MUNICH, Germany, June 27 (UPI) -- Holocaust memorials across Germany are experiencing financial hardships and may soon be forced to limit their services or begin charging entrance fees.
Officials behind the memorial sites at several former Nazi concentration camps said they have been struggling to meet their financial goals, and must decide whether to begin charging admission, Deutsche Welle said Wednesday.
Some officials, along with the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said charging admission would be a detriment to the memorials' education mission.
"It is only through these concrete places that visitors can thoroughly experience for themselves the presence of historical events," said Salomon Korn, vice president of the council. "Such a visual link of history and an authentic place serves to reinforce and deepen remembrance."
Without the fees, Holocaust memorial sites would be forced to rely on private funding to keep their vital services available, Deutsche Welle said.
Private donations have become increasingly rare in Germany as companies are hesitant to link themselves to the sites where the Holocaust occurred.
