Outrage has erupted after a far-right Polish Member of the European Parliament delivered an inflammatory speech outside the gates of Auschwitz, where he compared Jewish people to the fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter.
Incendiary Remarks at a Sacred Site
Grzegorz Braun, the chairman of the Confederation of the Polish Crown, made the comments on Saturday, 26 November 2025, while criticising a proposed bill to tackle antisemitism in Poland. Standing at the site where over one million people were murdered during the Holocaust, Braun claimed the legislation would grant Jewish people special privileges.
He stated to reporters, "Jews want to be super-humans in Poland, entitled to a better status, and the Polish police dance to their tune." Braun further declared, "They take pleasure in trampling on us, the Poles. Poland is for the Poles. Other nations have their own states, the Jews have theirs."
In his most shocking analogy, Braun described the five-year proposal to support Jewish life in Poland as being like "inviting Hannibal Lecter to move in next door." According to a 2021 census, there are approximately 17,000 Jewish people living in Poland, a nation of 38 million.
Swift Condemnation and Promise of Investigation
The response from Polish authorities was immediate and severe. Poland's justice minister, Waldemar Zurek, branded Braun's comments as "shameful" and vowed to launch a formal investigation.
"We will not allow anyone to express such views with impunity," Zurek stated. "It is truly shameful for Poles that someone like this, in the 21st century, after what happened in Poland during World War II, is turning this place into some hideous political game."
The European Jewish Association (EJA) issued a powerful statement condemning the remarks as "scandalous and unacceptable." They highlighted the profound offence of Braun choosing to repeat antisemitic rhetoric at the very gates of Auschwitz, the site of the Nazis' systematic murder of more than one million Jews.
A Pattern of Antisemitic Behaviour
This incident is not an isolated one for Braun, who has a history of alleged antisemitic actions. In a previous and highly publicised event in 2023, he used a fire extinguisher to put out Hanukkah candles in the Polish parliamentary building. The European Parliament has since stripped him of his immunity, allowing him to face charges for that act.
Furthermore, in July of this year, Braun allegedly claimed the Nazi gas chambers at Auschwitz were "fake" and promoted conspiracy theories about murdered Christians. Such statements are prohibited under Poland's hate speech laws. Prime Minister Donald Tusk described those earlier comments as "a disgrace."
Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Chairman of the EJA, emphasised the need for accountability, stating, "We absolutely can and must demand accountability when such a person holds public office in Europe." This latest speech at one of the world's most poignant symbols of genocide has intensified calls for consequences against the far-right politician.
