A Brexit advertisement prompted outcry in the United Kingdom by comparing German Chancellor Angela Merkel to a Nazi.
The photo, posted to social media by Leave.EU after a phone call between Merkel and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, shows Merkel with her hand outstretched along with a caption in red and black that reads, “We didn’t win two world wars to be pushed around by a kraut.” “Kraut” is a derogatory word used to describe Germans; the image also evokes the salute used by Nazis in World War II and white supremacist groups.
So it’s come to this.. embarrassing, toe-curling garbage from https://t.co/ALbDfvnCcl @LeaveEUOfficial pic.twitter.com/jdqEx09eEY
— Peter Foster (@pmdfoster) October 8, 2019
The tweet with the photo was deleted after backlash over the ad began to build. Arron Banks, co-founder of Leave.EU, apologized for the ad.
“The @LeaveEUOfficial team went too far yesterday but the real outrage is the German suggestion that Northern Ireland be separated from the UK. As a result we will delete the post and apologise accordingly,” Banks wrote.
The @LeaveEUOfficial team went too far yesterday but the real outrage is the German suggestion that Northern Ireland be separated from the UK. As a result we will delete the post and apologise accordingly…@piersmorgan on reflection the point could have been made better .. https://t.co/yaAGtnfQi6
— Arron Banks (@Arron_banks) October 9, 2019
Others on social media were quick to condemn the heated political rhetoric, which has been boiling ever since Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016.
Political commentator and television presenter Piers Morgan called the photo “grotesquely offensive,” adding that made the Leave.EU group appear to be “racist idiots.”
I work in the UK.
I work for the UK.
I’m a Kraut. https://t.co/kmXoIPCyOu— Holger Hestermeyer (@hhesterm) October 8, 2019
This was bound to happen one day – the anti-German rhetoric has been escalated for months. My inbox tells a similar story of hate. My “favourite” so far is: “We won’t be fucked around by Kraut c*nts like Merkel or you. You all belong into the gas chamber like other traitors.” pic.twitter.com/Y8BUqRCJkg
— Prof Tanja Bueltmann (@cliodiaspora) October 8, 2019
Maybe the Kraut thing is the final straw. This is where we are after 75 years of peace (often German-led). This is how we treat neighbours who wish us well. In a world that contains Putin and Trump. Shameful. Disgusting. Abhorrent.
— PuzzledPolitico (@Cat_n_Bagpipes) October 8, 2019
My wife’s German and my three kids are German. I’m pretty angry. Now “kraut” will be the insult of choice aimed at German schoolkids. I’m waiting on the various insults for Irish/French etc to be used next. Today feels like the whole Brexit #CarnivalOfReaction just got worse.
— John Rogan (@JRogan3000) October 8, 2019
