Majdanek: 10,000 pairs of shoes burnt

Wooden structures go up in flames at Nazi concentration camp.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Auschwitz holocaust 248.88 ap (photo credit: AP [file])
Auschwitz holocaust 248.88 ap
(photo credit: AP [file])
A fire broke out Monday night at the Majdanek concentration camp barracks in Poland and destroyed ten-thousand pairs of shoes belonging to former prisoners, according to Majdanek Museum Director Tomasz Kranz.
The fire, which seriously damaged two-thirds of the wooden structure, occurred at midnight and took six hours to put out, a spokesman from the Lublin fire brigade reportedly said.
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On Tuesday, Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev expressed support and assistance to Kranz following reports of the fire.
Shalev conveyed deep sorrow that such a historic landmark and invaluable artifacts suffered such damage.
“The damage to these irreplaceable items is a loss to a site that has such historical value to Europe, Poland and the Jewish people,” Shalev told Kranz.
Authorities have not been able to locate the cause of the fire yet are investigating all possibilities.
The site manager stated that the cause of the fire was unclear but it was likely that it started as a result of a power outage.
Majdanek concentration camp is located near the southeastern Polish city of Lublin.
Over 360,000 people, over half of them Jews, were murdered at the camp.
TheAuschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp also suffered damage this year as heavy floods covered the site and nearly destroyed the memorial area.