Tucker Carlson speaks on first day of AmericaFest 2025 at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona, Dec. 18, 2025. Photo: Charles-McClintock Wilson/ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters Connect

Poland’s embassy in the US has condemned far-right podcaster Tucker Carlson and demanded an apology over his recent remarks about Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland, arguing that his comments distorted the historical record and risked rehabilitating Nazi propaganda.

Bogdan Klich, the Polish chargé d’affaires in Washington, requested in a letter to Carlson dated Oct. 5 that the controversial commentator and former Fox News host publicly retract his comments, accusing him of effectively justifying Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s 1939 invasion of Poland. Klich described the remarks as an insult to the millions of victims of the Nazis, including Jews and Poles murdered during the Second World War.

The controversy erupted following Carlson’s interview with former British minister Jacob Rees-Mogg. During the discussion, Carlson argued that Germany had legitimate territorial grievances against Poland, citing the transfer of territory following World War I. He also questioned Britain’s decision to enter the war after Germany invaded Poland.

“Hitler said that 15 percent of Poland was once Germany and it was given to Poland at the Treaty of Versailles,” Carlson said during the interview, referring to the agreement that ended World War I. “The idea that Hitler just randomly rolled into Poland is a lie.”

“The UK had nothing to do with it all,” he added, referring to the UK’s decision to enter WWII in opposition to Germany.

Carlson dismissed the notion that Hitler and the Nazi regime could have won WWII without British intervention, flippantly saying, “Who cares?”

Rees-Mogg pushed back, telling Carlson that he was “verging on defending Hitler.” Carlson responded sarcastically that he was not a Nazi.

However, Poland’s embassy repudiated Carlson’s comments, with Lich writing that they represent “a colossal insult to the millions of victims of Nazism, including hundreds of thousands of American soldiers who had been killed or wounded while liberating Europe from the occupation by the Third Reich.”

Carlson’s argument echoes a central component of Nazi Germany’s prewar propaganda: that ethnic Germans living outside Germany and territories formerly controlled by Germany provided justification for German expansion.

That framing omits the broader Nazi objective.

Germany’s invasion of Poland was not simply an attempt to recover disputed territory, as Hitler sought to destroy the Polish state and establish German domination across Eastern Europe and beyond. Hitler’s Germany had also reached an agreement with the Soviet Union to divide Poland between the two powers shortly before the invasion.

The German attack began on Sept. 1, 1939. The Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east weeks later.

Polish officials argue that presenting Hitler’s territorial claims without this broader context risks transforming the aggressor’s propaganda into a seemingly legitimate historical argument.

“As an American journalist who enjoys the democratic right to the freedom of speech, you have now become an apologist for Adolf Hitler. In doing so, you resort to lies, completely falsifying the documented historical record,” the letter read.

Poland was home to approximately 3.3 million Jews before World War II, making it one of the world’s largest Jewish communities. The Nazi occupation destroyed that community, with approximately six million Polish citizens ultimately murdered during the war, including roughly three million Polish Jews.

The Holocaust did not emerge independently of Nazi territorial expansion. The conquest and occupation of Poland placed millions of Jews under Nazi rule and created the conditions in which mass deportations, ghettos, extermination camps, and systematic murder could be carried out.

That history makes arguments portraying Hitler’s expansionism as an understandable response to legitimate territorial grievances particularly troubling.

The backlash against Carlson’s comments has extended beyond Poland.

US Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), one of the most conservative lawmakers in Congress, blasted Carlson.

“Yes, Tucker, the UK is better off for winning WWII,” he posted on social media. “America is better off for winning World War II. And the world would be much worse off if the Nazis had won WWII. This is not complicated.”

Cruz has accused Carlson of spearheading efforts to normalize antisemitism within the Republican Party and has called on fellow Republicans to distance themselves from the podcaster.

The ongoing feud between Carlson and Cruz comes amid Carlson’s increasingly contentious foreign-policy commentary, including his sympathetic treatment of Russia, repeated criticism of Western military involvement overseas, and unrelenting condemnations of Israel.

Since launching his podcast, Carlson has relentlessly attacked Israel, issuing a series of blistering and false accusations that the country oppresses Christians, exerts immense influence over US politicians, and has committed “genocide” in Gaza. The provocateur has accused Israel of killing tens of thousands of children in Gaza “on purpose” without providing any evidence.

Carlson has also hosted a seemingly unremitting parade of anti-Israel figures on his podcast while rejecting offers by pro-Israel figures to appear as guests. He especially drew backlash for conducting a friendly interview with fellow podcaster Nick Fuentes, an avowed antisemite and Holocaust denier.

There has been simmering speculation that Carlson will launch a presidential bid in the coming months, sparking fear among many conservative Jews and pro-Israel supporters. Moreover, many observers have chided US Vice President JD Vance for his close relationship and public friendship with Carlson, expressing frustration at Vance’s unwillingness to issue a repudiation of Carlson.