Court fines UK teens for stealing from Auschwitz
Two 19-year olds told to pay fines and give donations, after stealing from the former Nazi camp's museum in 2015
A Polish court fined two British teenagers who tried to steal items from the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum.
Along with levying fines of £400 ($500) each on the 19-year-olds, a Krakow judge also ordered them each to donate more than £1,200 ($1,500) to the Memorial Foundation for the victims of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The teens, from Hertfordshire, were 17 in June 2015 when the incident occurred.
Museum guards stopped them while they were on a trip with the private Perse School in Cambridge. The teens were found to have hidden in their bags fragments of a hair clipper, glass from the barracks and buttons taken from the area of the former Birkenau camp called “Canada,” where during the war stood warehouses filled with items looted from Jews.
The teens initially pleaded guilty and were levied a fine as punishment. They were allowed to return to Cambridge.
Later, their attorneys withdrew their admission of guilt, saying they were not aware that the items had special cultural significance.
The teens were charged initially with stealing goods of special importance to the well-being of culture, which carries a 10-year jail sentence. But after experts told the court that the items were of no special cultural significance, the charges were reduced to damaging a site of historical importance.
Keep community journalism free.
Jewish News is free for everyone. No paywall. No barriers. Just trusted journalism for anyone who wants to stay connected to Jewish life in Britain.
If you value that, please support us.
From as little as £5 a month, you can help keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Every day, we report on the issues that matter to our community. We celebrate achievements, support charities, challenge antisemitism and ensure Jewish voices are heard more widely.
From as little as £5 a month, you can help us continue to:
- Report on the stories shaping Jewish life in the UK and beyond
- Bring our community together through shared stories, events and campaigns
- Celebrate the people, culture and moments that define our community
- Support organisations doing vital work across Jewish Britain
You can make a one-off donation or become a regular supporter. Every contribution helps keep our journalism free, independent and accessible to all.
If everyone who values Jewish News gave a small amount, it would make a real difference to our future.
