The Buchenwald concentration camp memorial in eastern Germany has long faced vandalism and disruptions, largely attributed to far-right extremists. Now, according to a report in the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, pro-Palestinian activists from Germany’s radical left are planning a demonstration at the site during commemorations marking its liberation.
Buchenwald, located in the state of Thuringia, was liberated by U.S. forces in April 1945. About 56,000 prisoners were killed there, including many Jews.
For years, the memorial has reported incidents including graffiti, verbal abuse, visitors wearing clothing with Nazi symbols and individuals performing Nazi salutes. Those incidents have typically been linked to far-right groups that enjoy significant political and social support in parts of the region and seek to downplay Germany’s responsibility for World War II and the Holocaust.
The new planned protest is expected to take place during the second week of April, when Germany marks the anniversary of the camp’s liberation. According to the report, organizers intend to hold demonstrations and lectures at the memorial under the slogan “Keffiyehs in Buchenwald.”
Participants are expected to include the German Communist Party, the student wing of the Left Party and “Jewish Voice,” a group of anti-Zionist Jews.
Organizers accuse the memorial’s management of failing to take a stronger stance against Israel and allege discrimination against pro-Palestinian activists. The dispute follows an incident in April last year in which a visitor was barred from entering the memorial while wearing a keffiyeh in protest of Israel’s policies in Gaza. A court later upheld the ban.
It later emerged that the visitor was affiliated with a communist organization that had praised the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, stating it could “only admire the completely legitimate uprising.”
A spokesperson for the Buchenwald memorial said officials are “concerned about attempts to misuse the memorial site.” Felix Klein, the federal commissioner for combating antisemitism, called the planned protest “a new low in the reversal of victim and perpetrator roles.”
“I strongly condemn this frontal attack on the dignity of the memory of the victims of the Holocaust,” Klein said.