Reposting the original text from Twitter here for #accessability for people using a #screenreader, and simply because I dislike text-only screenshots.

STATEMENT OF @AuschwitzMuseum DIRECTOR DR. PIOTR M. A. CYWIŃSKI ON THE COMMENT MADE BY GRZEGORZ BRAUN, MEMBER OF EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

A scandalous and deceitful statement by Member of the European Parliament Grzegorz Braun, in which he denies the existence of gas chambers at the Auschwitz camp, is not only an act of Holocaust denial – a crime prosecuted under Polish law. It is also an act of desecration of the memory of the victims of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp, and an expression of contempt toward Survivors and their families.

The main group of victims of gas chambers at Auschwitz were Jews – those deemed unfit for work by SS doctors immediately upon deportation to the camp. However, the gas chambers were also used as a tool for killing various other groups of prisoners. In the first mass execution using Zyklon B, carried out by the SS in September 1941 and serving as a prelude to the later mass extermination of Jews, a large group of Soviet prisoners of war and Polish prisoners selected from the camp hospital were murdered. SS men also used the gas chambers to kill sick or severely weakened prisoners selected from among all those incarcerated in the camp. It was in the gas chamber at Auschwitz II-Birkenau that over four thousand Roma – primarily women and children – were murdered during the liquidation of the so-called Zigeunerlager in August 1944. Grzegorz Braun’s statement is a disgraceful assault on the memory of all those people: Jews, Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war, and all other victims. It is also a slap in the face to those prisoners who risked their lives to document and convey the truth about German crimes, as well as to the Survivors who still bear the trauma of their personal experiences.

Grzegorz Braun’s statement constitutes a blatant denial of historical truth and introduces manipulation into public discourse based on antisemitism, falsehood, and hatred. It is a statement unworthy not only of a public figure – in this case, a person holding a seat in the European Parliament. It is simply a shameful statement. There can be no place for such words in political, media, or social space.

We firmly reject the absurd claims that the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum “blocks research” or “offers a pseudo-historical narrative that does not meet the criteria of scholarly historical methodology.” This is slander that damages the reputation of our institution and of the entire community of individuals researching the history of Auschwitz. In response to this statement, a lawsuit for defamation will be filed. We emphasize with full force: denying the existence of gas chambers is not only an expression of antisemitism and an ideology of hatred – in Poland it is also a crime. In this matter, a formal notification will be immediately submitted to the public prosecutor’s office.

Separate responsibility lies with the media, who hand microphones or cameras to a man who has repeatedly demonstrated that he is incapable of functioning in public life without vandalism, lies, hate speech, and racism. We appeal to the community of journalists to show solidarity in refraining from inviting him to interviews, conversations, and their programs. The media must not be used as a platform for spreading a deliberate lie that causes pain to so many.

The Museum is currently working on a new online tool, which we hope to launch as early as July, that will enable every internet user to fight more effectively against all forms of Holocaust denial.

The German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz was a site of industrial murder, where approximately 1.1 million people were murdered. Today, the Memorial is preserved thanks to the efforts of the Polish state and the international community – to serve as a warning and reminder of where human hatred can lead. The words of Grzegorz Braun are not a “political provocation,” but a conscious lie and an act of ideological, antisemitic hatred. They cannot remain without a resolute response from the state and from all decent people, for whom the memory of Auschwitz holds profound meaning.

Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński, Director of the Museum