Auschwitz Museum urges photo op tourists to respect victims

Auschwitz Museum authorities are warning visitors to the museum to give the necessary respect to the site where more than 1 million people were killed.

The site, which was the biggest Nazi concentration camp in Poland during World War II, has been turned into a museum that attracts over 1 million visitors each year.

In a statement shared on Twitter on Wednesday, museum authorities said tourists should reconsider coming if they do not respect those who were killed there, specifically calling out those posing for photos to share on social media, apparently ignoring the bitter history of the site.

"When you come to @AuschwitzMuseum remember you are at the site where over 1 million people were killed. Respect their memory," said the statement, shared with photographs of people posing on the train tracks located in the camp.

When you come to @AuschwitzMuseum remember you are at the site where over 1 million people were killed. Respect their memory. There are better places to learn how to walk on a balance beam than the site which symbolizes deportation of hundreds of thousands to their deaths. pic.twitter.com/TxJk9FgxWl

— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) March 20, 2019

"There are better places to learn how to walk on a balance beam than the site which symbolizes deportation of hundreds of thousands to their deaths."

Irreverent photo op seekers coming to the museum have drawn criticism in the past. In 2014, visitor Breanna Mitchell was heavily criticized on social media for sharing a photo on Twitter with the caption, "Auschwitz Concentration Camp selfie."