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20th April 2025
05:08pm BST
Four German schoolboys made disgraceful gestures at the gates of Auschwitz last month, and they've now decided to show off the evidence via Instagram.
From the Scultetus High School in Görlitz, the lads displayed a white supremacist 'OK' hand manoeuvre for the camera while stood on the grounds of historical Jewish genocide.
The Nazi salute is illegal in Germany, Austria, and Slovakia, yet the 'OK' sign is not.
Clemens Arndt, from the Saxony State Education Office, revealed to Bild: "The pupils were made aware of their misconduct. The headmistress confirmed that the four pupils had understood."
Reacting to this incident, one enraged Facebook user commented: "The people saying that is the sign for 'ok' probably claim Elon Musk did a Roman salute. It's not harmless. It's not a mistake. Teenagers are extremely well informed on such things. If it was one of my boys I'd disown him and question where I went wrong."
Someone else seemed fairly forgiving though, and argued: "I fully understand how upsetting and offensive it is especially to the last remaining survivors. They should of course be reprimanded and face some sort of consequence but teenagers tend to do stupid and often offensive things without thinking, scientists say that behavioral filters do not fully develop in some until as late as 21 years old."
An equally offensive Auschwitz visitor made headlines two years ago when she posed for pictures on the concentration camp's train tracks.
In an image tweeted by Maria Murphy, the unidentified individual could be seen casually sitting on the tracks. Murphy claimed Auschwitz was "one of the most harrowing experiences" she'd ever had, but caveated by suggesting it "didn't seem everyone there found it quite so poignant."
An official statement from the Auschwitz Museum read: "Pictures can hold immense emotional & documentation value for visitors. Images help us remember. When coming to @AuschwitzMuseum visitors should bear in mind that they enter the authentic site of the former camp where over 1 million people were murdered. Respect their memory."
