Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Auschwitz Museum Upset at Scene in Amazon Series 'Hunters'
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
February 24, 2020

Share

WARSAW, Poland — The museum of the Nazi German Auschwitz death camp is objecting to a scene in a new Amazon TV series that shows a murderous game of human chess being played there, insisting that no such thing took place at the camp.

“If anyone wants to show human tragedy in Auschwitz it is enough to reach for the thousands of sources (survivors’ testimonies) that are deeply shocking, but creating fiction that distorts the history of this real place is disrespectful of the people who suffered here.”museum spokesman Pawel Sawicki 
The museumand memorial that guard the Auschwitz-Birkenau site in southern Poland, its historic facts and the memory of the victims tweeted about the scene in Amazon’s series “Hunters.” It said inventing fake scenes is “dangerous foolishness and caricature,” encourages Holocaust deniers and is disrespectful of the camp’s some 1.1 million victims, including women and children.
The series’ creator, David Weil stressed in a statement it was not a documentary but a narrative with largely fictional characters. As a grandson of Holocaust survivors, Weil said he was careful not to “misrepresent a real person or borrow from a specific moment in an actual person’s life.”
Most of the victims were Jews, but there were also Poles, Roma, Russian prisoners of war and others.They died in the camp’s gas chambers or from starvation, disease and forced labor, or shot by the guards.
Museum spokesman Pawel Sawicki said Monday that authors and artists have a special obligation to tell the truth about Auschwitz, and that the “Hunters” authors did not contact the museum for facts.
“If anyone wants to show human tragedy in Auschwitz it is enough to reach for the thousands of sources (survivors’ testimonies) that are deeply shocking, but creating fiction that distorts the history of this real place is disrespectful of the people who suffered here,” Sawicki told The Associated Press.
Photo of Auschwitz Nazi death camp in Oswiecim, Poland
People arrive for commemorations at the Auschwitz Nazi death camp in Oswiecim, Poland, Monday, Jan. 27, 2020. Survivors of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp gathered for commemorations marking the 75th anniversary of the Soviet army’s liberation of the camp, using the testimony of survivors to warn about the signs of rising anti-Semitism and hatred in the world today.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

‘Hunters’ Is About a Postwar Hunt in New York for Nazi War Criminals

He said the museum is always willing to provide factual advice to anyone studying or working on Auschwitz history. More than 2 million people a year visit the site with its historic barracks, the ruins of the gas chambers and a monument to the victims.
“Hunters” is about a postwar hunt in New York for Nazi war criminals. It includes a scene where Auschwitz inmates are figures in a chess game and are killed when they are taken off the chessboard.
“This is false. There was no such thing,” Sawicki said.
Weil, who is also the “Hunters” executive producer, said he used this “fictionalized event” to showcase the “most extreme … sadism and violence that the Nazis perpetrated against the Jews and other victims.”
In his statement he thanked the Auschwitz Memorial for “keeping the memory of victims and survivors like my grandmother, Sara Weil, alive,” and expressed hope for a further dialogue to that purpose.
Nazi Germany operated Auschwitz-Birkenau between 1940 and 1945 when it occupied Poland. Emotional, international observances with the participation of survivors were held last month in Oswiecim to mark 75 years since the Soviet army liberated the camp.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Braves’ Jurickson Profar Hit With 80-Game PED Ban

DON'T MISS

Watch: City Demolishes Historic Chinatown Building to Make Way for Housing

DON'T MISS

The Mystery of Melania Trump’s Wedding Dress and an eBay Sale

DON'T MISS

Heading to Sierra? Prepare for Heavy Snow

DON'T MISS

Mexican National Caught in Fresno County Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Trafficking

DON'T MISS

CA Snowpack Is Near-Average. What Does This Mean for Water Supplies?

DON'T MISS

Shohei Ohtani Adds Another No. 1 to His Resume: MLB’s Best-Selling Jersey

DON'T MISS

Tush Push Is the Hottest Topic at the NFL League Meetings

DON'T MISS

U.S. Bank Executive Terry Dolan Dies in Plane Crash Near Minneapolis

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Will Review Billions in Funding for Harvard

UP NEXT

Gronk-a-Mania Set to Run Wild Over WrestleMania Weekend

UP NEXT

Head of Amazon’s TV and Film Steps Down

UP NEXT

Prosecutor Seeks 18-Month Suspended Sentence for Depardieu if Convicted of Sexual Assault

UP NEXT

Plant-Based Eating in Middle Age Linked to Healthier Senior Years

UP NEXT

Woman Accuses Actor Gérard Depardieu of Sexual Assault on Film Set

UP NEXT

Topgolf Coming to the Central Valley? Chukchansi Gold to Open First Swing Suite

UP NEXT

‘Juntos’ Tour Brings Regional Mexican Superstars to Fresno This Summer

UP NEXT

Jury Finds Greenpeace Liable for Hundreds of Millions in Damages

UP NEXT

Jesse Colin Young, Singer Who Urged Us to ‘Get Together,’ Dies at 83

UP NEXT

Tracy Morgan Says He’s OK, Food Poisoning Caused Incident at Knicks-Heat Game

Heading to Sierra? Prepare for Heavy Snow

2 hours ago

Mexican National Caught in Fresno County Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Trafficking

2 hours ago

CA Snowpack Is Near-Average. What Does This Mean for Water Supplies?

3 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Adds Another No. 1 to His Resume: MLB’s Best-Selling Jersey

3 hours ago

Tush Push Is the Hottest Topic at the NFL League Meetings

3 hours ago

U.S. Bank Executive Terry Dolan Dies in Plane Crash Near Minneapolis

4 hours ago

Trump Administration Will Review Billions in Funding for Harvard

4 hours ago

Former MLB Pitcher CJ Wilson of Fresno on New Torpedo Bats: ‘Still Room for Innovation’

5 hours ago

Man Arrested After Shooting at Fresno’s Switch Nightclub

5 hours ago

Who Is Fresno’s ‘Fake’ ICE Agent? He Speaks Up

5 hours ago

Braves’ Jurickson Profar Hit With 80-Game PED Ban

NEW YORK — Atlanta Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar has been suspended for 80 games without pay for performance-enhancing drug use. Major ...

56 minutes ago

Jurickson Profar
56 minutes ago

Braves’ Jurickson Profar Hit With 80-Game PED Ban

1 hour ago

Watch: City Demolishes Historic Chinatown Building to Make Way for Housing

Photo of First Lady Melania Trump
2 hours ago

The Mystery of Melania Trump’s Wedding Dress and an eBay Sale

2 hours ago

Heading to Sierra? Prepare for Heavy Snow

Miguel Obed Romero Reyes, 25, of Sinaloa, Mexico, pleaded guilty Monday, March 31, 2025, to trafficking more than 200,000 fentanyl pills after authorities seized the drugs during a traffic stop on Interstate 5. (DOJ)
2 hours ago

Mexican National Caught in Fresno County Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Trafficking

3 hours ago

CA Snowpack Is Near-Average. What Does This Mean for Water Supplies?

3 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Adds Another No. 1 to His Resume: MLB’s Best-Selling Jersey

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) lines up for the goal line Tush Push play during the NFL championship playoff football game against the Washington Commanders, Jan. 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP File)
3 hours ago

Tush Push Is the Hottest Topic at the NFL League Meetings

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend