A German comedian has been slammed by Jewish groups after she joked about the Holocaust on stage and performed a Nazi salute in front of the crowd.
Comedian Lea Maria Jahn’s controversial performance at the Clube do Minhoca club in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo took place in February but has only recently come to the attention of Jewish groups after it went viral, reaching over 1 million views online.
In the video, the German comic said at Christmas she said she wanted a friend as gift but after a day he ran off. She said: “He was Jewish.” And she added: “He was very fast.”
She continued: “You know, if I made that joke in Germany, I’d be arrested. Imagine letting a Jew escape like that.”
She then went on: “I do these jokes about Jews because I’m German and you expect I’ll speak about it as there are still lots of preconceptions.
“Who here thinks Germans are Nazis? Please raise your hand.”
She then lifted her hand into a Nazi salute, as seen in the pictures.
After the clip went viral, Jewish organisations were quick to slam the comedian. The Organised Jewish Youth wrote on social media: “We are in 2020 and a German woman is making jokes against Jews in Brazil. The crowd laughed.
“Does everyone who laughed know what really happened in the Holocaust. Does this ‘comedian’ have an exact notion of how dangerous the words she says are a joke are?
“When we are asked why we speak so much about the Holocaust and the more than 6 million Jews who were killed, this right here is the answer.”
The Brazilian Israelite Confederation and the Israelite Federation of the State of Sao Paulo have also demanded an apology, saying the comedian “when referring to her German origin and anti-Semitism, brought back the memory in an inappropriate and vulgar way, sad situations from the time of the Holocaust as a subject for jokes capable of injuring and hurting the victims.
“Both institutions point out that the presentation is circulating on various social networks and groups on various popular platforms, to which Holocaust survivors and their families have access.
“We expressing repudiation at the type of comedy chosen, and request the publication of apologies to those who have been offended.”
The groups said they had also asked the club which hosted the comedian to clarify their position on the situation.
The comedian, who describes herself as a “German in Brazil working as a comedian” online, is yet to comment on the situation.
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Story By: Alex Cope, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Central European News
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