Such is the nature of Leonard Pitts’ columns that they irritate me even when I completely agree with him (“People should not play ‘Pokemon Go’ at Auschwitz,” July 18, The Columbian). But it was unprofessional of him to insult Pokemon fans by claiming they have no lives. The tone of his column made it seem like all Pokemon fans are on their way to Holocaust memorial sites on their quest to catch ’em all.
When I went to Auschwitz-Birkenau in 2012 there were signs up in many places that said hundreds of thousands of people were murdered right here so please, out of respect, no photography in this area. And yet, people in my group were still snapping away.
The policy for tours of Auschwitz-Birkenau and other former Nazi concentration camps should be the same as that for tours of the Lenin Mausoleum in Moscow. They take your phone and cameras away before you enter and give them back when you come out. This would also cut down on the wayward Pokemon players.
