Protests have erupted in Germany after fake AI-generated images of the Holocaust were posted online for financial gain. Research institutions at former concentration camps, including Bergen-Belsen and Dachau, have issued an open letter demanding action. They stated: “This is a business model based on clicks and advertising revenue.”
The letter, signed by over 80 memorials, museums, and research institutions across Germany, criticises platforms for a surge in AI-created content that distorts history. The images depict fabricated scenes such as starving children behind barbed wire or fictional camp reunions, often appearing highly convincing.
According to the letter, AI assembles “fragments of historical facts and emotionalised fiction,” creating content that looks authentic while replacing documented history. It warns that such material is used to “dilute historical facts, shift victim and perpetrator roles, or spread revisionist narratives.”
Germany’s culture minister, Wolfram Weimer, has called for EU action, urging social-media platforms to comply with the Digital Services Act, which requires clear labelling of AI-generated content. He said: “The great suffering of the victims of the Holocaust must not be falsified and distorted.”
The letter also notes that platform algorithms promote emotionally charged posts “regardless of its truthfulness,” leading users to question authentic historical documents. It concludes: “Each of these posts devalues the work and undermines the credibility of memorial sites, archives, museums and research institutions.”
