German spa withdraws ‘romantic Kristallnacht’ ad

Kristall Sauna Wellnesspark apologizes for ‘extremely inappropriate’ campaign

BERLIN — A German hotel apologized for running an ad for a “long, romantic Kristallnacht” to be held on the 75th anniversary of the Nazi pogrom against Jews and their institutions.

The Kristall Sauna Wellnesspark in Bad Klosterlausnitz, in the former eastern German state of Thuringen, pulled the ad for the November 9 event and issued an apology via Facebook, according to the Cologne-based online newspaper Express.de.

Critics had posted images of the ad on social media sites with comments such as “Thumbs up to your advertising department.”

In a statement issued Monday, the hotel owners apologized for their “insensitive naming of this event,” which was “extremely inappropriate.” They explained that they frequently tag part of their name, “Kristall,” onto their events.

“We are extraordinarily regretful and of course this was unintentional; believe us, we are quite ashamed about our mistake,” the statement said.

They changed the name of the event to “the long romantic night.”

Kristallnacht destruction in Magdeburg (photo credit: German Federal Archive / Wikipedia Commons)

According to Express, some who posted screen shots of the ad made crude jokes about the wellness center being a “Heil Bad,” or spa with hot springs, playing on the Nazi salute to Hitler.

This week, Germany is marking the 75th anniversary of the pogrom in which rioters destroyed 267 synagogues in Germany, Austria and the former Czechoslovakia.

According to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum website, at least 91 Jews were killed during the November 1938 rioting and some 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and held in concentration camps in its aftermath.