‘Poland is for Poles, not Jews,’ MP declares outside Auschwitz death camp

A far-right Polish lawmaker has sparked an uproar with the shocking declaration that “Poland is for Poles, not Jews,” delivered outside the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday about a Polish government plan to fight antisemitism and promote Jewish life in the country, Grzegorz Braun said such a move would be like “inviting Hannibal Lecter to move in next door,” likening Jews to the fictional serial killer portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in the 1988 psychological thriller “The Silence of the Lambs.”

Braun, a member of the European Parliament and head of the Confederation of the Polish Crown party, and known for outlandish antisemitic statements, told reporters that Jews were looking to gain special privileges in Poland, touching on historical accusations against the Jewish people.

“Jews want to be super-humans in Poland, entitled to a better status, and the Polish police dance to their tune,” he said. “They take pleasure in trampling on us, the Poles.”

“Poland is for the Poles. Other nations have their own states, the Jews have theirs,” Braun declared.

He delivered his remarks standing outside the Auschwitz concentration camp, where more than a million Jews were exterminated during the Holocaust. Only about 10,000 Jews live in Poland today, a tiny portion of the country’s population of 38 million.

Poland is set to approve its first-ever five-year plan to fight antisemitism and boost Jewish life in the country in the shadow of rising antisemitism following the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023. The plan is expected to be approved by the country’s cabinet by December.

That plan “singles out one particular group… [for] special privileges… [and] is tantamount to discrimination against all Polish citizens of non-Jewish descent,” Braun said.

He also stated that he would “scatter the International Auschwitz Council to the four winds” if the organization, which works to preserve the country’s Holocaust memorial sites, tried to increase its political influence.

Condemnation of Braun’s statements quickly followed, with Poland’s justice minister, Waldemar Zurek, pledging to launch an investigation into his comments.

“We will not allow anyone to express such views with impunity,” Zurek said. “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.”

Braun is already known for outrageous statements and gestures against Israel and the Jewish people. He made international headlines in January when he interrupted a moment of silence for victims of the Holocaust at the European Union Parliament to yell, “Let’s pray for the victims of the Jewish genocide in Gaza,” in reference to the war against Hamas.

“Let’s pray for the victims of the Jewish genocide in Gaza.”

Poland’s MEP, Grzegorz Braun, was expelled from the EU Parliament today for daring to speak these words—calling out the hypocrisy and double standards of its members. pic.twitter.com/I7Fj0pwadd

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— sarah (@sahouraxo) January 29, 2025

In July, he said on Polish radio that the gas chambers at the Auschwitz death camp were “fake,” while long-debunked claims that Jews murdered Christians to use their blood for ritual purposes were “fact.”

In 2023, he faced charges after using a fire extinguisher to put out Hanukkah candles in the country’s parliament.

Poland has laws prohibiting hate speech and Holocaust denial, but it has long grappled with its role in the Holocaust and how it is memorialized. A 2018 law made it a civil offense to accuse “the Polish nation” of responsibility for crimes it prefers to blame completely on Nazi Germany, which invaded Poland in 1939, despite substantial evidence of Polish collusion.