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Auschwitz death camp. Uprising as backdrop for game
Photo: Reuters

Holocaust video game draws criticism

Anti-Defamation League calls game set during violent prisoner uprising at Auschwitz death camp 'horrific and inappropriate'

A video game set during a violent prisoner uprising at the Auschwitz death camp was announced this week. The game, titled Sonderkommando Revolt, is being developed by an Israeli video game developer who is using the real-world uprising at Auschwitz in October 1944 as the backdrop for the game.

 

The Anti-Defamation League, an advocacy group whose goal is to "stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all," called the game "horrific and inappropriate" in an interview with Kotaku, a video game blog.

 

"The Holocaust should be off-limits for video games. We hope the developers will reconsider and abandon the game," said the ADL spokesperson.

 

The developer of the game is using the original Wolfenstein 3D engine for this game, which should already tell critics that this game will be a very low budget, outdated production when and if released. Wolfenstein 3D, released in 1992, has been credited with popularizing the first-person shooter genre.

 

Similar to Sonderkommando Revolt, Wolfenstein 3D put the player in the role of a hero out to kill as many Nazi's as possible, and ultimately, Hitler.

 

"This rudimentary video game is an offensive portrayal of the Holocaust." said the ADL spokesperson. "With its unnecessarily gruesome and gratuitous graphics, it is a crude effort to depict Jewish resistance during this painful period which should never be trivialized."

 

Reprinted with permission from Shalom Life

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 12.14.10, 15:12
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