Jews Aboard Belgian Train Asked To Get Off and Shower at Auschwitz
Image by Flickr
Unidentified passengers aboard a Belgian train used the speaker system to urge Jews to get off at Auschwitz and shower at the concentration camp.
The incident of Jan. 31 prompted the Belgian rail company SNCB to file a complaint with police over incitement to hatred, the RTL broadcaster reported Tuesday.
According to RTL, the suspects gained access to the speaker system during rush hour, at 5 p.m., while traveling from Namur to Brussels. One of the passengers said in French, “Ladies and gentlemen, we are approaching Auschwitz. All Jews are requested to disembark and take a short shower.”
The incident had been reported to Viviane Teitelbaum, a Jewish lawmaker in the assembly of the Brussels region.
Teitelbaum told RTL that the witness to whom she spoke suspected that members from a group of adolescents may have gained access to the keys that conductors use to make announcements over the loudspeakers.
A similar incident occurred in 2012 aboard the same line when the perpetrators, who were never caught, said, “Welcome to this train heading to Auschwitz. All Jews are requested to disembark at Buchenwald.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
