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Opposition to construction of mall near Auscwhitz (4/96)

Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 13:10:33 PDT
Location: Poland, Germany

WARSAW, April 30 (UPI)—The International Auschwitz Council said Tuesday it opposed the construction of a shopping center or any other business near the site of the World War II-era Auschwitz concentration camp.

A German-Polish venture announced two months ago it planned to develop a commercial center, including restaurants and shops, near the camp, which is now a museum. Polish authorities, who at first approved of the plan, withdrew support and the developer scrapped the project.

Still, early support for the shopping center drew condemnation from Jewish groups, which oppose any development within the 550-yard (500-m) exclusion zone established around the camp in 1979 by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The council said in a statement it ``opposes the construction of the so-called shopping center in front of the entrance to the State Museum of Oswiecim,'' the Polish word for Auschwitz, the Polish news agency PAP said.