Extinction Rebellion Co-Founder Calls Holocaust ‘Just Another F*ckery in Human History’

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 21: Extinction Rebellion flags are held aloft as protesters gather
Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Victoria Friedman

A co-founder of the Extinction Rebellion eco-extremist group has said that the Holocaust, during which the Nazi regime killed six million Jews, was “just another fuckery in human history”.

Roger Hallam made the comments during an interview with German newspaper of record Die Zeit, where he attempted to relativise the Holocaust by arguing that “millions of people have been killed in vicious circumstances on a regular basis throughout history”.

Quoting Mr Hallam directly in English in the German-language newspaper, the activist is reported to have said that the Holocaust was “just another fuckery in human history”.

“In fact, you might say it is like a regular event,” the 53-year-old Briton added.

The newspaper remarked that “in the conversation, Hallam returns again and again to the Holocaust,” with the eco-extremist saying that the mass murder of Jews during World War Two was “just another shit in human history”.

Claiming that analogous cases of genocide have been happening in the world for 500 years, he compared the Holocaust to Belgian colonisation of the Congo, saying: “The Belgians came to the Congo in the late 19th century and decimated it.”

He also said that Germans’ attitudes towards the Holocaust were holding Germany back, saying: “The extremity of a trauma can create a paralysis in actually learning the lessons from it.”

In further comments translated by British newspaper The Telegraph, Mr Hallam was quoted as saying: “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.”

This is not the first time that Hallam has made bizarre and insensitive comments about Auschwitz to further his eco-extremist message. During a speech for an Amnesty International event in February, Hallam said that he would not be staying for the questions and answers portion of the event “because there was no poetry after Auschwitz and there are no words after the facts on the climate and ecological emergency”.

Earlier in that same speech, the eco-extremist said that Extinction Rebellion activists “are not just sending out emails and asking for donations. We are going to force the governments to act, and if they don’t, we’ll bring them down and create a democracy fit for purpose. And yes — some may die in the process.”

After the remarks were published in the German and English versions of Die Zeit, the German branch of Extinction Rebellion attempted to distance itself from Hallam and tried to minimise his importance in the group, saying that he was just one of 15 founders.

The group said in a press release: “Extinction Rebellion Germany distances itself from Roger Hallam’s belittling and relativising remarks on the Holocaust.”

“His statement is not representative of XR Germany, he is not a spokesman for XR Germany and has not discussed in any way with us.”

Alluding to other controversial comments that may yet to be published by Zeit, the group added: “This also applies to Hallam’s statements on democracy, sexism, and racism.”

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