A country Republican party in Minnesota posted a meme over the weekend that compared the state mandate to wear a face mask amid the coronavirus pandemic to Jews being forced to wear a yellow Star of David during the Holocaust.
The Republican Party of Wabasha County reportedly removed the post from its Facebook page by Monday evening. The group told the state Republican Party that it had been hacked.
The meme shows an elderly prisoner being told by a Nazi officer to wear the yellow Star of David.
“Just put on the star and quit complaining, it’s really not that hard,” read the meme’s caption. “Just put on the mask and stop complaining.”
Minnesota Jewish groups slammed the Republican Party of Wabasha County for the meme.
“It’s a disgrace to the memory of World War II veterans, as well as survivors of the Holocaust and anybody that fought,” executive director Steve Hunegs of the Jewish Community Relations Council told the Associated Press.
“Typhus, disease, starvation and the like as a prelude to extermination. And compare it to an order whose goal is to preserve public health to the highest degree possible. It’s awful to make such comparisons,” said Hunegs.
“Given that Minnesota rabbis recently spoke out in favor of a mask mandate, comparing that mandate to the Holocaust feels especially disgusting. We ask the @MNGOP to tell Wabasha Republicans to stop using imagery like this. It betrays a total lack of both empathy and education,” tweeted Jewish Community Action on Monday.
Given that Minnesota rabbis recently spoke out in favor of a mask mandate, comparing that mandate to the Holocaust feels especially disgusting. We ask the @MNGOP to tell Wabasha Republicans to stop using imagery like this. It betrays a total lack of both empathy and education. pic.twitter.com/xGMT3cUvvo
— Jewish Community Action (@JCA_MN) July 27, 2020
Later that day, Minnesota GOP chairperson Jennifer Carnahan retweeted Jewish Community Action’s post and added, “This post was brought to @mngop’s attention today. Immediately we reached out to the Wabasha board. They believe this was a hack and are removing their FB page immediately. Our party does not support/condone divisive and harmful posts or language of this nature.”
The statewide face-mask requirement took effect on July 25.
That day, a couple donned Nazi swastika-flag face masks at a Walmart in Marshall, Minn.
