A Wisconsin school district has said they are going to investigate a photo of students making a Nazi salute in front of a courthouse.
The photo shows 60 boys from Baraboo High School in front of the Sauk County Courthouse before prom in May:
Wisconsin school district investigating photo of male students giving Nazi salute before prom https://t.co/tNPEoWl93f pic.twitter.com/eebtRch0Dt
— The Hill (@thehill) November 12, 2018
Baraboo District Administrator Lori Mueller told parents in a letter that the district is investigating the picture. She also tweeted:
https://twitter.com/LoriMMueller/status/1061964791433048064
Various Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Midwest chapter and the Jewish Community Relations Council, issued a joint statement condemning the photo as reflective of “a rising swell of anti-Semitism.”
In the wake of the disturbing images out of Baraboo High School, ADL Midwest is proud to stand alongside over two dozen leaders and organizations committed to fighting hate in our communities. Our joint statement is below. pic.twitter.com/oG6midYW3f
— ADL Midwest (@ADLMidwest) November 13, 2018
Auschwitz Memorial tweeted:
"We must all teach our children #tolerance and #understanding, both – at home and in school. For tolerance cannot be assumed… it must be taught. We all must make it clear that hate is never right and love is never wrong!" (Roman Kent, #Auschwitz survivor) https://t.co/jxdv5LHS5G
— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) November 12, 2018
A petition calling for the students in the photo to be suspended has already garnered more than 5,000 signatures.
There are differing accounts as to what exactly happened when the photo was taken. Pete Gust, the photographer who took the photo and whose son is in the picture, told the Associated Press that the photo was taken before the boys’ arms were fully extended.
“There was nothing intended in any way shape or form to simulate anything that was offensive to anyone,” Gust said.
Morgan Springer, a recent graduate of the school told Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) that the photographer told the students to make a “Yeah! symbol” and most of their arms shot up into a Nazi salute.
“Parents and even the professional photographer just kept taking the picture and were even laughing because they were looking at it as a joke and even saying, ‘Oh, those silly kids,’” Springer said.
However, a mother of one of a student at the school told WPR other parents have told her that the students were claiming that the salute wasn’t actually a Nazi salute.
“If you go to football games on Friday nights, you’ll see all the parents, all the adults, all the cheerleaders doing the Blue-Gold, they put their hands like that,” the mother said. “Other kids were like ‘Yeah, it was kind of confusing.’ Some people said it was one thing, some people said it was another.”
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