Some visitors to the Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp - now a memorial - have gone for sledge rides over mass graves and such abuses must stop, the site's managers have warned.
The site extends across a large wooded area in eastern Germany, as Buchenwald had several sub-camps.
"Cases of winter sports near mass graves, disturbing the peace of the dead, will be reported," the memorial warns on its website.
Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp no place for sledging, German authorities warn https://t.co/0c4NokoEef
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 15, 2021
More than 56,000 inmates died there.
The Nazis imprisoned nearly 280,000 men, women and children at the site on Ettersberg hill near Weimar in 1937-1945.
They were mainly Jews, Sinti and Roma, resistance activists, homosexuals and Soviet soldiers. They were beaten, starved and tortured. Some were used for medical experiments.
The site has a huge cemetery on the south slope of Ettersberg hill, with a belltower at the top - the area now popular for winter excursions.
Rikola-Gunnar Lüttgenau, a historian at Buchenwald, told the BBC that sports activities were already banned at the site, yet "last weekend it was used heavily, many sledge tracks were found on the graves, and the car park was full".
"Now because of the pandemic winter sports facilities are closed in Thuringia [region], so they are using the memorial," he added.
Disturbing the peace of the dead is an offence punishable by a fine in Germany, he said, adding that the memorial has now stepped up its security.
"Unfortunately more and more people have been disrespecting the place, horse-riding or riding motorbikes in the woods."
In April 1945 US troops liberated Buchenwald, where they found piles of corpses, torture cells, a crematorium and emaciated survivors. The Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D Eisenhower said: "Nothing has ever shocked me as much as that sight."
BBC radio reporter Edward Ward gave an account of the horrors of Buchenwald in 1945. You may find some of his description distressing.
Latest Stories
-
Ghana reaches a deal with bilateral creditors on debt restructuring
3 mins -
Predecessor Awards Worldwide launches legacy book by American baseball star
22 mins -
Protest at Mallam as residents demand improved roads
26 mins -
Survey names Cape Town as Africa’s best airport
39 mins -
All Regional Games: Torch Relay ceremony held in Accra ahead of maiden edition
47 mins -
Kofi Kinaata fulfils promise to release new album
54 mins -
Ronaldo inspires me – Cadman Yamoah
57 mins -
Absa Bank champions Intra-African Trade at the Absa Export Advantage Forum
58 mins -
I’m trying to prove people wrong – Kofi Kinaata explains why he avoids rap beefs
1 hour -
U.S. government donates anthrax vaccines to protect Ghanaians and livestock
1 hour -
Nigerian pastor Chris Oyakhilome pushing malaria vaccine conspiracy theories
1 hour -
Zonda Tec Ghana Ltd officially launches “Shantui Truck and Equipment”
1 hour -
Mining under new gas pipelines dangerous – Genser Board Chair warns galamseyers
1 hour -
African Capacity Building Foundation to establish African School of Regulation in Accra
2 hours -
Gospel musician Padmore Abekah releases Mother’s Day Anthem ‘Sweet Sweet Mother’( Ena Pa)
2 hours