In a shocking segment, CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour recalled Kristallnacht — the infamous anti-Jewish pogrom carried out throughout Nazi Germany — by noting that President Donald Trump’s presidency has similarly been a “modern day assault” attacking “those same values.”
In the opening of her daily global affairs interview program on Thursday, Amanpour dedicated her introduction to commemorating Kristallnacht (or “Night of Broken Glass”) which occurred this week in 1938.
“This week, 82 years ago, Kristallnacht happened; it was the Nazis’ warning shot across the bow of our human civilization that led to genocide against a whole identity,” she stated.
Flashing scenes of Jewish victims followed by the Nazi burning of Jewish books, Amanpour then continued by comparing the forces behind the notorious historical event with the current administration.
“And, in that tower of burning books, it led to an attack on fact, knowledge, history and truth,” she added. “After four years of a modern-day assault on those same values by Donald Trump, the Biden/Harris team pledges a return to norms, including the truth.”
The backlash was immediate.
“This is @camanpour on @CNN comparing Trump’s tenure to Nazi Germany,” wrote former Brexit Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Ben Habib. “How the hell is this sort of prejudice tolerated on mainstream media? Third rate rubbish.”
This is @camanpour on @CNN comparing Trump’s tenure to Nazi Germany. How the hell is this sort of prejudice tolerated on mainstream media?
Third rate rubbish. pic.twitter.com/EG9eB9vQWo
— Ben Habib (@benhabib6) November 12, 2020
“Their level of spin is spiralling out of control,” wrote Twitter user Karen Goodwin.
“Absolutely vile propaganda and dangerous,” tweeted another Twitter user.
“This is nothing short of being absolutely and unacceptably shocking,” wrote Twitter user Patrick Boyns.
“They are insane, not only are they diluting what the Nazis did they are blatantly pushing the narrative so hard it’s difficult not to believe there has been a fraud,” wrote another user. “How on earth can this be tolerated if 70 million Americans voted for Trump? This is close to inciting a riot.”
They are insane, not only are they diluting what the Nazis did they are blatantly pushing the narrative so hard it's difficult not to believe there has been a fraud.
How on earth can this be tolerated if 70 million Americans voted for Trump?
This is close to inciting a riot.— KP (@Qlittlevoices) November 12, 2020
“That broadcast is a disgrace,” wrote yet another user. “You should hang your heads in shame @CNN for allowing it.”
“The Nazis we’re good at propaganda,” wrote Twitter user Fair Economist. “No doubt CNN would’ve praised the Nazis socialists values.”
“Bloody hell, how on earth can she convolute this into Trump presidency, it demeans history and historical facts,” wrote Twitter user Paul Johnson. “This woman should be sacked.”
Amanpour is the Chief International Anchor for CNN and host of CNN International’s nightly interview program Amanpour, which has aired for nearly a decade.
In April last year, Amanpour suggested that “lock her up” chants were a form of hate speech that the FBI could have “shut down.”
Amanpour’s latest comments not only grossly misinform but drastically belittle the horrors of the past.
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum describes the period following the night that violent anti-Jewish demonstrations broke out across Germany, Austria, and the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia:
Over the next 48 hours, violent mobs, spurred by antisemitic exhortations from Nazi officials, destroyed hundreds of synagogues, burning or desecrating Jewish religious artifacts along the way. Acting on orders from Gestapo headquarters, police officers and firefighters did nothing to prevent the destruction. All told, approximately 7,500 Jewish-owned businesses, homes, and schools were plundered, and 91 Jews were murdered. An additional 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Nazi officials immediately claimed that the Jews themselves were to blame for the riots, and a fine of one billion reichsmarks (about $400 million at 1938 rates) was imposed on the German Jewish community.
The greater significance of the event is also noted.
“Kristallnacht was a turning point in the history of the Third Reich, marking the shift from antisemitic rhetoric and legislation to the violent, aggressive anti-Jewish measures that would culminate with the Holocaust.”
Follow Joshua Klein on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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