Oswiecim – Polish police say a Dutch tourist was detained for giving the Nazi salute at the site of the former death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Regional police in the Polish city of Oswiecim said they arrested a 29-year-old woman on Sunday for making the gesture at the entrance to the camp.
Prosecutors said she was caught in the act by guards while posing for a photo taken by her husband.
They issued her with a fine as punishment, which she accepted, according to the Polish news agency PAP.
“Officers from (the southern city of) Oswiecim detained a 29-year-old woman from the Netherlands today,” regional police tweeted.
“The tourist had been performing the Hitler salute in front of the ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ (Work Sets You Free) gate.
“The detainee was charged with engaging in Nazi propaganda. She confessed.”
A spokesperson for the regional police, Bartosz Izdebski, told PAP the woman explained it was a “bad joke”.
The woman (who has not been named) was later charged with engaging in Nazi propaganda. Prosecutors issued a fine, which she agreed to pay.
