‘Pokémon Go’ Outrage: Museums & Memorial Sites Cry Foul Over ‘Disrespectful’ Pokémon Hunters

The widespread popularity of "Pokémon Go" has encouraged players to go out of their homes and hunt for the virtual characters. Those adventures, however, have downsides -- especially if they are hunting for Pokémons in places that call for solemnity and respect.

Disrespectful & Inappropriate

The world's most famous and solemn memorial sites have warned "Pokémon Go" players to avoid playing the game while on-site. Administrators of the memorial sites said visitors playing Nintendo's highly popular augmented reality game while touring the site is a form of disrespect.

Pawel Sawicki, a spokesman for the former concentration camp Auschwitz Memorial in Poland, told The New York Times that actively playing "Pokémon Go" on-site "is disrespectful to the memory of the victims of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp on many levels." The memorial honors more than 1.1 million men, women, and children who have died in Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration and extermination camps.

Removing Memorial Sites From 'Pokémon Go'

Sawicki said they have reached out to Niantic, Inc., the co-creator of "Pokémon Go," so the company can remove Auschwitz Memorial and other similar sites from the game. A spokeswoman from Niantic, Inc., however, said that "Pokémon Go" hasn't officially rolled out in Europe yet.

Released on July 6, "Pokémon Go" can only be downloaded in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand at the moment. A player, however, can download the game while in those countries and then head to places such as Poland, where the game isn't available in app stores yet.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. said playing "Pokémon Go" while on-site is also inappropriate. Andrew Hollinger, the museum's communications director, told The Washington Post that they are working on removing the site from "Pokémon Go."

USHMM honors the victims of the Holocaust and Nazi genocide. The museum is labeled as one of the game's PokéStop, with The Washington Post noting that there are three PokéStops within the USHMM.

In a tweet, the USHMM said that it welcomes and encourages visitors to "use technology to engage" with their exhibitions and programs as long as it is being respectful to the memorial's purpose. Other memorial sites that discourage "Pokémon Go" hunters are New York City's 9/11 Memorial and the Arlington National Cemetery, a resting location for U.S. military veterans, People reported.

Accidents, injuries, and robberies related to the game occurred as the public clamors for "Pokémon Go." Pokémon Company International and Niantic, Inc. encouraged "Pokémon Go" users to venture out with their friends especially when going to unfamiliar locations, according to Reuters.