eBay has apologized after artifacts from the Holocaust were put up for sale on the auction website.
According to a British newspaper, eBay listed dozens of items from the Holocaust for sale, including arm bands, a pair of shoes, and the uniform of a prisoner who perished in a Nazi death camp. The items were listed for thousands of dollars.
The website quickly removed the items and is donating $40,000 to charity.
Company spokesperson Steve Heywood said the company 鈥渧ery much鈥� regrets that it didn鈥檛 鈥渓ive up to our own standards.鈥�
鈥淲e don鈥檛 allow listings of this nature, and dedicate thousands of staff to policing our site,鈥� he said in a statement.
London鈥檚 Mail on Sunday calls the seller a self-described historian living in Vancouver. According to the newspaper, he claims he bought the items from a reputable dealer in the U.S.
The man is quoted as saying he was selling the items in part to fund his book projects.
Holocaust survivors Sid and Bronia Cyngiser say they were devastated to hear that artifacts from one of the darkest periods in history were listed for sale online.
Now married for 62 years, the Cyngisers are the sole survivors of their families, their kin taken from their homes in Poland and murdered in death camps.
For the couple, such artifacts are symbols of deep pain.
"It鈥檚 terrible, I can鈥檛 even imagine that someone would want to profit from it,鈥� Bronia said.
Judy Shapiro, associate director of the Calgary Jewish Community Council, says these types of items should be in museums.
鈥淲e shouldn鈥檛 destroy them, she said.
With a report from 麻豆传媒鈥� Alberta Bureau Chief Janet Dirks
