A Polish artist has sparked outrage after standing outside the former Nazi death camp Auschwitz with a sign that read: “Israel is doing to the Palestinians what the Germans did to the Jews.”
On the other side of the sign, Igor Dobrowolski, carrying a Palestinian flag, wrote: “Israel created the largest extermination camp in history.”
In a social media post in reference to Israel’s attack on Gaza, Dobrowolski said: “This is a silent, independent protest in front of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps.
‘I believe that the best thing an individual can do to respect the memory of the victims of the Holocaust is to actively oppose such crimes now or in the future.
“One of the worst things one can do for the memory of Holocaust victims is to walk through former concentration camps and close one’s eyes to the current genocide.”
A Polish artist has sparked outrage after standing outside the former Nazi death camp Auschwitz with a sign that read: “Israel is doing to the Palestinians what the Germans did to the Jews.”
In a social media post in reference to Israel’s attack on Gaza, Dobrowolski said: “This is a silent, independent protest in front of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps. “I believe that the best thing an individual can do to respect the memory of the victims of the Holocaust is to actively oppose such crimes now or in the future.”
Founded by Nazi Germany in 1940, when it was liberated five years later, more than a million people, mainly Jews, had been murdered in gas chambers, by hunger or disease, in what had become the largest machine of killing of the history of humanity.
Palestinian human rights groups have now condemned the protest, saying Holocaust memorial sites should not be used for “political tricks.”
Palestinian-Christian human rights activist Inhab Hassan said: ‘As a Palestinian, I am shocked.
‘Holocaust memorials or concentration camps are not arenas for political maneuvering.
‘If you are with us, do so without exploiting the memory of one of humanity’s greatest tragedies.
“Stop using our flag and suffering to protect your anti-Semitism.”
Israel’s ambassador to Poland, Dr. Yacov Livne, said simply: “Despicable.”
On the other side of the sign, Dobrowolski wrote: “Israel created the largest extermination camp in history.” Palestinian human rights groups have condemned the protest, saying Holocaust memorial sites should not be used for “political tricks.”
Dobrowolski, 37, known for creating “socially conscious” artwork, caused a similar disruption earlier this year. In March he appeared at the Auschwitz extermination camp with another sign that said: ‘Israel we see your genocide.’
Dobrowolski, 37, known for creating “socially conscious” artwork, caused a similar disruption earlier this year.
In March he appeared at the Auschwitz death camp with another sign that read: “Israel, we see your genocide.”
On the back of the poster he had written: “Never again is for everyone.”
The latest protest came after Israel launched a series of targeted attacks against Hamas and Hezbollah targets following last year’s October 7 attack on Israel by Palestinian militants.