January 8, 2012

(JTA) — A photo of a Nazi concentration camp used in an ad campaign for a fitness gym in Dubai has been removed.

The photo of the railroad leading to Auschwitz-Birkenau as part of the ad campaign for The Circuit Factory gym in Dubai, was removed from the gym’s Facebook page after complains on Facebook and Twitter, according to reports.

Printed underneath the photo of the railroad was the phrase “Kiss your calories goodbye.”

The photos were removed Jan. 5 by the gym’s founder, Phil Parkinson, last week. Parkinson also apologized for the use of the photo.

“The owner’s apology for the outrageous use of an image of a Nazi concentration camp to promote his fitness center is appropriate and welcome,” said Abraham Foxman, ADL national director and a Holocaust survivor. “However, we are increasingly troubled by both the ignorance and mindset of a generation that appears to be so distant from a basic understanding of the Holocaust that it seems acceptable to use this horrific tragedy as a gimmick to bring attention to promoting losing weight.”

“The lessons of the Holocaust are profound and timeless,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial said Jan. 6 it had a record more than 1.4 million visitors in 2011. Most of the visitors reportedly were from Poland.
 

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