Rock out, Auschwitz! Woohoo! Freebird!
Hold on there. Rock ‘n’ roll at Auschwitz? Yes, that Auschwitz. The scene of one of the most notorious mass murders in human history. A place where 1 million Jews were killed. One of the most horrifying places on Earth. And now—the home of a great rock ‘n’ roll festival! Roxanne!!
It’s not your imagination. It happened this past weekend. Sting headlined a concert called Life Festival Oświęcim 2013. Yes, that’s the Polish town that hosted the infamous Nazi concentration camp. The concert promoted the message that “there’s no place for anti-Semitism, racism and other forms of xenophobia.”
A Polish cultural guide explained: “The music festival was created to demonstrate that there is more to the small city of Oświęcim than just the Auschwitz concentration camp, and to create more positive connections in the minds of visiting tourists.”
Yes, more positive connections for tourists! Message in a Bottle! Encore! Raise your yahrzeit candles high! Meet you next year in Cambodia at the Pol Pot Smooth Jazz Fest.
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Watch Sting play “Every Breath You Take” at the Life Festival Oświęcim 2013.
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