A row has erupted over allegations by representatives of Rome’s Jewish community that they were locked into the former Nazi Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland and treated “like real criminals” after filming a TV interview.
Rome’s Jewish community spokesman Fabio Perugia said on Twitter that he and the head of Rome’s Jewish community, Riccardo Pacifici, had been filming with a TV crew from Italy’s Canale 5 following a ceremony Tuesday to mark 70 years since the camp’s liberation.
The crew had finished their work at 11 p.m., and the group tried to leave, he said. But group members found they were locked in the camp in subzero temperatures with no security guards in sight.
“Riccardo Pacifici then pushed through a window that was in the ticket sales building, and the window opened up,” Perugia said.
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“However, they decided to act outside the regulations and triggered the security alarm and triggered the whole reaction and then refused to cooperate.”
Auschwitz is a “priceless heritage place,” he said. “It must be protected and there must be security.”
CNN’s Laura Smith-Spark wrote and reported from London and Hada Messia from Rome.
