On August 25, the Prosecutor of the Krakow IPN Investigative Division presented 2 charges of public denial of genocide crimes in Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Euro MP did not plead guilty, and for his actions under Article 55 of the IPN Act endanger to fine or to 3 years in prison. The fact about German crime and the credibility of Polish memory is at stake.
Two charges after the July 2025 statements
The Branch Commission for the Investigation of Crimes against the Polish Nation in Krakow informed that the charges concern 2 public statements by Grzegorz Braun. The first 1 fell on 10 July 2025 on Radio Wnet during a conversation held in Jedwabne. The second was in a conversation published 4 days later on the YouTube channel "Jan Posamalski talks".
By official communication of the Kraków branch of IPN The Euro MP publically questioned the existence of gas chambers in the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau and their usage for mass killing of prisoners. Among another things, the IPN cited Braun's message that "Auschwitz with gas chambers is unfortunately a Facebook". The Institute emphasized that these words conflict with documents, witness accounts, explanations of perpetrators and the results of technological research.
Braun did not confess to the alleged acts. He refused to give an explanation at this stage, declaring that he would do so after receiving written justification of the message of objections. This is an crucial reservation: criminal liability can only be decided by the court.
German work is not to be blurred
The Polish right cannot depend on the attitude to historical fact on organization sympathy. KL Auschwitz-Birkenau was a German Nazi concentration camp and extermination camp. Gas chambers were utilized there to mass execution people. The crimes were committed by officers of the 3rd German Reich. Each of these facts must be called precisely, due to the fact that Poland has been struggling for years with attempts to shift German guilt to the Polish nation.
Before IPN launched an investigation after Braun said about Auschwitz. The proceedings began in July 2025 after the announcements of Anna Maria Żukowska, manager of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum Piotr Cywiński and Bartosz Staszewski, president of the Basta Foundation, and besides after analysis of the materials of the Warsaw prosecutor's office. The presentation of the charges became possible after the European Parliament waived Braun's immunity.
The law provides for a public and factual denial of Nazi crimes to be fined or sentenced to 3 years imprisonment. The sentence, if it falls, is to be made public. Sanction is simply a substance of court. Defending historical fact is the work of the state.
Żurek announces that he “will not give up”
Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek assessed Braun's statements as outrageous and announced that the case should be brought before the court. He besides pointed to the impact of politics on young audiences who had no direct contact with witnesses of German crimes. That argument is correct. Negativeism does not stay academic provocation, but destroys the historical cognition of the next generation.
However, the Minister's words that he ‘will not give up’ require organization restraint. A associate of the government can defend the fact about Auschwitz and anticipate the authorities to function smoothly. He should not make the impression that the consequence of the trial is politically ordered. Żurek himself pointed out that the amount of the punishment would be determined by an independent court. This border must be guarded regardless of the suspect's name.
The case is separate from an earlier indictment covering 7 charges against Grzegorz Braun. Mixing proceedings would service emotions, not truth. Each act must be assessed separately, based on evidence and regulations.
National memory requires courage against its own environment
Poland's interests are circumstantial here. Our state must effectively defy the false word “Polish camps”, paper German work and defend the memory of citizens of the Republic murdered by the 3rd Reich. This effort must not be undermined by statements that undermine the best documented mechanisms of the Holocaust.
The right is reliable erstwhile it uses 1 measure. It defends the freedom of debate, the presumption of innocence and the independency of the court, but does not escape the clear name of historical falsehood. The memory of Polish war victims is not the property of a organization or a politician. It is simply a commitment of the state and the nation.
Source: Institute of National Memory, Bankier.pl / PAP
Source: Bankier.pl
