Jews Seek Removal of Crosses at Auschwitz

Jewish groups in Israel and the United States are demanding the removal of about 50 crosses placed by Polish Catholics outside the former Nazi death camp at Auschwitz.

The Jewish groups say the crosses are an attempt to Christianize a place where more than 1 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Catholics say they, too, should be allowed to memorialize the members of their faith who died at Auschwitz, which is near the Polish town of Oswiecim.

Directors of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, Israel’s national museum and memorial for the estimated 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis, said Monday that the erection of the crosses at Auschwitz was a “provocative act” by Catholic extremists.

The Israeli officials also said the crosses violated an international accord that no religious, ideological or political symbols would be erected at the Auschwitz site.

In the United States, the Anti-Defamation League called the placing of the crosses “greatly offensive.”

“This gesture is particularly provocative given the efforts by Jews and Poles to resolve the future of this site in a respectful and cooperative manner,” said Abraham H. Foxman, the league’s national director.

A Catholic workers’ group last week erected the crosses, some of which are about 10 feet tall. “We want the entire escarpment to teem with crosses,” said Kazimierz Switon, one of the members of the group.