Smiling rubber duck at Auschwitz ignites online debate about photo ethics
- Internet users slam image after Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum asks on Twitter if picture of toy in front of ‘Gate of Death’ is disrespectful
- Travel Instagramer who takes pictures of duck with landmarks says he wanted to teach people about important locations in ‘creative and informative way’
The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum publishes historic facts on its Twitter account about the horrors that occurred at the Holocaust’s most infamous death camp, and it frequently engages with social media users around the world for educational purposes.
Last week, it had to deliver one of its occasional lessons in decorum after a travel Instagram account posted a photo of a rubber duck outside the entrance to the Birkenau death camp where an estimated 1 million people died at the hands of the Nazis.
It was the latest case in which Auschwitz and other Holocaust memorial sites have needed to convey proper etiquette to visitors, who increasingly convey their presence at such sights with photographs and, controversially, selfies.
On Wednesday, the memorial tweeted out a photo taken by @atuk.apil, a travel Instagram account run by a 22-year-old Venezuelan university student who travels the world with a smiling rubber duck. His account features photos of the toy in front of international landmarks such as St Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow and Petra in Jordan.
The student, who asked not be named for fear of further backlash, said he had travelled to Auschwitz-Birkenau in September to learn about its history. He insisted he used the duck to teach people about important locations in “creative and informative way” and “never intended to offend or generate controversy”.
But his photo set off another round of a debate about how visitors should engage with sombre historic sites in the digital age.
“Is the rubber duck in front of the Gate of Death disrespectful – even unintentionally?” the account for the memorial tweeted on Wednesday. “Or is it a side effect of the visual world we should accept/ignore?”
The account also tweeted out a translation of a caption that accompanied the photo, which attempted to explain the history of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
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“Does it make it better, or worse?” the memorial asked, that the user knew the significance of the site.
The tweets sparked thousands of replies as users debated the ethics of posting such a photo on Instagram. Most users agreed that the photo had been disrespectful, though a few argued that the post was intended to be educational.
Some of these sentiments made their way back to @atuk.apil, who told The Washington Post that he had tried to use his account to teach people about Auschwitz’s history. But upon hearing feedback on social from people who supported his image and people who did not, he apologised to the memorial and removed the image.
The memorial later tweeted an image of his apology.
“The intention of the post was the one previously mentioned without intentions to disrespect or generate controversy on the matter,” @atuk.apil wrote. “My sincerest apologies to @auschwitzmemorial for the inconvenience and to all the people who have felt offended.”
For the memorial, the exchange was less about shaming an Instagram user and more about asking the public to reflect on what photos are appropriate at such a site. The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum does not explicitly ban photography except in certain places within the complex, but it asks people to use their best judgment when taking photos.
“The image was used as an example to ask a question about boundaries of visual commemoration that in the era of social media is a new challenge – also for our institution,” said memorial spokesman Pawel Sawicki.
Sharing the image of the rubber duck, and asking followers to weigh in, was part of a greater strategy that the memorial employs on social media to reinforce positive behaviour and images, Sawicki said.
The memorial’s Instagram reposts visitor images that demonstrate respectful approaches to photographing Auschwitz. It also does not shy away from posting examples of images it conveys as inappropriate.
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In March, the memorial chastised visitors who were taking pictures while walking on the train tracks that brought hundreds of thousands of terrified prisoners past the Gates of Death and into Birkenau for extermination.
“When you come to @AuschwitzMuseum remember you are at the site where over 1 million people were killed,” it tweeted. “Respect their memory. There are better places to learn how to walk on a balance beam than the site which symbolises deportation of hundreds of thousands to their deaths.”
But “for most of our visitors,” Sawicki acknowledged, “photography can help them document the visit, save the emotions and remember about things they saw and heard.”
