Visitors horrified by showers at Auschwitz concentration camp

The group that operates the Auschwitz Memorial in Poland wanted to help comfort visitors during the hottest time of the year by placing showers outside of the former Nazi concentration camp. But instead of helping visitors, it horrified them.

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Israeli media reports that many feel the showers are inappropriate and insensitive, given that an estimated one million Jews were killed in gas chambers that prisoners were told were showers.

See photos of the showers:

When some visitors confronted management about the misters, they said they understood but that it was really a matter of safety since temperatures had reached 104 deg.

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The museum also explained their reasoning behind the misters on Facebook after backlash grew:

"Memorial is visited by thousands of people every day. The sprinklers are installed on the days of highest temperatures and removed when the temperature drops," the post read.

%shareLinks-quote="Among visitors there are many people who come from countries where such high temperatures as we have this summer in Poland do not occur. Something had to be done, as we have noticed cases of faints among people and other dangerous situations." type="quote" author="Auschwitz concentration camp spokesman" authordesc="addressing shower controversy" isquoteoftheday="false"%

"Among visitors there are many people who come from countries where such high temperatures as we have this summer in Poland do not occur. Something had to be done, as we have noticed cases of faints among people and other dangerous situations."

Many on Facebook defended the museum.

"I'm sorry people are making an attempt to create a parallel between the misters (which are very helpful in hot weather) to the 'showers' that murdered millions," Marion Miele Christiansen wrote in one comment. "Thank you for being considerate of those who visit the memorial."

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"Saying it's more 'authentic' and 'respectful' to not have the misters is ridiculous. What are you people going to do if there's no misters and some elderly people die from the heat? Would you turn around and blame it on the people running the museum? They're attempting to look out for people who still want to pay their respects but can't physically handle the heat to that extent."

The museum has said that it will review the location of the showers for future visitors.