23 June 2023 , 16:20
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The Hamilton County, Indiana, chapter of Moms for Liberty, an extremist group that's become known throughout the country for supporting book bans, was forced to issue an apology Thursday morning after they used a quote from Adolf Hitler on the front page of their newsletter.
The newsletter, called "The Parent Brigade," was sent to a variety of groups and politicians and featured a Hitler quote on the front that said, "He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future."
The writers of the newsletter explain they did not realize they were quoting Hitler, which is on track for the group as they continue to try and ban books that educate families about the Holocaust - often admitting to not having read the material themselves.
The group opposes any difficult-to-swallow historical content in the curriculum and has compiled a list of nearly 200 books containing themes of race, sexuality, war, ethnicity, or even mentions of sex or nudity, even in a historical and educational context.
A screenshot of the newsletter that quoted Hitler from the Moms for Liberty group (Facebook)Conservative Mom group quotes Hitler - then takes it back amidst supporting book bans
After the initial public outcry, the group was forced to remove the quote from their page and issued an apology.
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"We condemn Adolf Hitler's actions and his dark place in human history," the statement from chapter chairwoman Paige Miller reads. "We should not have quoted him in our newsletter and express our deepest apology."
Although the group has tried to distance itself from support of Nazi ideology, their actions have been hailed by watchdog groups as similar to the ones taken in 1930s Germany, where there was a similar outcry against books that teach the public about race, sexuality, pacifism, marxism, or contain nude art, among others.
Late Wednesday night, the newsletter's front page was updated to include what was described as "context" for the Hitler quote.
"The quote from a horrific leader should put parents on alert," the update says. "If the government has control over our children today, they control our country's future. We The People must be vigilant and protect children from an overreaching government," said the organisation in an attempt to justify quoting the German dictator who perpetrated the murder of six million Jewish individuals and started a war that devastated Europe.
Matt McNally, a Democrat running for Indiana's 39th Congressional District, said the group's move makes clear that Moms for Liberty has "no business" in politics.
"No group that quotes Nazis should be anywhere near our children or have any influence in our community," McNally tweeted. "It is time for our community leaders to stop acquiescing to them and make clear that their hateful rhetoric will not be tolerated."
Apology issued only after critiques in the media shunned the group's use of Nazi quotes
"I think Adolf Hitler is terrible, and I would never quote Adolf Hitler or the Nazis in any shape or form other than saying they are bad or terrible," said Mario Massillamany, chairman of the Hamilton County Republican party.
"That was a terrible page in our world history and I don't think that we as a society can say enough about the atrocities that the poor Jewish people had to go through," continues Massillamany, deliberately ignoring the other groups targetted by Hitler's regime that are also often targetted by the 'Moms for Liberty' circle.
Massillamany has previously shown his support for the conservative action group, which is focused on creating bans and outlawing speech they deem inappropriate.
In the same breath, Massillamany wrote that "restrictions on speech, government overreach and the growing disrespect for the rule of the law should concern every American. I, for one, will not stand by and watch while America is destroyed by the leftists and status quo politicians."
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Below the Hitler quote on the original front page, Moms for Liberty national co-founders Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich, penned a message with the headline: "Moms for Liberty will not be intimidated by hate groups!"
This appears to be in response to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which labelled the Florida-headquartered Moms for Liberty and 11 other right-wing “parents' rights” organizations as extremist groups in its annual report, which they released earlier this month.
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Among the list of banned books is Maus, by Art Spiegelman, which has been banned in several school districts before - and then became a bestseller all over again. The list distributed by 'Moms for Liberty' also includes titles like The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, and plenty of other authors who describe their difficult experiences coming to terms with race, class, sexuality, and war. They've even got a Judy Blume novel listed.
The group mostly cites 'nudity' or 'curse words' as reasons to ban the books, saying they are inappropriate for children, but anyone looking at the book list can notice a common theme. Spiegelman, the author of the now partially banned partially bestselling novel Maus, said it best - he got the impression that the perpetrators of these book bans were asking, “Why can’t they teach a nicer Holocaust?”
“It’s disappointing, but not surprising, that the largest anti-student inclusion movement organization has allegedly used a quote from one of the appalling figureheads in history,” said Rachel Carroll Rivas, deputy director of research, reporting and analysis for the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center.