A Louisiana congressman took a selfie video from the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp, drawing criticism Tuesday from the museum that oversees the historic site.
GOP Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana narrates the five minute video tour of the camp, describing the train tracks that transported prisoners and the piles of shoes they left behind.
It was Higgins’ decision to describe the execution process while standing inside one of the camp’s gas chambers that incited criticism from the Auschwitz Memorial and Museum.
Everyone has the right to personal reflections. However, inside a former gas chamber, there should be mournful silence. It’s not a stage. https://t.co/AN5aA1bYEU
— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) July 4, 2017
In a subsequent tweet, the museum displayed a picture of a sign posted outside the gas chamber that asks visitors to show respect for the victims by maintaining silence.
This is what all visitors see at the entrance to the building where first homicidal gas chambers of Auschwitz was created by the SS. pic.twitter.com/6Mm5gTkfSl
— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) July 4, 2017
In the video, first posted Saturday on a conservative YouTube account, Higgins described how his visit to Auschwitz prompted him to reflect with renewed perspective on importance of American military strength in the twenty first century.
“The world’s a smaller place now than it was in World War II. The United States is more accessible to terror like this, horror like this. It’s hard to walk away from the gas chambers and ovens without a very sober feeling of commitment — unwavering commitment — to make damn sure that the United States of America is protected from the evils of the world,” Higgins said.
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