The chairman of Israel’s official Holocaust memorial has accused Elon Musk of insulting the victims of Nazism and endangering Germany’s democratic future after the billionaire addressed a rally for Germany’s far-right party on Saturday.
Musk, the world’s richest man, made a surprise virtual appearance at a campaign event for Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party on Saturday, doubling down on his support for the group he has said can “save Germany” ahead of snap elections in February.
In an apparent reference to Germany’s Nazi history, the head of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, whose smiling face was projected onto a vast screen, told a roaring crowd that “children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their great-grandparents.”
“There is too much focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that,” he added at the rally in the eastern German city of Halle.
Musk’s remarks, which came the same week that he faced criticism for a gesture during a speech in Washington that many people said resembled a Nazi salute, came two days before world leaders are due to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
“The remembrance and acknowledgement of the dark past of the country and its people should be central in shaping the German society,” said Dani Dayan, chairman of Yad Vashem, Israel’s memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, in a post on X.
“Failing to do so is an insult to the victims of Nazism and a clear danger to the democratic future of Germany,” he added.
Musk has openly supported numerous hard-right causes in Europe, including the anti-immigrant AfD, which last year became the first far-right party to win a state election in Germany since World War II.
Moving past guilt over the atrocities of Germany’s Nazi era is a key pillar of the AfD’s platform.
In echoing the party’s attitude to Germany’s past — a point of view that has drawn outrage inside Germany and abroad — the tech billionaire threw his support behind a party whose co-founder Alexander Gauland once dismissed the Nazi era as “just a speck of bird’s muck in more than 1,000 years of successful German history.”
The AfD denies being extremist, although its leaders have said that Germany should stop apologizing for the Holocaust and the Third Reich.
The timing of Musk’s appearance at the AfD rally was also notable in that it came just days after he made a gesture in Washington that sparked widespread condemnation.
Abraham Foxman, the former director of the Anti-Defamation League, said on X that Musk’s appearance in and comments at the rally, just days after his speech in Washington, “help place the hand gesture in perspective.”
Foxman’s comments on Musk’s actions came in contrast to those of the ADL’s current leadership.
The ADL defended Musk after the gesture, suggesting on X — the social media platform that Musk owns — that the billionaire had made an “awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute.”
“In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath,” it said.
In his own attempt to downplay the allegations, Musk posted a joke referencing names of prominent Nazi leaders on X, also sparking a backlash.
The ADL’s chief executive, Jonathan Greenblatt, responded on the same platform saying that “the Holocaust is not a joke.”
Musk’s comments at the AfD’s rally also played into familiar AfD talking points on national identity and immigration.
“It’s good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything,” Musk said.
The AfD has successfully used Germany’s debate over immigration to bolster its popularity. The party adopted an explicitly anti-Islam policy in May 2016, and its 2017 election manifesto included a section on why “Islam does not belong to Germany.”
The topic of immigration was one of many Musk discussed during an X broadcast earlier this month in which he spent more than an hour speaking with AfD co-leader Alice Weidel.
As he has become increasingly vocal about his apparent move to the right of the political spectrum, Musk has thrown his support behind numerous right-wing causes, including the United Kingdom’s hard-right Reform UK party and Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, calling her a “precious genius.”
But his most zealous support has been for the AfD, which heads into February’s elections polling in second place after the collapse of Germany’s left-led coalition government.
While other German political parties have refused to join coalitions with the AfD due to its extreme positions, Musk has given the group a significant boost, most notably — before Saturday at least — with his X interview with Weidel.
In the conversation, Weidel said that AfD is “exactly the opposite” of Adolf Hitler’s party, adding that it’s Europe’s left-wing political parties who are antisemitic.
“We are wrongly framed the entire time,” she said.
Elon Musk’s recent comments calling for Germany to “move beyond” its guilt over the Holocaust have sparked outrage and condemnation from Holocaust memorial chairpersons and historians. In a series of tweets, the Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder suggested that Germany should not dwell on its past atrocities and instead focus on building a better future.
These remarks have been met with fierce criticism, with many arguing that they trivialize the horrors of the Holocaust and demonstrate a lack of understanding of the importance of remembering and acknowledging the past. Dr. Charlotte Knobloch, the chair of the Munich Jewish community and former president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, called Musk’s comments “dangerous and deeply troubling.”
Knobloch emphasized the need for Germany to continue to confront its history and ensure that the memory of the Holocaust is preserved for future generations. She warned against attempts to downplay or dismiss the atrocities of the past, stating that doing so could pave the way for history to repeat itself.
Musk’s remarks have also been criticized for their insensitivity and lack of empathy towards the millions of victims of the Holocaust. Many have pointed out that Germany’s commitment to remembering and learning from its past is crucial in preventing similar atrocities from happening in the future.
In light of the backlash, Musk has since clarified his comments, stating that he was not trying to minimize the significance of the Holocaust but rather advocating for a focus on progress and innovation. However, his initial remarks continue to be seen as problematic and divisive.
Overall, Musk’s call for Germany to “move beyond” its Nazi guilt has ignited a heated debate about the importance of remembering and learning from history, and the dangers of forgetting the past. It serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing need to confront the atrocities of the past and ensure that they are never repeated.
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