A German memorial at Buchenwald’s former Nazi rally camp on Thursday called for visitors to stop playing winter sports on the site, after some were seen lying at its large graves .
Criticizing “disrespectful” behavior, the constitution urged guests to stop entertaining at Buchenwald and the former Mittelbau-Dora subcamp in eastern Germany.
Former Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald
(Photo: bild)
“Sports activities are in breach of visitor rules and disturb the peace of the dead,” he said in a statement, warning that their security staff would patrol and Contact spies for the police.
The director of the foundation, Jens-Christian Wagner, told the news website Der Spiegel that “masses” of day-gatherers had gathered at the site over the weekend and it appeared that some for fun in the snow.
“Some of the sled tracks ended at the big graves,” he said.
The great tombs of Buchenwald
(Photo: bild)
Wagner said he could understand that many families with children wanted to spend time outdoors, especially during lockouts across the country because of the coronavirus, but that the monument was intended appropriate behavior from the visitors.
“As time goes on, historical sensitivity declines,” he said.
More than 76,000 men, women and children died at Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora during World War II. They were killed by the Nazis or killed by illness, cold or hunger.
Thousands of enemies were among the dead, but also Roma, gypsies and Nazi political opponents, gay people and prisoners of Soviet war.
Local critics in Thuringia plant flowers at graves at Holocaust Remembrance Day
(Photo: AP)
In January last year, Buchenwald’s founding leader Volkhard Knigge warned that unwanted visits from non-Nazis were becoming a growing problem before 75 years of the camp’s liberation.
“We are increasingly finding messages in the guest book that the Nazis and the concentration camps were sensible and good for the Germans,” he told the German media.