UK - Brit teens on upmarket private school trip steal from Auschwitz death camp

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zwiebel

zwiebel

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Two unidentified British 17-year-olds on a trip with their upmarket private school, Perse, in Cambridge, were arrested and held in Poland Monday, after stealing historical items from the 'Kanada' camp at Auschwitz. There are notices in the camp asking people not to touch the exhibits. Kanada (Canada) was so-named because it was where all the victims' possessions went and so represented the dream country where everything was thought to be available.

Polish police said they had tried to steal a comb, spoons, buttons and pieces of glass from block 5 where Nazi guards stored prisoners’ confiscated belongings during the second world war.
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The teens,who apologized unreservedly and admitted the crimes, were fined £170 ($267), given a year's probation and released. The school's headmaster says he wants to hear from the teens exactly what happened.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/23/uk-teenagers-held-thefts-artefacts-auschwitz-museum
 
The theft is regrettable especially from a museum. The teens should have been more aware however I doubt they have the maturity to understand the significance of their theft. The event is so far removed in time, someone that young may minimize its significance.

I hope this is handled in a way they can learn from it and not simply resent having gotten in trouble.
 
There is a sensitivity chip missing, there. For real. These are 17-year-olds. Not toddlers.

I was hell-on-wheels at that age. No way would I have crossed that line anymore than I would have desecrated a grave or pranked physically disabled people.
 
EllieBee said:
There is a sensitivity chip missing, there. For real. These are 17-year-olds. Not toddlers.

I was hell-on-wheels at that age. No way would I have crossed that line anymore than I would have desecrated a grave or pranked physically disabled people.
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Of course. The average kid probably doesn't understand the significance of the place, but they wouldn't steal from it. On the other hand, these events happened long enough ago the average teenager just doesn't get it. They need to develop their sensitivity chip. Maybe this will provide an opportunity.
 
They probably barely know much about the history due to the way that particular horror is danced around by many school systems...still, they were no doubt told about where they were going and what it meant. Just shocked it was not Americans, for a change...jmo
 
cluciano63 said:
They probably barely know much about the history due to the way that particular horror is danced around by many school systems...still, they were no doubt told about where they were going and what it meant. Just shocked it was not Americans, for a change...jmo
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They were probably told where they were going. I would hope so. But were they listening? In American classrooms kids spend a lot of time on their phones. I don't know about Britain.

Then again maybe they are really sophisticated pilferers. Maybe they had in mind to make money off their efforts. Maybe they're missing a human decency chip.
 
The Daily Mail has printed the names and photos of the offenders, and also reveals that one had undertaken work at the University of Cambridge Museums where he said he had 'learned to appreciate objects'. Cambridge Museums are renowned and only the brightest get the opportunity to work there.

One of the objects stolen was part of one of the infamous hair clippers used to shave inmates before they were sent to work, or, more often, the gas chambers. His father is understood to be CEO of the school and says it was 'an unfortunate incident'.

Chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust Karen Pollock MBE said they were appalled by the incident

'Every single artefact found at Auschwitz-Birkenau tells a story of the more than a million people who were ruthlessly murdered by the Nazis there and this incident serves to show why our work is crucial now more than ever.

'We have a duty to educate the next generation to prevent ignorance and hate, and in over 15 years of organising for thousands of British teenagers to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, we have never known of such an incident.'
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...Auschwitz.html?ito=social-twitter_dailymailUK
 
I don't think that Auschwitz is a museum - at least not the last time I was there. It's more like a concentration camp, with bunkers.
 
We took my 16 year old to Dachau this year for spring break at his request. He was in a "Remember the Holocaust" class at school. He wanted to go to Auschwitz because it was bigger. I don't think he would have completely understood the camp if he had not taken the class. But, what amazed me was how solemn and respectful everyone of all ages were while inside the gate. I think a proper punishment for these kids would be to read and watch the history of these camps as written by those who witnessed first hand the suffering endured by all. My son isn't usually emotional, but when we walked through the gas chamber and saw the cremation area, he asked us, "How could people do this?". I still cannot answer that.
 
I have never been to Auschwitz, but I visited Dachau once. The entire time we were there, a couple hours probably, I felt physically ill. It was the strangest feeling. I am pleased that it appears they are trying to make this a learning experience for those boys and not just a simple criminal matter. Every person on the planet should visit one of those camps.
 
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