Death camp post goes horribly viral

One Twitter user has become the target of major backlash for posting a selfie at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. 210714 Picture: Twitter

One Twitter user has become the target of major backlash for posting a selfie at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. 210714 Picture: Twitter

Published Jul 22, 2014

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Johannesburg - Would you take a smiling, wide-eyed selfie at the Apartheid Museum? A graveyard? Your grandmother’s funeral?

One young woman on Twitter has become the target of major internet-hate for posting a selfie she took at Auschwitz, the Nazi’s largest death camp during World War II where an estimated 1.1 million people died.

@PrincessBBM, AKA Breanna Mitchell, was hit with heavy criticism for posting a picture of herself on the grounds, smiling, with a blushing emoticon attached.

Fellow tweeter, Tara Simpson asked: “How can you be happy and smile in this pic? Do you not understand the horrors and murders that happened here? I’d be crying.”

Cynthia Dringus tweeted:

“I just hope she one day understands why this is so hurtful.”

 

Mitchell later claimed she took the photo because she and her father had studied the history of the camp, but he had passed away before the two got a chance to visit.

However, on the Auschwitz official website, rules about conduct are clear.

“While on the grounds of the Museum, you are required to observe the appropriate solemnity and respect… Photography and filming on the Museum grounds is permitted exclusively for private, personal use.

“Under no circumstances may such photographs or films be used in any context or undertaking that infringes upon the good name of the Victims of Auschwitz Concentration Camp,” the site reads.

The Star

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