German Students Generate Outrage with Offensive Gestures at Holocaust Sites

BERLIN, Germany — Teenage students from German high schools have sparked controversy after making neo-Nazi gestures and singing nationalist chants at Holocaust memorial sites, igniting widespread outrage.

Two incidents involving students from Helmholtz High School in Bielefeld and Scultetus High School in Görlitz have drawn condemnation. Both events occurred during school trips to memorials associated with the Holocaust, including the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and Auschwitz.

During a visit to the Bergen-Belsen memorial on April 15, 2025, students aged 14 and 15 were heard chanting “Germany for the Germans, foreigners out,” a slogan that has gained traction among neo-Nazi groups. The camp, liberated by British forces 80 years ago, is the site where approximately 52,000 individuals, including Anne Frank, perished during the Nazi regime.

Headmaster of Helmholtz High School, Joachim Held, confirmed that the students faced disciplinary actions but were not expelled. “This is a problem for society as a whole,” he told public broadcaster WDR. “Incidents like this happen to us more often than we would like.”

In a separate incident reported this week, four pupils from Scultetus High School posed in front of Auschwitz’s entrance gate making the “OK” hand gesture, a symbol that has been repurposed by some far-right groups to signify white supremacy. The photo, posted on social media, emerged in March but only gained attention this week.

Clemens Arndt from the Saxony state education office commented on the incident, stating that the pupils had been informed about their misconduct. “The headmistress confirmed that the four pupils had understood,” he said, emphasizing the need for respect at such memorials.

At Auschwitz, where over 1.1 million people perished, including a significant number of Jews, the act went against the primary purpose of the visit for many school groups, which is to honor those who suffered. The “OK” gesture, while not illegal in Germany, has been widely criticized for its neo-Nazi implications.

Jens-Christian Wagner, director of the Buchenwald Memorial, has noted a growing trend of antisemitic behavior at historical sites. “Provocative behaviour and attacks in the form of swastikas and antisemitic graffiti are now almost daily occurrences,” he said.

The rising popularity of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which gained 20% of votes in February’s election, has been implicated in this disturbing trend. “Some visitors make the Hitler salute and shout ‘Sieg Heil,’ directly disrupting memorial tours,” Wagner explained.

Reflecting a concerning lack of knowledge among young people, a 2023 survey indicated that 40 percent of Germans aged 18 to 29 were unaware that six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust. Furthermore, 25 percent could not identify a single concentration or extermination camp.

Both incidents highlight the urgent need for improved education on the Holocaust, as well as a commitment to preventing the resurgence of extremist ideologies among Europe’s youth.