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Information sign of a branch of the fast food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)
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Oliver Berg / picture alliance / dpa
The American fast food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has caused outrage in Germany with an advertising message.
On November 9th – the anniversary of the National Socialist Reichspogromnacht of 1938 – the group sent a message to its app users that was titled “Memorial Day for the Reichspogromnacht”.
In it, KFC invited its customers to treat themselves to “tender cheese with crispy chicken”.
A little later, the group also apologized via app for the "incorrect" and "inappropriate" message.
The short message service Twitter met with sharp criticism.
Screenshots from the promotion were shared hundreds of times.
"Is it even more tasteless?" complained a user and announced that the KFC app would be deleted.
Dalia Grinfeld, deputy director of European affairs for the Jewish-American organization Anti-Defamation League, called on KFC to be ashamed.
KFC Germany informed the »Stern« that the advertising campaign was an automated push notification.
These would be created on the basis of a calendar in which public holidays, commemorations and days of action were saved.
»In this individual case, our internal review process was not properly followed.
As a result, this unauthorized report was accidentally distributed," KFC said.
The app communication was then stopped immediately.
Bomb threat against Jewish community in Flensburg
In addition to numerous nationwide commemorative events, there was a bomb threat against the Jewish community in Flensburg on the 84th anniversary of the Kristallnacht.
The synagogue was cleared, but nothing dangerous was found there, as a police spokesman told the German Press Agency.
First the "Flensburger Tageblatt" had reported.
The spokesman said the bomb threat was received by the police in the afternoon.
The police then moved in with strong forces.
"Now the investigation is underway."
On the night of November 9th, 1938, synagogues and other Jewish institutions were set on fire in Germany, Jewish businesses were looted and Jews were harassed, arrested or murdered.
atb/dpa