Auschwitz-themed Christmas ornaments removed from sale by Amazon after deluge of criticism

‘This is beyond comprehension’

The railway tracks leading to the main gates at Auschwitz II - Birkenau seen 10 December 2004 (Getty Images)

Amazon has stopped selling Auschwitz-themed Christmas ornaments after a deluge of complaints and condemnation on its site and social media.

Photographs of the Nazi concentration camp, where an estimated 1.1 to 1.5 million people died during the Second World War, had appeared on Christmas tree decorations and on a bottle opener for sale on the site.

Images of the items sparked outrage after staff at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Poland shared pictures of them on social media.

The museum posted that it had asked the online retail giant to remove the “disturbing and disrespectful” items from sale.

“Selling ‘Christmas ornaments’ with images of Auschwitz does not seem appropriate,” it tweeted. “Auschwitz on a bottle opener is rather disturbing and disrespectful.”

Numerous respondents agreed, expressing outrage and describing the products as “despicable”.

“What is WRONG with people!?! That is soooo disrespectful,” one person wrote.

“This is beyond comprehension,” another added.

Amazon received several complaints with regards to the ornaments, in addition to negative reviews on its site and thousands of messages on Twitter.

Following the criticism, the retailer confirmed the products had now been removed from sale.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum expressed its gratitude to those who spoke out about the items, tweeting: “Thank you everyone for your activity and response.”

In a statement sent to The Independent, an Amazon spokesperson said: “All sellers must follow our selling guidelines and those who do not will be subject to action, including potential removal of their account. The products in question have been removed.”

It is not the first time Amazon has been accused of selling offensive products.

Earlier this year, the retailer received complaints after toilet covers printed with Islamic scripture were found on its site.

The products in question were subsequently removed from sale.