German police probe fake news that Nazi death camp to host Ukrainians

German police are investigating the provenance of fake news reports that a memorial site at the former Nazi concentration camp Sachsenhausen just outside Berlin was to host Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion.

A spokesperson for the Nueruppin police force said on Wednesday that the people running the memorial site had contacted them earlier in the week about a fake post circulating in various Telegram groups that claimed they were to host migrants at the former camp.

The information was later picked up by several media outlets.

"We are ready to host the refugees arriving in Berlin. We have comfortable rooms in a specially built temporary hotel on the territory of the museum complex," the fake post claimed.

A spokesperson for the memorial site, Horst Seferens, said this was false, and that he suspected it was part of a "digital disinformation campaign the origin of which is usually in Russia."

He said the aim was to inflame tensions surrounding the arrival of Ukrainian refugees and undermine the willingness of people in Germany to help.