Demonstrators kill sheep and strip naked outside Auschwitz memorial

March 25 (UPI) -- A group of about a dozen demonstrators killed a sheep and stripped naked in front of the Auschwitz memorial in Poland on Friday.

Police detained 11 people following the demonstration in which staff for the museum on the site of the former Nazi death camp said "a group of people killed a sheep, undressed and chained themselves together."

The group also draped a banner with the word "Love" written on it over the gate to the entrance gate, which features the German words "Arbeit Macht Frei" or "Work Makes You Free."

Officials also said a firecracker was set off in the parking lot during the demonstration, and a local media report said the group filmed themselves using a drone.

Authorities were unable to determine the motive behind the demonstration, but some reports said it was in protest of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

The Auschwitz museum released a statement condemning the use of the largest Nazi concentration camp for protests. The camp was where more than 1 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust.

"Using the symbol of Auschwitz for any kind of manifestations or happenings is outrageous and unacceptable," the museum said. "It is disrespectful to the memory of all the victims of the German Nazi Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp."

Regional police spokesman Sebastian Glen said seven men and four women ages 20 to 27 were detained for their role in the demonstration including six Poles, four Belarusians and one German.

"At the moment, we are gathering and securing all the evidence connected with this case to determine the exact involvement of the individuals in this dramatic incident," district police spokeswoman Malgorzata Jurecka said. "It was macabre."