The chair of the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand has condemned a group of ‘young people’ who dressed up in Nazi prisoner concentration camp uniforms at a party in Christchurch.

A photo, believe to have been taken Friday night, and widely circulated on social media, shows five people in striped shirts and pants, similar to the prisoner uniforms.

They are performing a Nazi salute while surrounding a woman dressed as Adolf Hitler.

The man who originally posted the photo on Instagram said “I can assure you that everyone involved in this is a good person and if you sat down and met with each and every one of them you would see that. They meant absolutely no harm by their actions. This will act as a great wake-up call to the ever-changing nature of the society that we live in. People make mistakes.”

The Holocaust Centre of New Zealand Chair Deborah Hart, who’s seen the photo said it was never alright to make light of genocide.

“Dressing up as concentration camp inmates shows a complete ignorance of the Holocaust and a lack of empathy for the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, including 1.5 million children. To make light of that is completely shameful.”

“It isn’t a joke and it’s not a party piece. It is a stain on human history” Hart said.

“I would offer each of those young people, an invitation to come to the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand so they can understand what it is that they are joking about.”

“My family was murdered in the Holocaust and like many people who lost family, seeing young people doing this is deeply, deeply disturbing,” Hart said.

“I would like them to come face to face with a picture of my Great Aunt, Roszi Pongerova.”

“She was just 30 when she got her orders to go to Auschwitz. On the 28th March 1942, she turned up to the train station, to be loaded onto a cattle truck. She was never seen again by anyone who loved her. She was only a little bit older than those people in the photo, and it’s really chilling that these young people think that’s a joke.”

New Zealand Jewish council spokeswoman Juliet Moses said “this is very disappointing to see, and will be distressing for many in our community, especially those who are survivors and descendants of victims.”

“We have all made stupid mistakes and done regrettable things in our youth, but this clearly required pre-meditation, and it is hard to find or understand the humour or fun in dressing up as victims of unfathomable atrocities that are still within living memory for some people. I hope they will take the opportunity to develop their critical thinking skills, learn from their mistakes, educate themselves and grow as human beings. To help them do so, I would be happy to facilitate them meeting a Holocaust survivor or Jewish community members, help them to arrange a visit to the Holocaust Centre in Wellington, or provide them with other resources.”

An occupant of the house where a party took place took to social media to address the photo.

“On the weekend, there was a fleet party in my city. I am 90% sure they were complying with the rules, but it was a dress-up theme. A group decided to wear this outfit and dress up as Holocaust victims, which I find so offensive and wrong.”

“I am seeking opinions from the Jewish communities on what to do, and how to hold them accountable.”