Scandal at Auschwitz: German students under fire for offensive video

"Shocking scandal" - this is how "Bild" describes what 17-year-olds from Germany did during their trip to the former Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. Their behaviour was reprehensible.

The German press reports that the purpose of the trip for students from a comprehensive school in Laatzen (near Hanover) to Poland was "to enable young people to understand what the darkest period in German history looked like."

"Bild" also states that a group of 13 students and two teachers arrived in Krakow to "learn about the history of Jews in the city, and the next day visit the Auschwitz death camp, located about 60 kilometres away."

The day before the visit to the memorial site, a huge scandal broke out. Five drunk 17-year-olds were watching YouTube videos in their hotel room, including a speech by Adolf Hitler.

Then, already lying in bed, they performed the Hitler salute, and one of them recorded everything. The eight-second video was posted on Snapchat - reports the German tabloid.

In the recording, you can hear one of the students trying to prevent the video from being posted online. However, it was already too late.

The scandal came to light only after returning to Lower Saxony.

We are deeply shocked and horrified by this immature behaviour. It does not reflect the true attitude of our students - assured Christian Augustin, the school principal, in an interview with "Hannoverschen Allgemeinen Zeitung".

The school reacted immediately. The mentioned students were suspended, and the police were informed about everything. Representatives of the educational institution claim that the 17-year-olds expressed remorse and apologised.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau camp is also called the "death factory." About 1.3 million people died there at the hands of SS men.