Online retail powerhouse Amazon has recently found itself facing calls from an Australia-based Jewish group called the Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC) to halt the sales of a board game that involves two teams of players who try to either hamper or facilitate the rise of Adolf Hitler to power, The Times of Israel reports.
The game in question, called "Secret Hitler", is touted on the retailer’s website as "a dramatic game of political intrigue and betrayal set in 1930's Germany".
"Players are secretly divided into two teams - liberals and fascists. Known only to each other, the fascists coordinate to sow distrust and install their cold-blooded leader. The liberals must find and stop the Secret Hitler before it’s too late," the description states.
In urging Amazon to stop peddling this game, the ADC noted that they are actually acting in response to a complaint filed by a child of a Holocaust survivor "whose father lost his parents, four siblings, as well as his nieces and nephews in Auschwitz".
"This is no laughing matter and is beneath contempt. It is an insult to the memory of the victims and our courageous soldiers who sacrificed their lives to vanquish the Third Reich. With each passing day, we are hitting new lows when it comes to the cheapening, exploitation and vulgarisation of the Holocaust," the group’s chairman Dr. Dvir Abramovich said in a statement. "What will they think of next: a game where a player is given the chance to execute Jews in the open field or push them into the gas chambers?"
He further argued that "using Hitler as part of a board game whitewashes his inhuman crimes" and shows that "still today many do not understand the inexpressible horrors of the Holocaust".
The media outlet also noted that the ADC apparently addressed its complaint to Amazon Australia, even though the board game in question is also available on the retailer’s US website where it enjoys a 4.8 out of 5 stars rating based on customer feedback.
