A local Burger King franchise is under fire in Germany after flyers advertising burgers and shakes were distributed to visitors of the Dachau concentration camp site where more than 200,000 people were imprisoned, and an estimated 40,000 murdered, during World War II.
The site is considered a place of mourning and remembrance of these innocent victims, so when visitors left after paying their respects and then found Burger King flyers attached to their cars in the parking lot, they were disgusted by such a disrespectful advertisement play.
Gabriele Hammermann, head of the Dachau memorial site, was equally disturbed by the ads. “Advertising is generally prohibited on the memorial site,” he told German news publication Welt. “For many visitors, this memorial is a cemetery and a place of grief. Advertising is not compatible with the dignity of the place.”
A nearby Burger King has been accused of being behind the advertisements, though the franchise owner has denied any involvement, telling BILD that it is purely a misunderstanding and that he “regrets that it has come so far.”