Katy Perry Shares Emotional Message After Visiting Auschwitz

Published on February 26, 2015.

(Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Katy Perry is taking advantage of being on tour in Europe to visit some important historical sites, and while the energetic singer is usually loud and upbeat she took a sombre moment after visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland on Wednesday Feb. 25.

The museum is the site of the most talked about concentration camps from WWII, Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau, where millions were killed in the holocaust.

The impact of visiting the haunting location caused Perry to take to her Instagram to share her experience.

“My heart was heavy today,” she captioned a photo of one of the buildings and added the quote found on the site’s memorial plaque which reads, “For ever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity, where the Nazi murdered about one and a half million men, women and children mainly Jews from various countries of Europe. Auschwitz-Birkenau 1940-1945.”

She finished her post with a related quote from writer George Santayana, “The one that does not remember history is bound to live through it again.”

Perry made the visit after performing at the Krakow Arena in Poland on Tuesday Feb. 24 as part of her Prismatic World Tour. She has also posted other photos from famous sites on her journey including the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Italian sculpture of David.