The Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and Memorial preserves the Auschwitz death camp set up on Polish soil by Nazi Germany during World War II.

More than 1.1 million people, most of them Jews, perished in gas chambers at the camp or from starvation, cold and disease.

The graffiti included statements in English and German, as well as two references to often-used Old Testament sayings frequently used by anti-Semites, the Memorial said in a statement published on Twitter.

“An offence against the memorial site – is above all, an outrageous attack on the symbol of one of the greatest tragedies in human history and an extremely painful blow to the memory of all the victims of the German Nazi Auschwitz-Birkenau camp,” the memorial site tweeted.

Police are analysing and compiling documentation as well as reviewing video footage of the incident, after which the memorial said it would remove the markings.

It added that the security measures at the site were being expanded but that fully enclosing the memorial site would not be possible for some time.