An Indonesian museum has been taken down a statue of Adolf Hitler with a photo of the Auschwitz concentration camp in the background, after a Jewish group expressed outrage.
The statue was one of the main attractions at the De Mata Trick Eye Museum in the central Java city of Yogyakarta, with visitors often taking selfies with it.
A selfie is a photograph that one takes of himself or herself with a smartphone or webcam and shared via social media.
The Simon Wiesenthal Centre, a Los Angeles-based Jewish group that campaigns against anti-Semitism, had labelled the statue “disgusting” and demanded its removal.
Andreas Harsono, an Indonesia researcher for Human Rights Watch, said he could confirm that the statue had been removed.
“We welcomed the decision because, regardless the intention, depicting Hitler as if he were a respected figure is in bad taste,’’ Harsono said.
Jamie Misbach, the museum’s operational manager, told BBC Indonesia that they had not meant to offend anyone.
“We apologise; it was not our intention to disrespect anyone,’’ he said.
De Mata’s website says it is a 3D art museum where visitors will not get bored and can take selfies with more than100 statues featuring political leaders, superheroes and celebrities.
It was not the first time an Indonesian establishment had been criticised for Holocaust insensitivity.
A Nazi-themed cafe in the West Java city of Bandung was forced to close down in 2013 following criticism of its Nazi decorations, including a giant picture of Adolf Hitler and an array of swastikas.
It was then reopened in 2014, with the theme broadened to include World War II images in general, but some Nazi images were retained.
However, it was closed down for good in January, with the owner citing lack of patronage.
Source: ( NAN /dpa )
