The ADC has registered its disappointment and surprise at comments made by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer that Hitler did not use chemical weapons. The remark was made by Mr Spicer when asked why the White House expected President Putin to cease supporting Syrian President Assad, in light of the use of Sarin nerve gas against Syrian civilians. Spicer replied, “Someone as despicable as Hitler didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons. You have to ask yourself if you are Russia, is this a country and a regime you want to align yourself with?” He then added, referring to Hitler “He was not using gas on his own people the way that Assad is doing”. Mr. Spicer has now apologised for his statement.
Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the ADC issued the following statement:
“On numerous times, the ADC has been at the forefront in urging public figures not to draw any comparison between Hitler and other tyrants, and to stop using Holocaust analogies when referring to contemporary tragedies and conflicts. While we have condemned Assad’s reprehensible deployment of chemical weapons to target and kill Syrian civilians, and welcomed the US bombing of a Syrian airbase, there is no place to compare this brutal dictator and his actions to Hitler and the systematic and industrialized Nazi extermination machine, as well as the attempt to eradicate the Jewish people— part of the ‘Final Solution’. Moreover, to absurdly claim that Hitler did not use chemical weapons on his people, when the Nazis used Zyklon B in gassing millions of Jews in death camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau, Sobibor and Dachau, is patently false and deeply offensive. Nothing compares to the unprecedented and unfathomable scale of the genocide and destruction sowed by Hitler and his collaborators across Europe, including the horrific murder of six millions Jews and millions of others. We hope that one of the teachable moments from this sad episode, is that incumbent on all of us to stop invoking the Holocaust inappropriately and casually, and that we must take the time to learn more about the historical context, events, consequences and lessons of the Holocaust.”
The B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission, founded in 1979, is Australia’s leading organization fighting racism through educational programs that combat bigotry, prejudice and all forms of hatred.
For further information please contact Dr Dvir Abramovich on 9272 5677.