Pink defends photo of kids playing at Shoah site
Some Twitter users who lost family in the Holocaust say they actually liked singer’s post
The singer Pink found herself facing criticism for a picture she posted on Instagram of her children running through the Berlin Holocaust memorial and fought back by referencing her Jewish heritage.
Pink, whose real name is Alecia Beth Moore and whose hits include “Get The Party Started,” “What About Us” and “Family Portrait,” shared a picture of her children, Willow and Jameson, on Instagram alongside other photographs from her recent trip to Germany.
Facing outrage by some who felt that the photo showed disrespect for the memorial site, Pink wrote: “Berlin, I love you. #holocaustmemorial #panamarestaurant #cocktailclasses #history #herstory #worldtour and for all of the comments; these two children are in actuality Jewish, as am I and the entirety of my mother’s family. The very person who constructed this believed in children being children, and to me this is a celebration of life after death. Please keep your hatred and judgment to yourselves.”
How to behave at the site has long been a matter of controversy and disagreement. The site is open space filled with concrete pillars and slabs. There is no entrance or exit and people can wander in and out, as they might at a sculpture garden. On any given day, families with children sit on the slabs and run through the pillars, often taking photos. Staff sometimes ask children not to climb on the stones or run at the site, and at other times remain silent.
Some noted that the memorial site’s architect, Peter Eisenman, told the BBC in a 2017 interview: “My idea was to allow as many people of different generations, in their own ways, to deal or not to deal with being in that place, and if they want to lark around I think that’s fine. A memorial is an everyday occurrence. It is not sacred ground.”
That interview took place after social media influencers who posted selfies with the memorial’s pillars were taken to task by an Israeli-German writer who was offended. He took photos from the Holocaust and photo-shopped their selfies in. One of these influencers has since apologized for his actions.
But some Twitter users who said they had lost family in the Holocaust wrote that they did not have a problem with Pink’s photo of her children and that they actually liked it.