Travel Instagrammer slammed over 'disrespectful' Auschwitz post

A travel Instagrammer who visits renowned landmarks across the world with a rubber duck has apologised for a “wholly inappropriate” photo outside the former Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz.

Instagram account Atuk Apil, which calls itself the ‘Traveler rubber duck’ and has over 3000 followers, faced strong backlash for the photo of the smiling bath toy outside the Auschwitz Museum after it was shared on Auschwitz Memorial Twitter page.

“Is the rubber duck in front of the Gate of Death disrespectful - even unintentionally? Or is it a side effect of the visual world we should accept/ignore?” the page asked.

The response online was overwhelmingly in favour of the former, with dozens slamming the post as “disrespectful”.

“Gas chambers in Auschwitz were disguised as bathrooms and victims sent to “shower”,” one person noted.

“The image of a happy bath toy in that context in my honest opinion demonstrates gross tastelessness and a gaping lack of historical knowledge.”

“Totally disrespectful & wholly inappropriate. They can’t be that ignorant or uninformed to visit there and not know of the history and suffering that went on there,” another said.

“Sometimes you have to take a step back from social media for likes.”

The Auschwitz Memorial also noted the Instagrammer had given an in-depth description on the significance of the site, which divided users on whether this made the post better or worse.

“Disrespectful, but perhaps not ill-intended. I'd like to think that whoever did this at least informed many thousands of people about what transpired behind the gate of death,” one person wrote.

The person who runs the Spanish language account, whose identity is unknown, later pulled the post and issued an apology via the Auschwitz Memorial page.

“The intention of the post was the one previously mentioned without intentions to disrespect or generate controversy on the matter,” the blogger said in a statement shared by the Auschwitz Museum.

“My sincerest apologies to @auschwitzmemorial for the inconvenience and to all the people who have felt offended.”

Other recent posts on the Instagram account shows the rubber duck wearing a top hat at The Kremlin in Moscow and at Jordan’s Petra.

The Auschwitz Memorial Twitter page has been vocal previously on inappropriate photos at the historic site in Poland where over one million people lost their lives, previously slamming tourists who walk on the train tracks outside the Auschwitz.

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