Nazi-themed wedding sparks controversy in Mexico

The celebration of a wedding with Nazi symbols last weekend in the Mexican state of Tlaxcala sparked the rejection of the Jewish community and international human rights institutions.

The marriage of Ferdinand and Josephine took place on April 29, a date that coincided with the wedding of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun, 77 years ago.

Pasó en Tlaxcala:https://t.co/tCJpzcdhVP

— Arturo Ángel (@arturoangel20) May 3, 2022

The groom is a civil servant and wore a German military uniform from World War II to get married. His partner Josefina arrived at the ceremony in a Volkswagen decorated with swastikas and other symbols and photos alluding to the National Socialist dictator.

The couple already has two children, a boy named Reinhard, after SS leader General Reinhard Heydrich, and a girl named Hanna Gertrud, after Hanna Reitsch, a celebrated Nazi army pilot who allegedly rescued Hitler from the bunker where he was hiding, and after Gertrud Scholtz-Klink, who was president of the National Socialist Women's League.

"I know that for many people Hitler means genocide, a symbol of racism and violence. But people judge without information or by believing in the history of the victors. Hitler was a vegetarian, he brought his country out of extreme poverty and gave back to his people the territories lost in World War I. His people loved him," Fernando said in an interview with Milenio.

The Nazi wedding and its broadcasting in local media provoked strong criticism.

The Wiesenthal Center, a non-governmental organization that documents Holocaust-related cases and victims, regretted that no Mexican organization spoke out against the use of Nazi symbols at the wedding.

Ariel Gelblung, director for Latin America of the Wiesenthal Center, condemned "the distortion and trivialization of the memory of six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust," and those who lent themselves to "this despicable lack of respect."

Tribuna Israelita, an institution that serves as a spokesperson for the Jewish community in Mexico, condemned "any action that apologizes for and glorifies Nazism, an ideology responsible for the murder of millions of people, including six million Jews."

A propósito de la boda temática y la difusión realizada por medios de comunicación, desde el Conapred consideramos necesario recordar los terribles eventos que tuvieron lugar en el suelo europeo durante el Holocausto, un crimen sin paralelos en la historia de la humanidad🧵 (1/3)

— conapred (@CONAPRED) May 4, 2022

 "With regards to the thematic wedding and the dissemination made by the media, from Conapred we consider it necessary to remember the terrible events that took place on European soil during the Holocaust, a crime without parallel in the history of mankind," said the Council.

After the criticism, the Diocese of the state of Tlaxcala distanced itself from the Nazi wedding. Its spokesman, Ranulfo Rojas Breton, told El Sol de Tlaxcala that the pastor in charge of officiating the mass had no knowledge of the theme, much less knew of the clothes that the bride and groom would wear for the occasion. Finally, he said that this is "a very sensitive issue" and the direct responsibility corresponds to who organized the party.