A Holocaust-themed Carnival parade in Spain featuring dancing Nazis, concentration camp prisoners in striped pajamas and a float decorated with crematorium chimneys has caused outrage for its depiction of the Holocaust.
The carnival parade was held in the small town of Campo de Criptana and also featured women in bloodstained concentration camp uniforms waving Israeli flags. Many men were dressed as Nazi officers posed with guns, according to CNN.
The carnival troupe that organized the Holocaust-themed part of the parade, El Chaparral Cultural Association, apologized in a statement on Instagram, saying that “An erroneous image of our club has been disseminated that, really, is not what we intended,” and “We wanted to transmit a message of consideration and respect,” CNN reported.
The apology also added that the club is “against the genocide against the Jewish people, for whom we feel great admiration and respect and to whom we present our apologies,” according to CNN.
The City of Campo de Criptana said in a statement that “Once we saw the representation, we share the criticisms produced. If the initial objective was to commemorate the victims, it is clear that this has not been achieved,” CNN reported.
The Auschwitz Memorial said in a tweet “Hard to describe: memory upside-down, far beyond vulgar kitsch, without any relevance, without reflection & respect.”
Hard to describe: memory upside-down, far beyond vulgar kitsch, without any relevance, without reflection & respect.
Difícil de describir: desmemoria traspasando la frontera de la vulgaridad y lo kitsch. Sin ningún tipo de relevancia, reflexión ni respeto. https://t.co/Zfy8z0eH1B
— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) February 25, 2020
The Holocaust-themed parade in Spain closely echoed the theme of a parade in Aalst, Belgium that took place on Sunday, which featured anti-Semitic costumes such as masks with long noses and Nazi officers. The parade lost its UNESCO cultural heritage status last year for the anti-Semitic and racist costumes and floats that were prominent at the 2019 Carnival parade. (RELATED: Annual Parade In Belgium Features Anti-Semitic Masks With Long Noses, Nazis)
#Spain mocking the Holocaust. Three days in a row of European #antisemitismpic.twitter.com/04305UkGPG
— Adam Milstein (@AdamMilstein) February 25, 2020
Figures caricaturing Orthodox Jews are pictured on a chariot ahead of the annual carnival parade in the streets of Aalst (Alost)(Photo by NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/Belga/AFP via Getty Images)
The Catalan-Israeli Friendship Association said the Carnival parade in Spain was “even worse” than the one in Belgium.
First, there was an awful carnival in Belgium. Now, there’s another one in Spain. Even worse. @Jerusalem_Post @ynetnews @TimesofIsrael @haaretzcom https://t.co/04S8FGEcrA
— ACAI (@ACAI_cat) February 25, 2020
The Israeli Embassy in Spain said in a tweet that it condemned the “vile and disgusting representation trivializating the Holocaust” and “making fun of the six million Jews killed by the Nazis.”
Condenamos la vil y repugnante representación banalizando el #Holocausto en el carnaval de Campo de Criptana, haciendo burla de los seis millones de judíos asesinados por los nazis.
¡Los países europeos deben combatir activamente el #antisemitismo!https://t.co/9UZwU5UyF8— Embajada de Israel ???????? (@IsraelinSpain) February 25, 2020
The European Union’s Fundamental Rights Agency found 89% of Jews living in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the UK feel anti-Semitism has increased in their country over the past decade, while 85% believed it to be a serious problem.