Nazi slogans on sign slammed
Nazi slogans scrawled on a Liberal election campaign sign in Frankston last week have been condemned by the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC).
NAZI slogans scrawled on a Liberal election campaign sign in Frankston last week have been condemned by the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC).
The defaced sign, part of the campaign of Liberal candidate Chris Crewther, who is seeking election in Dunkley, featured images of Crewther and Liberal MP Bruce Billson, who is retiring.
The German-language slogans, “Arbeit Macht Frei [Work Sets You Free]”, infamously inscribed on the gates of Auschwitz, and “Der Ewige Muselman (sic) [the Eternal Muselmann]”, which refers to Jewish inmates of Nazi camps who were near death, were scrawled over photos of Crewther and Billson.
Liberal frontbencher Greg Hunt, who is the MP for nearby Hastings, told The Herald Sun it was “viciously offensive to the Jewish community to use concentration camp slogans in an Australian political campaign”.
ADC chair Dvir Abramovich said: “I am deeply troubled by this repugnant and malicious act of bigotry which is an attack on democracy and on the decency of all Victorians.
“This type of hate, which is a gross violation of our values, has no place in Australia and runs counter to our country’s fundamental principles of acceptance and respect.
“Whenever such cowardly and despicable incidents happen, there is a chilling emotional damage to community members, especially to people of the Jewish faith who were affected by the Holocaust.”
AJN STAFF
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