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A popular children’s tourist attraction in Birmingham has come under fire for including a detailed model of Nazi death camp Auschwitz – complete with cattle trucks and barbed wire – among the Scalextric sets and miniature railway layouts.

And one survivor of the world’s greatest horror dismissed the presentation as “useless and frivolous”.

The stark concentration camp exhibit sits incongruously in a corner of Wonderful World of Trains and Planes, a paradise for model enthusiasts in the city's Jewellery Quarter.

It’s a surprisingly dark addition to the intricate village green, mountain and woodland rail layouts. The centre's website promises an exhibition that “will take you on a journey of adventure past, present and future”.

Matt Lawson, a lecturer at Edge Hill University, in Lancashire, dubbed the decision to include Auschwitz among exhibits as "downright bizarre".

He said: “It’s a step too far and I really don’t understand the thought process. Did someone wake-up one morning and say, ‘you know what this place needs...’”

The attraction, which was packed with children when we visited on Friday, has defended the death camp scene, part of a developing “war section”. A “Bridge Over The River Kwai” will take its place soon.

Managing director Peter Smith stressed he had received no complaints from the public.

“The Holocaust was only possible because of trains,” he said.

He pointed out there is also an HS2 high-speed rail link scene. “Some may find that more controversial,” he said.

Wonderful World of Trains and Planes has enjoyed brisk business since opening last summer in Mary Ann Street. It promises a scaled-down global and historic journey, with Auschwitz sharing space with a 1930s seaside scene and Swinging Sixties London.

There are also model stretches of some of the world’s most spectacular rail journeys, such as through Canadian mountains and lakes.

But Auschwitz has no place among the happy settings, said Mr Lawson.

He added: “I think the Holocaust is a vital part of kids’ education. But I also think that during a light-hearted, family day out to suddenly be confronted by a model of a concentration camp is bizarre.

“If it was a prisoner-of-war camp, maybe it would be OK, but this is a concentration camp.

“Thankfully, it’s a static display. Imagine if the train was moving. I do think it’s very unusual, I do think it’s out-of-place.”

Next to the display is a notice board, headed: “Railways In Wartime”. Flowers have been placed next to it.

The passage underneath explains: “We are constructing a presentation detailing the use of railways in war, from the US Civil War, the Franco-Prussian War, the Great War and the Second World War.

“On each train about 3,000 men, women and children were herded into cattle wagons and moved hundreds of miles to the death camps – Bergen-Belsen, Auschwitz, Treblinka and others.”

It concludes: “Auschwitz was liberated on January 27, 1945 – just 70 years ago. Without the railways the Holocaust could not have happened.”

But there is nothing “wonderful” about the information provided by The Wonderful World of Trains and Planes, said one visitor.

Simon Hardy said: “It’s just unthinking and crass.

"Totally bizarre, those are the only words for it. It is just not something you put in a train exhibition, it is just not something you put in a fun activity centre where you can play with Scalextric.

"It’s not the kind of thing you buy from a toy shop or even a hobby shop.”

A member of Birmingham Central Synagogue said: “I’m sure it has been done for all the right reasons, but not providing a full account of what happened and why, after drawing people’s attention to it, is an ommission.”

Wonderful World boss Mr Smith has strongly defended the piece and pointed to the positive reactions it has received.

The 68-year-old said: “It’s gone down very well. I have seen people in tears as they realise that without the trains the Holocaust would not have happened.

“For some schools, it’s part of their curriculum so we can show it to them.

“There is nothing moving.”

He added the model was valid, totally in context and important in helping children learn about the full terrible events of World War Two.

There is also a scene of a war-torn German industrial landscape, although our reporter did not see that on display. “Are we all happy with Bomber Command?” asked Mr Smith. “We were not on the receiving end.”

Mala Tribich, a survivor of Ravensbruck and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps, dismissed “Wonderful World’s Auschwitz as a useless tool in educating children about the Holocaust.

The 84-year-old, who delivers Midland lectures on her ordeal, said: “What are they trying to say? They used trains in wartime and trains played a very big part in the Holocaust, they could not have done what they did without trains.

“They were moving millions of people, but then you have to show the whole exhibition in a different context.

“As it is, it is useless, frivolous, even.”

Despite the controversy, the three-storey, £300,000 attraction has proved a runaway success, with 180 customers a day during half-term week.

They were given the opportunity to sample plane flight simulations and operate replicas of trains from 1831 to the present.

Mr Smith originally thought the business would prove a magnet for train enthusiasts, but he’s been pleasantly surprised by the number of families.

“It’s growing considerably and this half term has been massive,” said the 68-year-old. “We have got families coming here and they are now 80 per cent of our market. We thought they would make up about 35.

"People come back to us every two or three months. We get to know them, which is wonderful, and to see the kids come in and see their faces light up – we are selling magic.”

The attraction has now launched a programme for school visits, using models to showcase history in countries such as England, Switzerland and Germany.