After the Eisbären Berlin game at Unia Oswiecim, the Polish hosts and the organizers of the Champions Hockey League apologized to the German ice hockey champions for a banner referring to the German extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. “We have accepted this apology,” a spokesman for the Eisbären told the German Press Agency when asked.
At the start of the game, the polar bears were placed on the banner in the Oswiecim hall in proximity to German crimes in Poland. The German name for Oswiecim is Auschwitz. In the concentration and extermination camp on the outskirts of the city, which was then occupied by Germany, the National Socialist regime killed more than a million people, mostly Jews, during the Second World War.
Players did not notice banners
When asked by the German Press Agency, the Eisbären confirmed that the banner was shown. The players with whom the club spoke about it did not notice it because they were focused on the game. The German champions won the match 4:1 on Saturday.
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