Grzegorz Braun
Grzegorz Braun | |
|---|---|
Grzegorz Braun in 2024 | |
| Member of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland | |
| Assumed office November 12, 2019 | |
| Constituency | Rzeszów |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Grzegorz Michał Braun March 11, 1967 Toruń, Poland |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Political party | Konfederacja |
| Alma mater | University of Wrocław |
| Occupation | Politician, movie director, screenwriter, academic teacher |
| Signature | |
Grzegorz Michał Braun (born March 11, 1967)[1] is a Polish politician, having served as a member of the Polish parliament since 2019 in representing the Konfederacja ("Confederation") party.
Early life
Grzegorz Braun was born in Toruń, Poland.[2] He is the son of Kazimierz Braun, a theater director, and Zofia Reklewska-Braun, a journalist.[3][4] He studied Polish philology at the University of Wrocław, where he completed his master's degree.[2][5]
Career
Grzegorz Braun is known for his work as a film director and screenwriter. He directed several documentaries, often focusing on Polish history and politics. Notable works include Towarzysz generał and Transformacja. He has also taught at various academic institutions, including the University of Wrocław and University of Opole.[2][5]
Politics
Braun's political career began with his candidacy for President of Poland in the 2015 election, where he ran as an independent and received 0.83% of the votes. In 2019, he was elected to the Polish parliament as a representative of the Konfederacja.[5] Within the parliament, Braun is known for his highly conservative and nationalist views. He strongly opposes the European Union, backing Polish independence and traditional values.[2][5]
Loss of parliamentary immunity
On May 6, 2025, the European Parliament removed his parliamentary immunity, meaning that he could be charged for any crimes he might have committed.[6]
Personal life
Grzegorz Braun is married to Aleksandra Gruziel. He continues to be active in both his political and film-making careers, balancing his roles as a lawmaker and an artist.[7]
Controversies
Antisemitism
2023
In June 2023, Canadian historian Jan Grabowski[a] held a seminar on Poland's history of antisemitism in Warsaw. Grzegorz Braun smashed Grabowski's microphone and forced the seminar to be cancelled.[9] During the 2023 Hanukkah, he put out a menorah with a fire extinguisher in the Polish parliament.[10] He was expelled from the parliament and charged with hate crimes.[10] He was heard accusing Jews of being the "enemies of Poland" trying to "take over Poland"[11] and "place Poles in reservations".[12] Braun's behavior caused global outrage.[11] Despite Braun's actions, he was elected to the European Parliament in June 2024.[13]
2024
In December 2024, Braun held protests outside the Polish parliament while the Hanukhah was celebrated inside. He repeated the false claims that "non-Jews are treated as cattle in Judaism", accusing Jews of wanting to turn Poles into "slaves" and "subhumans" as Nazi Germans did.[14] His views are shared by many Western "anti-Zionists".[15]
2025
He publicly denied that gas chambers were used in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, calling them "a fake", and claimed that the Jewish ritual murder is a fact. [16]
Related pages
Footnotes
- ↑ A chair professor of history at University of Ottawa who won several awards for his books about the Holocaust in Poland.[8]
References
- ↑ "Grzegorz Braun". Sejm. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Grzegorz Braun – Encyklopedia Solidarności". 2020-10-25. Archived from the original on 2020-10-25. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ↑ "Grzegorz Michał Braun (ID: sw.62310)". sejm-wielki.pl. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
- ↑ "Żydowskie korzenie Grzegorza Brauna? – Konfederacja Korony Polskiej" (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-07-28.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Grzegorz Braun: pochodzenie, rodzina, partia, gaśnica. Kim jest kontrowersyjny poseł? - Wiadomości Radio ZET". wiadomosci.radiozet.pl (in Polish). 2024-01-16. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
- ↑ Krzysztoszek, Aleksandra (May 7, 2025). "EU lifts immunity of Polish far-right presidential candidate". Euractiv. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
- ↑ Pruska-Wiszniowska, Anna (2014-12-09). "Ślub Grzegorza Brauna w rycie łacińskim, tradycyjnym". radiownet.pl. Archived from the original on 2018-12-31. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
- ↑
- "Jan Grabowski - Member Profile - University of Ottawa". University of Ottawa. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
- "Dr. Jan Grabowski". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
- "Professor Jan Grabowski wins the 2014 Yad Vashem International Book Prize". Yad Vashem. December 4, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
- "2022 Impact Awards—Insight Award winner: Jan Grabowski". Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council – Government of Canada. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
- "Important Statement from Museum President and CEO and Board Chair". Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
Dr. Jan Grabowski, a distinguished Holocaust historian, has been an outspoken critic of Poland's distortion of history, facing harassment and even death threats over his scholarly research.
- "U of O Holocaust scholar says he's a target of Polish 'hate' campaign". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. February 17, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
- ↑
- "Far-right MP forces abandonment of Holocaust scholar's lecture at German institute in Warsaw". Notes from Poland. May 31, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- "Far-right Polish MP violently interrupts Holocaust scholar's lecture at German institute in Warsaw". European Jewish Congress. June 1, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- "Far-right Polish MP violently interrupts Holocaust scholar's lecture at German institute in Warsaw". Jewish News. June 2, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- "Polish radical right-wing MP disrupts lecture on Holocaust". DW News. June 1, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- "Lecture on Holocaust in Poland canceled after far-right lawmaker storms podium". The Times of Israel. June 2, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Wright, George (January 18, 2024). "Grzegorz Braun: Polish MP who doused Hanukkah candles loses immunity". BBC News. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1
- "Far-right Polish MP Just Took a Fire Extinguisher to a Menorah in Parliament". VICE. December 12, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- "Watch: Far-Right MP uses fire extinguisher to snuff out Hanukkah candles". The Telegraph. December 12, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- Kika, Thomas (December 13, 2023). "Polish MP Rails Against 'Satanic' Jews After Extinguishing Menorah". Newsweek. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- "Far-right Polish MP charged after extinguishing parliament's Hanukkah candles". The Times of Israel. April 9, 2024. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- ↑ "Far-right Polish lawmaker Grzegorz Braun douses menorah in parliament - CBS News". CBS News. December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ↑
- "Polish MP who doused menorah wins higher office". Israel Hayom. June 10, 2024. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
Grzegorz Braun gained notoriety last December for extinguishing a Hanukkah menorah in the Polish parliament with a fire extinguisher, labeling Judaism as a "cult of the Talmud and Satan."
- "Polish MP who doused menorah in antisemitic attack elected to European Parliament". Jewish News Syndicate. June 10, 2024. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- "Polish 'bad boys' to join new EU house". Euractiv. June 11, 2024. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- "Polish MP who doused menorah wins higher office". Israel Hayom. June 10, 2024. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- ↑ "Polish parliament celebrates Hanukkah amid far-right protest outside". Notes from Poland. December 30, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
- ↑ Gillott, Hannah (August 20, 2024). "Online antisemites' new frontier? The Talmud". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
- ↑ Canada, Elad Benari. "Polish MP faces probe for denying Holocaust gas chambers". Israel National News. Retrieved 2025-07-12.