Auschwitz asks visitors not to play 'Pokémon Go'

The Auschwitz Memorial has asked Pokémon Go gamers not to play the popular app on its premises, saying it is "disrespectful" and "not appropriate." 

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

The game is now available in Germany, but not elsewhere in Europe. Some users have found a way to download the app outside of the U.S., Australia or New Zealand, where it's been available. 

New York magazine said the person who reported the presence of Pokémon in Auschwitz, also noted there was a "blue square thing" at the concentration camp, indicating the area is probably a PokéStop. 

A spokesman for the Auschwitz Memorial said the presence of the game was "absolutely inappropriate." 

“Allowing such games to be active on the site of Auschwitz Memorial is disrespectful to the memory of the victims of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp on many levels,” Pawel Sawicki said, adding that creators of the app had been asked "not to allow the site of Auschwitz Memorial and other similar sites to be included in the game." 

Other gamers claimed to have found Pokémon at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. 

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

The museum's communications director, Andy Hollinger, said in a statement that they are "attempting to have the museum removed from the game. 

"Technology can be an important learning tool, but this game falls far outside of our educational and memorial mission," Hollinger said.

In one case, a player claimed to have found a Koffing at the Holocaust museum. 

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

The creature in the game excretes noxious gas, which some deemed inappropriate due to the use of poison gas during the Holocaust to murder millions of Jews.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.