An Irish tourist will be responsible for the destruction of the Auschwitz museum

The Oświęcim prosecutor's office has applied to the court of appeal for the conviction of an Irish tourist who, on the wall of one of the barracks of the former German Auschwitz camp. II-Birkenau, had scratched his name from a coin.

Deputy Attorney General of Oświęcim, Mariusz Słomka, said Thursday that the tourist was accused of causing damage to property, which was of particular importance to the culture. He faces 10 years in prison. The Irish asked to be voluntarily subject to a penalty. He proposed a one – year and a thousand – year prison sentence for a two – year probationary period. PLN plus for the Auschwitz museum.

The Irishman 38 years old in October this year. on the wall of one of the former barracks of the former KL Auschwitz II-Birkenau in Germany, he engraved his name of a coin. He was arrested by the museum guard and handed over to the police. He heard the charge in the prosecutor's office. He confessed his guilt. As he explains, he puts his name on the wall because he sees similar inscriptions. He decided that it was acceptable. After hearing the prosecution, he requested voluntary submission of the sentence, then was released and returned to his country.

A similar event took place in the summer of 2016. Two 17-year-old Portuguese have damaged the wall of the main gate of the former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp. They engraved their names and first names in ancient bricks. They went to court and sentenced them to one year of suspended imprisonment. The court also entrusted them with the supervision of the Superintendent and ordered to pay 1,000 zlotys for the benefit of the Auschwitz Museum.

The Germans established the Auschwitz camp in 1940 to imprison Poles. Auschwitz II-Birkenau was created two years later. It became the site of the extermination of the Jews. A network of sub-camps was also functioning in the camp complex. In Auschwitz, the Germans killed at least 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, as well as Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war and people of other nationalities.

In 1947, a museum was created in the former camps of Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau. In the last year 2.1 million people have visited it. The former camp of 1979 has been inscribed as the only object of this type on the UNESCO World Heritage List.