Grandson of Auschwitz Victims Gets Trapped Inside

Riccardo Pacifici was with Italian TV crew
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 29, 2015 12:06 PM CST
Grandson of Auschwitz Victims Gets Trapped Inside
This file photo shows the main gate of the Auschwitz death camp in Poland.   (AP Photo, File)

It sounds like an actual nightmare: The leader of Rome's Jewish community visited Auschwitz this week to mark the 70th anniversary of its liberation and ended up getting locked inside and then arrested, reports the Independent. Even worse is that Riccardo Pacifici's grandparents died at the camp. Pacifici was with an Italian film crew at Auschwitz, where they filmed a live episode of a TV show with the permission of Polish authorities, reports ANSA. But after they wrapped up about 11pm, they realized they had been locked inside the camp.

After calls for help went unanswered, the crew broke a window to get out, which set off an alarm and brought police. They were held for questioning at the camp until 2:30am, then brought to a police station for more questioning until their release at 6am. "The crime is not 'intrusion' but exiting without waiting for Auschwitz security, who was already gone!!" tweeted a frustrated Pacifici, reports the Jerusalem Post. Italian diplomats finally intervened, and the crew was allowed to return to Rome. (More Auschwitz stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X