Louisiana Rep. Clay Higgins made a statement Wednesday to apologize for the controversial video he posted of his visit to a Gas Chamber and other areas of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial. Higgins had been accused of politicizing a genocide incident with his video of the Nazi death camp, which he has since removed.
As noted by NBC News, in his statement, Higgins said he realized his message had caused pain to people he loves and respects and that he feels sorry for that. He added that he has now retracted the video out of respect to anyone who may have thought posting the video of his visit to Auschwitz was wrong.
GOP congressman narrates his tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial
As reported by the Times-Picayune, the five-minute video was posted to YouTube on behalf of the Republican congressman by Lee Johnson Media, who describe themselves as a “Conservative Podcast,” over the 4th of July holiday weekend.
From a copy still live on the Nola.com YouTube channel, which included the end of the article, Higgins can be heard narrating the footage as he tours a gas chamber in the memorial and museum. During his narration, Higgins can be heard to say how hard it is to walk away from the ovens and gas chambers, without making a sober commitment to ensure the U.S. is protected from the evils of the world. He added that the killings in the gas chambers go to show why the U.S.
military must "continue to be invincible."
Louisiana congressman criticized for selfie video inside Auschwitz gas chamber https://t.co/NwEiOfbMJ7 pic.twitter.com/7AMLyGF8lP
— POLITICO (@politico) July 6, 2017
Immediate backlash to Auschwitz video
As soon as the video was live an immediate backlash was seen on social media, with the Auschwitz museum itself condemning his actions.
The museum sent out a tweet on Tuesday to say that while everyone was entitled to own personal reflections, the gas chamber was “not a stage,” and that there should always be a mournful silence when visiting the museum. The museum also tweeted a photo of the sign at the gas chambers' entrance which asks visitors to remain quiet during their visit out of respect for the many dead.
This is what all visitors see at the entrance to the building where first homicidal gas chambers of Auschwitz was created by the SS. pic.twitter.com/6Mm5gTkfSl
— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) July 4, 2017
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, went on to criticize the video saying the memory of the awful happenings at Auschwitz should always remain apolitical. Greenblatt said the memorial is a site for reflection, which often brings deep personal pain to the survivors of Auschwitz and their families and should never be used publicly as a platform for someone’s personal views. Greenblatt added that they hope Higgins will understand the hurt and pain he has caused by posting the video, urging the congressman to remove the video from YouTube.
Anne Frank Center hits back at GOP lawmaker's Auschwitz video: Get sensitivity training or a new job https://t.co/Az7sUVwIBr pic.twitter.com/eVyd05FGsc
— The Hill (@thehill) July 5, 2017
The Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect also condemned the GOP congressman’s video, with executive director Steven Goldstein dubbing the video “disgusting beyond description.” Goldstein went on to say that Higgins should get “sensitivity training or a new job,” adding that Auschwitz is the site of a tragedy and genocide for the Jewish people which he had disrespected.
The Anne Frank Center later posted a statement on Twitter to say they reject Higgin's apology for making the video.
WHY WE REJECT THE "APOLOGY" of @RepClayHiggins for his #Auschwitz video. See below. #NeverAgain to any people. pic.twitter.com/DkZVmI9WEh
— Anne Frank Center (@AnneFrankCenter) July 5, 2017
