Poland’s Auschwitz Memorial called Amazon out on Twitter, alerting the e-commerce company that certain sellers were displaying Christmas ornaments featuring images from concentration camps, which they deemed to be “disturbing and disrespectful”.
After Amazon pulled the ornaments from its site, similar Auschwitz-themed products by other sellers were also discovered in the online shop.
On December 1, Auschwitz Memorial tweeted that there were suppliers on Amazon selling such items —Christmas ornaments in the shapes of stars and bells, and bottle openers.
In the tweet, they also called on Amazon to remove the items.
Selling "Christmas ornaments" with images of Auschwitz does not seem appropriate. Auschwitz on a bottle opener is rather disturbing and disrespectful. We ask @amazon to remove the items of those suppliers. https://t.co/0uG2JG558e pic.twitter.com/ucZoTWPk1W
— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) December 1, 2019
All the products displayed scenes from the Nazi death camp where people were slaughtered during the Holocaust in World War II.
Images from Auschwitz including the railway line leading to its infamous gates, the barbed wire fences and the buildings where people were kept were printed on the items.
Christmas ornaments should reflect the spirit of Christmas, not scenes from one of the most devastating mass killings in history.
Social media users were up in arms at the disrespectful merchandise, and many commented that they, too, reported the products to Amazon for immediate removal.
Some attacked the sellers of the items, but some said the blame is on Amazon for not having “content oversight” or quality control.
Later that day, Auschwitz Memorial posted an update saying that Amazon had pulled the items, thanking everyone for their “activity and response”.
It seems that @amazon has removed all of the "Christmas ornaments" with the images of the former Auschwitz camp. Thank you everyone for your activity and response. https://t.co/VGFnSDMWM9
— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) December 1, 2019
But it was not over. That night, Auschwitz Memorial took to Twitter again to report that they had found another “disturbing online product” from another seller.
This time it was a computer mouse-pad with a photo of a freight train used to take people to concentration camps.
Sadly, it is not over yet @amazon. The "Massacre Auschwitcz (!) Birkenau Jewish Death" mousepad is another disturbing online product. We are not sure if @yadvashem would like the "Christmas ornament" with a freight car used for deporting Jews for extermination either. https://t.co/qDEEzqzwSU pic.twitter.com/wXExhFZPmV
— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) December 1, 2019
Amazon has since said the “products in question have been removed”.
The e-commerce giant reiterated that “all sellers must follow our selling guidelines and those who do not will be subject to action, including potential removal of their account”. /TISG