Activists Sorry for Using Remains of Holocaust Victims

Needless to say, the stunt did not go over well
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 5, 2019 11:44 AM CST
Activists Sorry for Using Remains of Holocaust Victims
An oversized urn covered with a black plastic wrap placed by the artist group 'Center for Political Beauty" near the German parliament building, the Reichstag in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019.   (Photo/Markus Schreiber)

An activist group has apologized to Jewish organizations outraged over their use of purported Holocaust victims’ remains in an installation outside Germany’s parliament building meant to draw attention to the perils of far-right extremism. The Center for Political Beauty, an activist group known for provocative stunts, installed an urn outside the Reichtstag building on Monday, saying it contained victims’ remains that it had unearthed from 23 locations near Nazi death and concentration camps in Germany, Poland, and Ukraine. Soil the group said contained the remains could be seen in the transparent orange urn, about the size of an oil drum, set atop a metal pillar. Following the uproar from Jewish organizations, the group apologized.

By Thursday morning the urn had been wrapped in opaque black plastic so its contents could not be seen, the AP reports. “We want to apologize especially to Jewish institutions, associations and individuals who see our work as disturbing or touching the peace of the dead according to Jewish religious law,” the group said on its website. The activist group, whose members consider themselves political artists, had said the urn should serve as a warning in times of growing far-right extremism of how conservative forces in Germany helped pave the way for Adolf Hitler’s fascists to come to power in 1933. (Amazon recently yanked Auschwitz-themed Christmas decor.)

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