The camp barracks at former Nazi German concentration camp Auschwitz II-Birkenau are seen behind barbed wire fencing on January 23, 2021, in Brzezinka near Oswiecim, Poland. |
JAKUB PORZYCKI/NURPHOTO/GETTY

Antisemitic graffiti has been found spray-painted on nine wooden barracks at the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz, the museum said on Tuesday. The Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum called the inscriptions "an outrageous attack on the symbol of one of the greatest tragedies in human history."

The graffiti included "two references to the Old Testament, often used by anti-Semites, and denial slogans" written in English and German, the museum said.

Museum authorities reported the graffiti to the police and were analyzing video surveillance. They also asked any visitors who may have witnessed the incident or been in the vicinity of the barracks to get in touch and send photos.

Once police have completed their investigation, the graffiti will be removed, the museum said.

The statement said security at the 420-acre site was constantly being expanded, but it noted that the museum's budget had been hit by the pandemic.

Around 1.1 million people — the vast majority of them Jews — died at the camp set up on Polish soil by Nazi Germany during World War II.

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