A GOP lawmaker is currently dealing with a PR nightmare after making the unfortunate decision to film a selfie video in an Auschwitz memorial. Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), filmed a 5-minute spot from the former Nazi concentration camp in Oswiecim, Poland, where he told his viewers that these scenes prove the U.S. needs to beef up its military. At one point, his cameras reached a gas chamber.
“It’s hard to walk away from the gas chambers and ovens without a very sober feeling of commitment — unwavering commitment — to make damn sure that the United States of America is protected from the evils of the world,” Higgins says in the video, in which he speaks to the camera in different spots around the grounds of one of the camps.
The museum understood where he was coming from, but posted this critique of his actions, noting that Auschwitz, where 1 million Jews and thousands of Poles, Roma, and Soviet prisoners of war were killed, is 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 Anne Frank Center was a bit less subtle, releasing the following statement condemning Higgins’ “disgusting infomercial.”
DISGUSTING. @RepClayHiggins your infomercial at Auschwitz a global disgrace. Apologize. Get sensitivity training or a new job. #NeverAgain pic.twitter.com/ddjf7EhwMc
— Anne Frank Center (@AnneFrankCenter) July 5, 2017
Higgins has yet to respond to the uproar.
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