Polish MEP charged with Holocaust denial over Auschwitz gas chamber comments

Polish prosecutors have charged Grzegorz Braun, a far-right Member of the European Parliament and leader of the Confederation of the Polish Crown party, with denying Nazi crimes. The charges stem from his public statements in July 2025, where he referred to the gas chambers at Auschwitz as "fake" and described accounts of their use as "propaganda narrative" underpinning a "quasi-religious cult."

Prosecutor Robert Janicki stated that Braun was charged with publicly denying, "contrary to the facts," genocide committed by Nazi Germany at Auschwitz-Birkenau. This offense is punishable by up to three years in prison. Braun has pleaded not guilty but acknowledged making the statements.

The case originated from interviews given by Braun, who has a history of antisemitic rhetoric. The European Parliament approved a request to strip him of his parliamentary immunity in March. Braun is also currently on trial for separate alleged offenses, including using a fire extinguisher to disrupt a Hanukkah celebration in the Polish parliament in 2023.

Braun's party is emerging as a significant political force, polling at approximately 10.2 percent ahead of Poland's next national election in October 2027. While PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński has ruled out an alliance with Braun's party, PiS prime ministerial candidate Przemysław Czarnek has not categorically excluded a coalition with Braun's party, suggesting a potential need for such alliances to form a governing majority.