- If someone propagates antisemitic content, denial, we have no room for manoeuvre; such users are blocked, just as at the Memorial Site. However, it should be pointed out that with over 2 million visitors a year, the scale of problematic behaviour among visitors is considerably low. The same is true in social media. Occasionally, there are interventions on our part, but these are still rather incidents - Sawicki adds.
He also mentions that other users often alert them to inappropriate comments. It shows what a responsible and loyal community the profiles of the institutions have gathered around them.
Sometimes, social media platforms fall into their own traps. This was the case a year ago with the TikTok trend for making videos with users impersonating victims of Auschwitz-Birkenau camp speaking from the afterlife. Young people pretending to be victims of the camp used filters in their videos to give their faces signs of fatigue, bruises or heavy rings around the eyes. In the videos, users talked about what happened to them in the camp. The recordings were often accompanied by contemporary pop hits such as “Locked Out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars and “Heathens” by Twenty One Pilots. Victims speaking from the heavens could be found following the hashtag #holocaustchallenge. - The trend of ‘victims’ in TikTok could be hurtful and offensive. Some films are dangerously close to or have already crossed the line of trivialising history. However, we should discuss this topic in such a way as not to embarrass or attack young people whose motivations seem to vary greatly. It is an educational challenge - the museum explained on Twitter.
- The world on social media - and arguably beyond - tends towards polarity; something is either black or white. Nuances are disappearing. In the case of TikTok, for example, it is more complicated. It is vital to look broader and deeper than just very easy emotional indignation. The motivations of those who have decided to publish such videos may vary significantly. There will be examples of people who meant well and used communication language familiar to them. And, there are those who just wanted to be part of a trend, to achieve fame. It is very difficult to separate them - Sawicki points out.
Exploring history
The Auschwitz Museum’s social profiles are not only unpleasant moments when you have to deal with someone’s ignorance, a hurtful message or fake news. It also includes good stories, which are in abundance. Paweł Sawicki says that every account of a person who has learned something new through the museum is invariably gratifying. The same goes for the commitment of the followers, who add to the museum’s posts: they write about their family members, add new information, and sometimes also give impetus to new investigations.
Such was the case when the museum published Jiří Popper’s photograph last summer. The Czech-born Jew was 20 years old when he died in Auschwitz-Birkenau. A Twitter user noticed a pin on the young man’s jacket lapel and recognised the logo of the Spanish football club Real Sociedad. Sawicki concedes that for someone who is not a fan of the club, recognising the small stamp in the black and white photo was practically impossible. An Internet investigation was launched, which involved Spanish journalists and the club itself. As it was later confirmed in the 1920s, the team from San Sebastian played against the Deutcher Fußball-Club founded in Prague by German Jews.
- Such things would not be possible without social media and the swiftness of the people involved. Moreover, Auschwitz survivors and their relatives are still present on the Internet. Engaging in dialogue with such people - not just via Twitter - is always a very moving experience - Sawicki adds.
The Museum’s importance and its recognition by the international community is demonstrated by the Europa Nostra European Heritage Award for the exhibition “Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not so far away”: a joint project of the Spanish company Musalia (from San Sebastian, incidentally) and the Auschwitz Museum. It was awarded in November last year.