Madame Tussauds in Hitler row as tourists do Nazi salute at waxwork
A couple whose grandparents survived the holocaust have made a complaint to Madame Tussauds after seeing tourists do the Nazi salute next to Adolf Hitler's waxwork.
The Israeli pair, who live in London, visited the museum for a fun day out, and photographed the incident, which they described as 'an unequivocal demonstration of anti-semitism and bigotry'.
In a written complaint to the attraction, they said: 'Not only was it upsetting to see such an evil person replicated in the museum, but we were horrified to see tourists posing with Hitler and doing a "Heil Hitler" salute.
'We are the grandchildren of concentration camp survivors – the very people that Hitler tried to kill.
'To see him memorialised was painful and to see people smiling, posing with him and saluting him with a "Heil Hitler" – an unequivocal demonstration of anti-semitism and bigotry – was disturbing and hurtful beyond words.'
While Tussauds did apologise for any offence caused, and said staff would have stopped tourists if they had seen them doing the Nazi salute, it defended its choice of waxwork figures, and maintained they do encourage people to interact with them.
A spokesman for the attraction told the Daily Mail: 'Madame Tussauds is apolitical. While we would never set out to offend, neither do we make personal or moral judgments when choosing our figures.
'Our criteria are very simple – our figures represent either individuals who have reached the top of their chosen profession or area of activity, or who have significantly changed the face of history – good and bad.'
Hitler's figure used to be kept behind a glass case because of the threat of vandalism, but was moved into the Great Hall in 2002 to stand next to other famous leaders from history, including Winston Churchill.
The Berlin branch of the museum displays a Hitler waxwork slumped behind a desk in a bunker. Glorifying Hitler in Germany is a criminal offence, and the Nazi salute is banned.
Do you think it should be the same in England? Let us know below...
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