Amid outrage, an Indonesian museum has removed an exhibit in which visitors took selfies with a Hitler figure in front of a giant image of Auschwitz.
The De Mata Trick Eye Museum in Yogyakarta had originally defended the unseemly display as amusing for teenagers, but said it was removed Friday night following protests and outrage from Jewish and human rights groups.
The waxwork portrayed the Nazi tyrant as an imposing and dominant figure standing in front of a giant image of Auschwitz and the slogan “Arbeit Macht Frei” — “Work sets you free” — that appeared over the concentration camp’s entrance, where millions of Jews and others were systematically killed during World War II.
The offending work had been displayed at the infotainment-style museum since 2014, flanked by Darth Vader and directly opposite Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
The museum, which has about 80 wax figures, said Hitler was one of its most popular with visitors.
Human Rights Watch called the display “sickening,” and the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which campaigns against Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism, demanded it be immediately removed.
“Everything about it is wrong. It’s hard to find words for how contemptible it is,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the center. “The background is disgusting. It mocks the victims who went in and never came out.”
It’s not the first time Nazi symbols have been glorified in Indonesia.
A Nazi-themed bar closed down at the beginning of the year after receiving death threats, but the owner said they were simply relocating to bigger and better digs.
In 2014, a Nazi-themed music video supporting an Indonesian presidential candidate sparked outrage at home and abroad.
With Post wires