There are two stories here. Let’s start with the first one: This Tuesday, the Auschwitz Memorial condemned U.S. GOP Rep. Clay Higgins for posting a video of himself speaking inside a former gas chamber.
“Everyone has the right to personal reflections. However, inside a former gas chamber, there should be mournful silence,” the Memorial tweeted from its official account. “It’s not a stage.”
Everyone has the right to personal reflections. However, inside a former gas chamber, there should be mournful silence. It's not a stage. https://t.co/AN5aA1bYEU
— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) July 4, 2017
The video shows Higgins walking through the former Nazi concentration camp in Poland, talking about how the horrors of the Holocaust are a reminder of the “evils in this world.” In a subsequent tweet, the Memorial pointed out how Higgins’ video went against the requested respectful silence for the victims:
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
While the majority of replies were in support of the Memorial’s admonishment, it didn’t sit well with some, many of them Trump supporters, who chastised the Memorial for infringing on Higgins’ right to express himself. Upworthy‘s Parker Molloy captured a few screen shots:
https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/882705495374663680
https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/882705604426563584
Some seemed to suggest that the Museum’s call for respect and silence was an example of them ignoring their “own history.”
https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/882705784441901057
https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/882705860870393856
Some of the reactions were downright incoherent:
https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/882705980492066816
And there’s the guy who blamed the Auschwitz Memorial for the Holocaust:
https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/882706159047761920
This Wednesday, Higgins retracted the video, saying he “feels sorrow” that it “caused pain to some whom I love and respect.”
Featured image via Flickr