The city of Kaunas in Lithuania has defended its use of a site that was a former concentration camp, where recreational events are now being held near the graves of thousands of Jews killed by the Nazis and their local collaborators during World War II, the Times of Israel website reports today (August 10, 2016).
Deputy Mayor Povilas Maciulis made his defense of the Seventh Fort this week following last month's revelations that summer camps, barbecue parties, treasure hunts, and camping activities were taking place there.
In 2009, the city privatized the site, which is run by the nongovernmental Military Heritage Center. The center is headed by 37-year-old amateur historian Vladimir Orlov.
"Yes, there are activities carried out in the museum; however, they are exclusively educational and pertaining to the museum's purpose," Marciulis wrote in a statement that he sent to several people a few days after Israel's director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Efraim Zuroff, asked the Kaunas mayor to have the festivities banned at the former concentration camp.
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