewing the situation and will soon make procedural decisions.
During a Thursday interview on Wnet Radio, Braun’s comments prompted host Łukasz Jankowski to end the discussion.
Left MP Anna Maria Żukowska announced on social media her intention to notify the prosecutor’s office formally.
Auschwitz Museum Director Piotr Cywiński condemned Braun’s statements, describing them as disrespectful to the victims and an affront to historical truth. He stated that denying the existence of gas chambers constitutes a crime under Polish law and affirmed the Museum’s commitment to report this issue to the prosecutor’s office. Cywiński reiterated that the gas chambers primarily targeted Jews, as well as other vulnerable groups, including Soviet prisoners of war and Roma.
On May 6, the European Parliament lifted Braun’s immunity following a motion by Prosecutor General Adam Bodnar in October 2024. Braun faces several charges, including violations of bodily integrity, insulting a physician, and hooliganism. Notably, he is accused of extinguishing Hanukkah candles with a fire extinguisher during a Sejm ceremony and obstructing a Holocaust lecture at the German Historical Institute, which resulted in property damage charges.
Braun is currently barred from participating in the European Parliament due to controversial remarks made during a gender debate and his actions on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
