Polish museum removes controversial gas chamber installation

Krakow’s modern art museum pulls video piece, which consisted of footage of naked people playing tag.

By SAM SOKOL
GERMAN ARTIST Sarah Schonfeld poses next to the perimeter fence at Auschwitz. Her work is part of the controversial exhibit at the Krakow Museum of Contemporary Art titled ‘Poland – Israel – Germany: The Experience of Auschwitz.’ (photo credit: Courtesy)
GERMAN ARTIST Sarah Schonfeld poses next to the perimeter fence at Auschwitz. Her work is part of the controversial exhibit at the Krakow Museum of Contemporary Art titled ‘Poland – Israel – Germany: The Experience of Auschwitz.’
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Krakow’s modern art museum have removed a controversial art installation that some believe mocked the Holocaust following Jewish protests, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
Artur Zmijewski’s video installation, which consisted of footage of naked people playing tag outside a gas chamber, which many found “controversial and offending is no longer displayed at the exhibition,” said museum spokeswoman Justyna Kuska on Thursday.
“Instead we are presenting information about the artwork including our curatorial commentary.”
Last week, the Simon Wiesenthal Center harshly censured the Israeli Foreign Ministry for its sponsorship of the exhibition.
While Israel did not pull its support for the entire exhibit, it did protest the inclusion of “Game of Tag.”
Speaking to the Post on Thursday, a ministry spokesman expressed “satisfaction at the removal of the offensive exhibit.”
Dr. Efraim Zuroff of the Simon Wiesenthal Center likewise said that he was “very pleased that sanity prevailed and that this highly offensive exhibition was removed,” but noted that “the very fact that it was shown with the sponsorship of the Israel Embassy raises questions about the vetting process.
“I want to make clear that this is only a partial victory since the video will be exhibited on the website of the museum along with a comment of the curator who saw nothing wrong in exhibiting it in the first place,” he continued. “At the same time, the whole episode raises very serious questions as to the role of our Foreign Ministry and the embassy in Warsaw.”