An Indonesian museum has decided to remove a statue of Adolf Hitler after they received numerous complaints from people online.
The De MATA Trick Eye 3D museum in Yogyakarta featured the Hitler statue with a picture of Auschwitz in the background. The statue was a hub for selfies, including these children giving the Nazi salute in front of the statue:
Museum in #Indonesia displays wax Hitler in front of death camp banner for visitors' 'fun' https://t.co/2c3WD6m7vi pic.twitter.com/hf0YYh0SSS
— RT (@RT_com) November 11, 2017
“Everything about it is wrong,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, told the Associated Press. “It’s hard to find words for how contemptible it is. The background is disgusting. It mocks the victims who went in and never came out.”
Others on social media expressed their outrage at the statue:
Good Lord. Despicable. https://t.co/uT05l53UB1
— Ronald Holden (@ronaldholden) November 11, 2017
https://twitter.com/MrRAnderson78/status/929723285381832704
https://twitter.com/burgundy50/status/929503062678437888
De MATA Marketing Officer Warli initially defended the statue, telling the Associated Press that the statue had been featured in the museum since 2014 and that the museum visitors were simply having fun because De MATA “is just an entertainment museum.” However, the museum did eventually take down the statue.
“We don’t want to attract outrage,” Jamie Misbah, De MATA’s operations manager, told the New York Daily News.
Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch (HRW) told Deutsche Welle that HRW “welcomes the decision.”
“Regardless of the intention, depicting Hitler as if he were a respected figure is in bad taste,” said Harsono.
Some on social media didn’t agree with museum’s decision:
This museum didn’t think its Hitler statue was a problem — until the complaints started. THAT STATUE LIKE ALL OTHERS IS ABOUT HISTORY
— James Thompson (@brojthompson) November 13, 2017
Let's hide everything from before Obummer was elected, then we can sit ignorantly around the fire and sing songs so NO ONE is offended by anything.
— Mind Closet 🇺🇸💯 (@Panthor1986) November 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/LordJack69/status/929851931719331840
The De MATA museum currently has a four-star rating on Trip Advisor, touting itself as a 3D art museum where people can take goofy photos of themselves.
