Extinction Rebellion founder calls the Holocaust ‘just another fuckery in human history’

One of Extinction Rebellion's founders, Roger Hallam, has told German newspaper Zeit that the Holocaust was "just another fuckery in human history" during an interview.

He said: “The terrible emotion Auschwitz caused has not been hidden, and the same needs to apply to the climate crisis. Only emotion drives people to make a difference.

“There are various debates about whether the Holocaust was unique or not. I know that there is a conviction it was in Germany, but with all due respect I do not agree. For me it's just another fuckery in human history”.

He continued:“German culture is traumatised. The extent of this trauma can paralyse. That prevents you from learning. The fact is that in our history, millions of people have been regularly killed under dire circumstances. The Belgians were in Congo in the late 19th century and decimated it… Genocides have happened again and again over the past 500 years."

The German branch of Extinction Rebellion released an immediate statement condemning Hallam. They wrote: “We explicitly distance ourselves from Roger Hallam's remarks which belittle and relativise the Holocaust. He violates the principles of Extinction Rebellion, which does not tolerate racism or anti-Semitism, and is no longer welcome at Extinction Rebellion Germany.”

Roger Hallam told The Telegraph that his words have been taken out of context. He said: "I fully acknowledge the unimaginable suffering caused by the Nazi holocaust, that led to all of Europe saying 'Never again',

"But it is happening again, on a far greater scale, and in plain sight. The global north is pumping lethal levels of CO2 into the atmosphere and simultaneously erecting ever greater barriers to immigration, turning whole regions of the world into death zones.

"Let's be clear: the real outrage is not to speak about the Holocaust, the real outrage is the complicity in the global holocaust that is already underway. We are allowing our governments to willingly, and in full knowledge of science, engage in the genocide of our young people."

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