InstagramIn an unnerving video, a group of boys at a California high school appear to give the Hitler salute while singing a Nazi song.
Filmed at Pacific High School in Garden Grove, the clip shows around 10 teens at an awards ceremony throwing up the hateful gesture and singing a Nazi marching song played for German troops during the Second World War – allegedly a song written by German composer and member of the Nazi party Herms Niel.
According to The Daily Beast, one of the athletes uploaded it to Instagram last year and also posted lyrics to the song in his social media bio – though it was later deleted. The students in the video have not been identified.
Have a look at the clip below:
Garden Grove Unified School district, where Pacifica High School resides, say administrators were made aware of the video in March, although could not confirm if any students were disciplined.
A spokesperson for Garden Grove Unified School said:
While the district cannot comment on student discipline, the school did address this situation with all involved students and families. The district adheres to strong policies about harassment and cultural sensitivity, and we condemn all acts of anti-Semitism and hate in all forms.
We remain focused on educating students about cultural sensitivity and are committed to holding students accountable, educating them on the consequences of their choices, and the impact these actions have on our schools and community at large.
InstagramTwo students from Pacifica High School, who remained anonymous, told The Daily Beast they didn’t know if the students were suspended for the video, nor did they address the wider community.
Peter Simi, a professor on extremism studies at Chapman University, said it was concerning as the song is obscure and questioned how the students came to know it.
Simi told The Daily Beast:
It’s not something you’d expect somebody to accidentally know about. There’s some means by which they acquired knowledge about the song and associated Nazi issues.
Are they on websites or web forums or other social media platforms where they’re engaging with others informed on these issues?
FacebookRegretfully, it’s the second time students in southern California have been condemned for apparent Nazism.
A group of students from Newport Harbour were filmed throwing up Hitler salutes while playing beer pong – into cups designed in the shape of a swastika.
SnapchatThe Orange County students were suspended for the video and pictures, and Anne Frank’s Holocaust surviving stepsister, Eva Schloss, 89, paid those in attendance at the party a visit to recount her experiences at Auschwitz, MailOnline reports.
Newport-Mesa Unified School District officials sent a letter to parents which read:
We were made aware of social media postings involving some students who created inappropriate anti-Semitic symbols, and possible underage drinking.
While these actions did not occur on any school campus or school function, we condemn all acts of anti-Semitism and hate in all their forms.
SnapchatThe Los Angeles Holocaust Museum also invited the students from the party to explore the museum and meet survivors from the Second World War. The museum’s CEO, Beth Kean, says she’d like to offer the Pacifica High School students the same chance.
As reported by The Daily Beast, Kean said:
I would definitely love to reach out to the principal of [Pacifica High School] and see if we can do the same thing we did with the Newport Harbor students.
Once you see those artifacts, you realize what these symbols like the German nationalist song really represent. That is really the best way to learn and make sure we can move forward and prevent these types of incidents from happening.
Around six million Jewish people were killed in the Holocaust – not to mention millions of other civilians, including homosexuals, political dissidents, Soviets, Serbians, Gypsies and members of various other groups.
Whether the students’ actions are a product of genuine anti-Semitism or a severely misguided sense of humour, it’s a slap in the face of those who survived and died as a result of mankind’s greatest inhumanity.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.