Stranger Things and Netflix are trying to capitalize off the Holocaust.
No, this is not a joke. This is not a stretch of the imagination. And no, I’m not putting a read-more on this post because it deserves a full look-through. This is happening in Lithuania, right now, where Netflix has turned a former Nazi prison into a Stranger Things themed hotel.
Yes, you read that right. Just a quick Google search will confirm its existence. The Lukiškės Prison in Vilnius, Lithuania is a former Nazi prison. In a country that already tries to erase it’s involvement with the Holocaust (I’m still talking about Lithuania), this offense is particularly egregious.
Here’s the change.org petition that @chaosklutz sent me that first alerted me to this abhorrent, insensitive bullshittery: https://www.change.org/p/hold-netflix-and-stranger-things-accountable.
Copy-pasted below is the description from the petition.
It has come to the attention of the Jewish and Rroma community that the new season for Stranger Things was filmed in the Lukiškės prison in Lithuania. Though having functioned as a prison centuries before, it became notorious during WWII for it’s Nazi involvement and the kidnapping, imprisonment, and torture of about 100,000 Jews, Rroma, and political prisoners.
To make matters worse, Stranger Things and Netflix have both agreed to turn Lukiškės into a fully functioning hotel, ran by Airbnb, where visitors can spend the night in themed cells, tour the Stranger Things themed building, and make waffles. The price ranges from about €104-114 a night and it was said to start it’s function June 4th.
Fans of Stranger Things are now getting numerical tattoos on their arms because they are inspired by the show, the Stranger Things Instagram has even reposted photos their fans have submitted; thus encouraging their behavior. Not only does this mock the shared trauma of the Jewish and Rroma community, but it further desecrates the living memories of Holocaust survivors (a significant portion are alive today) and their descendants.
Lithuania is already known for their outright denial of their participation in the Holocaust and their allyship with the Nazis. Lithuania turned Seventh Fort, a concentration camp responsible for one of the worst mass killings in Lithuanian history, into a wedding venue. A Nazi prison where Jews, Rroma, and political kid prisoners were kidnapped, starved, imprisoned, and tortured is now a wedding venue.
We refuse to let this continue.
We, Jews and Rroma, call you to sign this petition and hold Stranger Things and Netflix accountable for their Holocaust erasure. Money earned from this season should be put back into the Jewish and Rromani communities of Lithuania as reparations for the damage this season is causing and a public apology from Airbnb, Netflix, and Stranger Things should be issued immediately with a full understanding as to how this adds to the erasure of the victims of the Holocaust and the ongoing persecution of Romani communities. We also demand the immediate shut down of the Airbnb.
We will not be erased. The Holocaust is not for the entertainment industry to build wealth off of and turn into theatre. It is our genocide and for Rroma it is ongoing.
We hope to reach out to current Jewish and Rroma communities in Lithuania in hopes of help for accountability. Either way, sharing this petition, signing it, and donating to the Jewish and Romani organizations and charities below would be a great help! Thank you!
WAYS TO SUPPORT THE JEWISH AND RROMA COMMUNITIES:
LIETUVOS ZYDU (LITVAKU) BENDRUOMENÈ (Lithuania Jewish Community): donations accepted! https://www.lzb.lt/en/
ERRC (European Rroma Rights Center): A perfect tool to learn, volunteer and donate http://www.errc.org/get-involved/donate
Domari Society: Rroma in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip! Donate, learn about them and support their businesses! https://www.sunbula.org/en/article/10/Domari-Society-of-Gypsies-in-Jerusalem
The Jewish Center for Community Development: https://www.jdc-iccd.org/#about
ERGO (European Rroma Grassroots Organization): donate, learn, volunteer, and support their projects! https://ergonetwork.org
Memorial Museum of Holocaust in Lithuania and Vilna Ghetto: https://www.jmuseum.lt/en/about-the-museum-3/i/220/memorial-museum-of-holocaust-in-lithuania-and-vilna- ghetto/
Again, here is the petition link: https://www.change.org/p/hold-netflix-and-stranger-things-accountable.
Please sign and share the petition, and donate if you can. The signature goal is 7.5k - they’re almost there! We can surpass that goal!
This kind of behavior is utterly disgusting and those at fault need to be held accountable. If your blood isn’t boiling after reading about this, read again.
turnnoffyourmind
germansingergirl
jacobvanloon
janainaart
2087
blakekathryn
romaincrisis
kaledo-art
