Auschwitz museum defends 'misting showers' after offending visitors

The Auschwitz museum has defended installing “misting showers” to “cool off” tourists during a heat wave in Poland after it sparked outrage.

Some Israeli tourists who visited the museum have complained that the sprinklers evoke memories of the concentration camp's grim history.

Poland was in the grip of a heatwave in August and temperatures remain unseasonably high in the mid twenties.

The museum defended the sprinklers in a statement posted to Facebook, and said they were placed near the entrance “because of the extreme heat wave” which have caused some visitors to faint.

The museum added that the showers do not resemble the gas chambers in Auschwitz.

Other visitors commented on the Facebook post, saying you "cannot please everyone".

Rudwung Gary Linda said: "I lost half my direct relatives in Auschwitz. A mist shower installed 70 some odd years later is not going to change that one way or another. The critics of the misting showers should bear in mind where the true evil lies (not in staying cool nowadays). Never Again."

Lesley Marsh added: "I visited in August the Weather was extremely hot then. I applaud the efforts of the staff at the site of Auschwitz for their continued effort to ensure the well being of the visitors."