Republican congressman slammed for ‘disrespectful’ video filmed inside Auschwitz gas chamber

Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial told Clay Higgins the site is ‘not a stage’

A Republican congressman been criticised for filming a video of himself inside the Auschwitz concentration camp's gas chambers and posting it to YouTube.

Clay Higgins recorded himself walking along the railway tracks, entering the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum and talking in one of the gas chambers.

At one point the Louisiana representative declares his commitment “to make damn sure that the United States of America is protected from the evils of this world”.

He said: “A great sense of dread comes over you in this place. Man’s inhumanity to man can be quite shocking.”

He ends the video by saying: “The world's a smaller place now than it was in World War II. The United States is more accessible to terror like this, horror like this.

“It’s hard to walk away from gas chambers and ovens without a very sober feeling of commitment, of unwavering commitment, to make damn sure that the United States of America is protected from the evils of the world.”

The video was picked up by local news outlets in Louisiana and many hit out at it on Twitter, calling it “obscene” and “disrespectful”.

One person wrote: “As the son of Holocaust survivors I notice the word ‘Jew’ conspicuously missing. Talk about missing the point.”

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum condemned the congressman’s actions, stating that the gas chambers at Auschwitz are not a “stage”.

Responding on Twitter, a spokesperson for the museum said: “Everyone has the right to personal reflections. However, inside a former gas chamber, there should be mournful silence. It’s not a stage.”

They posted a picture of a sign that all visitors see at the entrance to the building “where first homicidal gas chambers of Auschwitz was created by the SS”.

The sign states: “You are in a building where the SS murdered thousands of people. Please maintain silence here: remember their suffering and show respect for their memory.”

The Independent has contacted Mr Higgins' office for comment but none had arrived at the time of publication.