Auschwitz and other memorials say no to Pok茅mon GO
Pok茅mon GO players are everywhere, scouring streets and parks for elusive animated creatures. Now, some museums and memorial parks are asking Pok茅mon GO鈥檚 creator, Niantic, to , citing reasons of decorum and reverence.
Among the commemorative sites featured in the game are Germany鈥檚 Auschwitz Museum, a memorial to Holocaust victims located in an infamous former prison camp, and Arlington National Cemetery and the Holocaust Memorial Museum in the United States.
"This can't be another chapter, it can't be another scavenger hunt,鈥� Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization, told USA Today. 鈥淭hat's a desecration of the memory of the victims and it's a ."
Game players can currently wander the grounds of these memorials, searching for聽Pok茅mon to collect. At the Holocaust Memorial Museum, game players can discover a Pok茅Stop, or an area where players can obtain free in-game items. Pokestops can also be found on Arlington Cemetery grounds.
Auschwitz Museum officials tweeted to NianticLabs on Tuesday, requesting the game creators remove collectible聽Pok茅mon from their grounds. Officials at several American memorial sites have also issued requests for Niantic to remove their locations from the game, and asked players to refrain from playing the game within the location鈥檚 boundaries.
鈥淥ut of respect for all those interred at Arlington National Cemetery, we require the highest level of decorum from our guests and visitors,鈥� Arlington officials wrote in a statement on the cemetery鈥檚聽. 鈥淧laying games such as 'Pok茅mon Go' on these hallowed grounds would not be deemed appropriate.鈥�
It is difficult, Arlington spokesperson Stephen Smith told the Associated Press, for officials to know which cemetery visitors are using the memorial鈥檚 app, which helps users find their way through the massive grounds, and which visitors are merely there for the Pok茅mon.
Although some may find the game harmless, if silly, critics of Niantic鈥檚 decision to allow Pok茅mon pursuits on memorial grounds say that the game trivializes the significance of some of the gravest events in human memory.
Auschwitz, for example, commemorates the deaths of millions of Jews and other groups persecuted at the hands of the Nazi party in Germany. Memorials to massive genocide, says CEO of the Anti-Defamation League Jonathan Greenblatt, are no place for games.
Many have reacted negatively on social media to Niantic鈥檚 decision to locate聽Pok茅mon at sites of reverence, saying that the game company could have made better choices, and that playing video games at these sites is 鈥渁kin to dancing on graves.鈥�
This is not the first time Auschwitz has found itself party to game players questing on its grounds. Another NianticLabs game, Ingress, saw users visiting Holocaust memorial sites and former concentration camps such as Auschwitz, Dachau, and Sachsenhausen. In that augmented reality game, users could engage in virtual 鈥渂attles鈥� at various sites.
Pok茅mon GO has enjoyed massive popularity since its release a week ago, despite ongoing concerns about user privacy, trespassing, and safety. Some users have fallen or gotten hurt while distracted by the game, while others have been , such as robbery.
