Valentine’s Day gifts featuring images of Nazi despot Adolf Hitler surrounded by love hearts were withdrawn from sale on Sunday by an apologetic online business.
The Spicy Baboon website sells a range of T-shirts, coffee mugs, mouse pads and similar products emblazoned with cheeky images.
One image of Hitler with a rose between his teeth, surrounded by love hearts, and with the phrase “Be Mein” below it infuriated leading anti-hate campaigner Dr Dvir Abramovich, chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission.
“Anyone who … believes there is no way to express love than through Hitler, it’s a very warped and deranged mind,” Abramovich said.
He said there was no case for the image being considered satirical, or that enough time had passed for Hitler to be classified as a source of humour.
“Would we have the same conversation if the image was of a child molester, a serial rapist, or someone who murdered women?” he said.
“Why use a monster such as Hitler – who was responsible for the extermination of six million Jews, including 1.5 million children, the gas chambers of Auschwitz, the execution of families in open fields, and the crushing of babies’ skulls – to express love?
“To associate him with Valentine’s Day is a profound insult to the memory of the victims. When I saw it last night, I was speechless.”
Read the article in the Brisbane Times.