Anger as Polish artist stands outside Auschwitz with a sign that reads ‘Israel is doing to the Palestinians what the Germans did to the Jews’, four days before the October 7 commemoration
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 has created the largest death camp in history.”
Posting on social media about the Israeli attack on Gaza, Dobrowolski said: “This is a silent, isolated 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, both now and in the future.
“One of the worst things you can do in memory of the victims of the Holocaust is to walk through former concentration camps and turn a blind eye 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’
Posting on social media a reference to the Israeli attack on Gaza, Dobrowolski said: “This is a silent, isolated protest in front of the concentration camps in Auschwitz-Birkenau. “I believe that the best thing any individual can do to respect the memory of the victims of the Holocaust is to actively oppose such crimes, both now and in the future.”
Founded by Nazi Germany in 1940, by the time it was liberated five years later, more than 1 million people, mostly Jews, had been murdered in gas chambers, by starvation or disease in what had become the largest killing machine in human history.
Palestinian human rights groups have now condemned the protest, saying Holocaust memorial sites should not be used for “political stunts.”
Palestinian Christian human rights activist Inhab Hassan said: “As a Palestinian, I am shocked.
‘Holocaust monuments or concentration camps are not stages for political stunts.
“If you support 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 board, Dobrowolski wrote: “Israel has created the largest death camp in history.” Palestinian human rights groups have now condemned the protest, saying Holocaust memorial sites should not be used for ‘political stunts’
Dobrowolski, 37, who is known for creating “socially conscious” works of art, caused a similar outage earlier this year. In March, he appeared at the Auschwitz death camp with another sign that read: ‘Israel, we see your genocide’
Dobrowolski, 37, who is known for creating “socially conscious” art, caused a similar outage 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 board he had written: ‘Never again is for everyone.’
The latest protest came after Israel launched a series of targeted attacks on Hamas and Hezbollah targets following last year’s October 7 attack on Israel by Palestinian militants.