OPINION:
The Holocaust was one of the most horrific events in human history, with Adolf Hitler embarking on a demonic quest to eliminate the Jewish people, among other groups.
It was an inhumane, evil time — one whose impact still reverberates eight decades later. The Holocaust was an era incomparable to anything we see unfolding in contemporary America. And yet, for some reason, individuals love to trip over themselves to use it as a political tool.
The latest person to fall prey to this self-owning absurdity is embattled Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, whose recent Anne Frank comparison not only raised eyebrows among the general public but also led the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to issue an overt rebuke.
It all started when Mr. Walz, a Democrat who is enmeshed in a controversy over alleged funding abuses and now a contentious battle over Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s enforcement efforts in his state, made a bizarre comparison involving Frank and the Holocaust while discussing the shooting death of slain protester Alex Pretti.
Speaking about the impact of the ICE raids, Mr. Walz said during a news conference that illegal immigrant children are scared to go to school because of immigration enforcement — and urged ICE to stop. He then offered up his now-infamous Frank comparison.
“Allow our children to go back to school,” Mr. Walz said. “We have got children in Minnesota hiding in their houses, afraid to go outside.”
He continued: “Many of us grew up reading that story of Anne Frank. Somebody’s going to write that children’s story about Minnesota.”
These words ignited an Internet frenzy as people sought to note the many differences between a Jewish teen forced to hide with her family from Nazis seeking to slaughter them and individuals worried that their illegal immigration status could lead to deportation.
Not long after Mr. Walz’s bizarre treatise, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum took to X to make its position more than known.
“Anne Frank was targeted and murdered solely because she was Jewish,” the post read. “Leaders making false equivalencies to her experience for political purposes is never acceptable. Despite tensions in Minneapolis, exploiting the Holocaust is deeply offensive, especially as antisemitism surges.”
This response hits the nail on the head. Mr. Walz was clearly looking to score political points, and he used an emotionally charged issue to manipulate people into believing that the plight of illegal immigrants somehow mirrors the death-defying actions of a teenager and her family who were forced to hide in an attic to evade Nazi genocidists.
The museum astutely pointed out that Frank was targeted because of her ethnicity and religion. Regardless of one’s views on ICE, immigration, or appropriate steps to enforcement, it’s impossible to look past the reality that ICE is seeking to uphold immigration law — not going after people based on ethnicity or religious practice.
This reality was highlighted by Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, special envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism at the State Department, who posted a separate message on X rebuking Mr. Walz’s commentary.
“Ignorance like this cheapens the horror of the Holocaust,” Mr. Kaploun wrote. “Anne Frank was in Amsterdam legally and abided by Dutch law. She was hauled off to a death camp because of her race and religion.
“Her story has nothing to do with the illegal immigration, fraud and lawlessness plaguing Minnesota today. Our brave law enforcement should be commended, not tarred with this historically illiterate and antisemitic comparison.”
The Official White House Rapid Response Team’s X account took the critique even further, lamenting Mr. Walz’s comparison of “enforcing our nation’s immigration laws to Nazi Germany.” The message went on to call Mr. Walz a “truly disturbed, unstable individual.”
At the very least, the Holocaust museum’s contention that a false equivalency has been made is undoubtedly true. But, beyond that, the museum makes another important point: We’re currently experiencing an explosion of antisemitism that such antics seem to ignore or look past.
The Anti-Defamation League released a report last year documenting 9,354 incidents of harassment, assault and vandalism throughout 2024, a 5% increase from the previous year. This record-breaking number is disturbing — and should prompt leaders such as Mr. Walz to watch their words more carefully.
And, yet, Mr. Walz seemingly took little time to think through how such a bizarre comparison comes at a time when many Jewish people are under assault — not just in America but throughout the world.
Now isn’t the time for baseless and bizarre comparisons based on Jewish history and the Holocaust. It’s irresponsible, inaccurate and appears to be an attempt to force people — via emotional manipulation and laziness — into embracing a specific narrative.
It’s time for people on both sides of the aisle to halt the Holocaust comparisons, which are unhelpful, corrosive and most certainly offensive.
• Billy Hallowell is a digital TV host and interviewer for Faithwire and CBN News and the co-host of CBN’s “Quick Start Podcast.” Mr. Hallowell also is the author of four books.
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