An Irish tourist has been charged for causing damage to the former Nazi German concentration camp of Auschwitz, which today is the site of a memorial and museum in southern Poland.

Entrance to the former Auschwitz death camp with the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work sets you free) sign.

Using a coin, the Irishman on Sunday inscribed his name on the wall of one of the former camp barracks, according to media reports.

He was detained but subsequently released after pleading guilty.

The 38-year-old is expected to stand trial in a district court in the town of Oświęcim, which is where the Nazi Germans ran the death camp in occupied Poland.

The Irishman reportedly said he scratched his name on the wall because he had seen other people’s names on it and thought it was the right thing to do.

More than 1.1 million people perished at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp during World War II, mostly European Jews, but also Poles, Roma, Soviet POWs and prisoners of other nationalities.

(mk/gs)