The Way Auschwitz Memorial Decided to ‘Cool Off’ Visitors Sparks Outrage and ‘Deja Vu’

Israelis visiting to the Auschwitz memorial were outraged by the way the museum sought to "cool off" guests.

Showers at the site of the former Nazi concentration camp drew some unpleasant "deja vu" moments for some who said the showers reminded them of Holocaust victims who were forced into just before entering the gas chambers, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Miejsce przed Auschwitz stworzone dla ochłody. Choc w taki upał zbawienne, wygląda nieco przerażajaco. #auschwitz #oswiecim

A photo posted by Nikola Tkacz (@nikolatkacz) on Aug 30, 2015 at 3:39am PDT

“Youth groups that were there didn’t really notice and treated it like fun, but for me it was déjà vu of the selection and extermination in the showers,” 48-year-old Israeli visitor Meir Bolka, said, the Times of Israel reported.

Bolka said he spoke with management, who said it was a "good way to cool people off on a very hot day." Bolka added that they later apologized.

“They said they were sorry if I was offended, and I told them that there is no way to apologize to the victims of the Holocaust," Bolka told the Jerusalem Post.

A spokesperson for the museum later said that the showers were installed because of the extreme temperatures and lack of shade in the area.

"We must do everything possible to minimi[z]e the risks connected with the heat and high temperatures and take care of the safety of health of our visitors," a statement read. "The health of visitors is for us the priority during the time of these extreme heats and the sprinklers have been really helpful."

The museum added that the sprinklers are removed once temperatures begin to get cooler.

The Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland opened in 1940 and was the largest of the Nazi concentration camps. More than one million people lost their lives there under the dictatorial power of Adolf Hitler. Millions more were also tortured and killed during the Holocaust.

(H/T: Mashable)

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