One of the images shows a woman lifting up her leg and taking a selfie in front of a display showing hundreds of pairs of shoes taken from children before they were murdered at the camp
Jewish groups have lashed out at ‘unbelievably crass’ selfies taken by young British tourists at a former Nazi death camp where over a million people were murdered.
The photographs, which appeared on social media, show visitors smiling and posing at Auschwitz-Birkenau museum in Poland.
One of the images shows a woman lifting up her leg and taking a selfie in front of a display showing hundreds of pairs of shoes taken from children before they were murdered at the camp.
Another features a smiling man wearing sunglasses and standing on the camp’s railway track – which was used to transport victims in cattle cars – with his hands in his pockets.
In the caption, the man – posting as sam.long24 – explained: ‘Getting a bit of culture before the Stag Do Starts #auschwitz #birkenau #worldwar2.’
After being attacked by a fellow Instagram user for wearing ‘cool shades’ and ‘celebrat[ing] 6 million dead’, he replied: ‘*1.3 million’.
That number is close to the estimated 1.1 million inmates murdered at the camp, rather than the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust.
Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest Nazi concentration camp operated during the Second World War.
Another picture features a smiling man wearing sunglasses and standing on the camp’s railway track – which was used to transport victims in cattle cars – with his hands in his pockets
One girl was photographed crouching down to take a selfie on the train tracks that were used to ship hundreds of thousands to their deaths on the site in Oswiecim, Poland
From 1942 until 1944, cargo trains delivered Jews and other victims to the camp from across German-occupied Europe, with many being gassed to death with the pesticide Zyklon B.
Lilian Black, chair of the Leeds-based Holocaust Survivors’ Friendship Association (HSFA), said she found the pictures ‘deeply hurtful’ and ‘very wounding’.
Her own father, Eugene Black, was sent to Auschwitz before being transferred to Bergen-Belsen, the same camp in which Anne Frank died aged 15.
Eugene was liberated when he was 17, but he had lost his entire family.
Lillian said: ‘People need to think about where they are and take themselves back to that point in time when these camps were the sites of murder and genocide.
‘Think of the thousands of dead emaciated bodies that lay where you are stood.
Lilian Black, chair of the Leeds-based Holocaust Survivors’ Friendship Association (HSFA), said she found the pictures ‘deeply hurtful’ and ‘very wounding’. Pictured: A couple post a picture from outside the infamous ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ (‘Work Will Make You Free’) sign at the camp
‘It is offensive to people such as myself, whose grandparents and aunties actually perished in these horrible places. There is no sense of dignity about a selfie.
‘My father and his family went through those gates in cattle trucks. He was fortunate to survive, but his family didn’t.’
‘There is no understanding of just how terrible these places were. I think the people taking these pictures should stop and reflect on where they are and what happened in these camps. I find it unbelievable.’
Board of Deputies of British Jews vice president Marie van der Zyl, meanwhile, said: ‘The selfies are unbelievably crass.
‘If these people had taken some time out first to absorb the absolute horror of Auschwitz, they may have thought twice before posting.’
The camp was first constructed to hold Polish political prisoners, who began to arrive in May 1940, following the Nazi conquest of Poland.
The Nazis later presided over the extermination of those arriving, with the first inmates executed in September 1941.
The photographs, which appeared on social media, show visitors smiling and posing at Auschwitz-Birkenau museum in Poland
The camp was first constructed to hold Polish political prisoners, who began to arrive in May 1940, following the Nazi conquest of Poland. The Nazis later presided over the extermination of those arriving, with the first inmates executed in September 1941. Pictured: Tourists talking about ticking off ‘our bucket list’
About two million people visit the camp every year and tourists are advised to be as respectful as possible. Pictured: One of the photographs that sparked the fury
Board of Deputies of British Jews vice president Marie van der Zyl said: ‘The selfies are unbelievably crass’
It was finally liberated in January 1945, with one in six of the Jews murdered during the Holocaust perishing there.
The pictures at the centre of the dispute also led to shocked comments from other Instagram users.
One asked below a photo: ‘Smiling in this place? Are you sure?’
Another said: ‘Are you kidding with this?’
‘Perfect place to take smiley silly photos… Where millions of people were killed. Shame!’
Others apparently posted hashtags about their fashion choices while at the camp, with one telling followers he was wearing a River Island jacket as he got a friend to take his picture next to a barbed wire fence.
The pictures at the centre of the dispute also led to shocked comments from other Instagram users, with users demanding to know why people were smiling at Auschwitz
The camp was finally liberated in January 1945, with one in six of the Jews murdered during the Holocaust perishing there. Pictured: British tourists being snapped at the death site
Lillian Black, whose father survived the Holocaust, said: ‘People need to think about where they are and take themselves back to that point in time when these camps were the sites of murder and genocide’. Pictured: A photograph taken near the entrance of Auschwitz, which operated in Nazi-occupied Poland
Lillian added: ‘It is offensive to people such as myself, whose grandparents and aunties actually perished in these horrible places. There is no sense of dignity about a selfie’. Pictured: A selfie at Auschwitz
Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest Nazi concentration camp operated during the Second World War. Pictured: A woman walking along the trail tracks at the camp which were used to transport victims to their deaths
Board of Deputies of British Jews vice president Marie van der Zyl said: ‘If these people had taken some time out first to absorb the absolute horror of Auschwitz, they may have thought twice before posting.’ Pictured: A photograph from Auschwitz
Tourists elswhere have been blasted for taking smiling selfies at Ground Zero in New York and taking pictures of themselves doing yoga at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Germany’s capital Berlin. Pictured: A woman near the entrance to the Auschwitz death camp
Pictured: A woman looking down the rail track at the Auschwitz camp that was used to receive victims from across the Nazi empire
One girl was photographed crouching down to take a selfie on the train tracks that were used to ship hundreds of thousands to their deaths on the site in Oswiecim, Poland.
About two million people visit the camp every year.
In 2014 Alabama teen Breanna Mitchell was slammed around the world for taking a smiling selfie with her headphones in at the concentration camp.
She later said she didn’t regret the snap as she took it in memory of her father, who taught her about the extermination of the Jews.
She said: ‘Honestly, I don’t think I would do anything differently, because I didn’t mean any harm.’
Others have been blasted for taking smiling selfies at Ground Zero in New York and taking pictures of themselves doing yoga at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Germany’s capital Berlin.