DAILY MAIL,
A school employee brought firearms into class, baked a cake with a swastika on it and let students dress up in Nazi uniforms as part of a World War II history lesson.
The Victoria Department of Education launched an investigation after pictures of the lesson at Dromana Secondary College, in Melbourne, were uploaded to Facebook.
According to The Age, students also played with a replica of a Zyklon B gas canister, which was used by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust to kill one million Jews.
Photos of Dromana Secondary College students posing with World War II firearms were posted online by a school employee
The employee, who is not a teacher, even bought in leftover cake he’d made which had the swastika on it created from slices of apple.
He then posted photos of the class to Facebook group that sells World War I and II military items, which has more than 2,000 members.
The school employee posted online about the history lesson he gave (Facebook post pictured)
The images have since been removed from social media.
He later posted claiming a student took his Nazi NSDAP badge.
‘The actions of the Nazis were abhorrent and should not be forgotten by any generation,’ a Victorian Education Department spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Using symbols or artefacts in a way that may normalise or trivialise the actions of the Nazis is completely unacceptable. This was a serious error of judgement and we are supporting the school to take appropriate action to ensure it does not happen again.’
The disturbing photos were taking during a history lesson on World War II
Students also played with a replica of a Zyklon B gas canister (pictured)
Dromana Secondary College principal Alan Marr apologised for any distress caused to students or members of the community and vowed to take appropriate action.
‘The intent of the history lesson was to educate students about the impact of World War II but some of the items brought into the class were entirely inappropriate,’ he said in a statement to Daily Mail Australia.
‘Our students are aware of the significant impact of the Holocaust, having visited the Jewish Holocaust Centre, and we will continue to reiterate to them the important lessons from World War II.’
The employee bought in leftover cake(pictured) he’d made which had the swastika on it created from slices of apple
Jewish organisation Anti-Defamation Commission has expressed its disappointment after it was alerted to the online photos by a concerned member of the community who saw the Facebook post.
Chairman Dr Dvir Abramovic said he was shocked and heartbroken by this sickening abuse of power and troubling betrayal of the students’ trust.
‘The community will justifiably erupt in disgust to learn that a Hitler sympathiser has been given control of a classroom to exploit young adults for his own ideology,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
The Victoria Department of Education is investigating the incident that occurred at Dromana Secondary College (pictured)
‘One can only imagine the pain and outrage parents would feel knowing that their children were manipulated in such a revolting way. Students deserve better than this and we have failed them.
Dr Abramovic also forwarded the original email which first alerted him to the matter.
‘I have found out the most disturbing situation in regards to NAZI items and teaching I have ever seen and the most outrageous thing I have ever seen,’ the email states.
‘I hope you can intervene and expose and stop these people doing what they doing.’
‘Many lines of decency have been crossed here and most people would be at a loss for words to understand how this could have happened,’ Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dr Dvir Abramovich (pictured) said
Dr Abramovic called for the need of mandatory Holocaust education in Australia., which should not be the subject of funny games, entertainment and dress up.
‘This inappropriate episode does not represent the core values of the Victorian educational system, and we hope that the school apologises, conducts a thorough investigation, and ensures that such abhorrent actions do not recur,’ he said.