Until recently, the Madam Tussaud’s wax museum in London was home to an Adolf Hitler statue. The Hitler figure was placed in the wax museum “World Leaders” display, positioned in a victorious posture next to a defeated Churchill, and had a plaque next to it calling Hitler a ‘Protagonist of WWII.’
It has finally been removed after months of inquiry by museum visitors and concerned citizens around the world.
One of the more concerning aspects of the Hitler statues placement was the propensity of museum visitors to stand next to the wax figures, including the Hitler figure, while taking pictures mimicking the wax statue’s body language and gestures.
On my own visit to the museum during a London vacation, I witnessed people standing side by side with “Hitler,” holding their fists up and sometimes performing the Nazi hand salute, “Heil Hitler.”
Following this rather shocking experience, which led me speechless, I posted an open letter to the museum’s management asking for the figure’s removal, or, at the very least, change its victorious position and laconic description (which any person not familiar with the Holocaust cannot fully comprehend.)
Below is an excerpt of the original open letter from 2014:
“On Sunday, September 28, I visited your wax museum in London. I love visiting your museums worldwide and never miss a chance to take a picture with my favorite celebrities. Sadly and shockingly, my last visit was one I will never forget, and not in a good way.
In your ‘World Leaders’ display in London, there is a wax figure of Adolf Hitler. He is not placed next to famous dictators, behind a glass wall with a request not to take any pictures, but just stands there, looking powerful and fearsome, next to leaders such as Churchill, David Cameron and Gandhi. There are no others dictators on that display. Just Hitler among about 15 admirable leaders.”
You can read the full letter here.
This letter was quickly shared across various social media channels, with thousands of people joining the call to remove the Hitler figure.
After months of relentless struggle, letters and phone calls, I was notified that the Hitler figure had finally been removed. A reader who recently visited the museum, sent me the below image of Churchill standing alone on the platform that had previously also been home to the statue of Hitler.
