The co-founder of the radical environmental movement Extinction Rebellion has called the Holocaust an "almost normal event" in human history. "The fact is that in our history, millions of people have been killed in dire circumstances on a regular basis," Briton Roger Hallam told The Times, which circulated the quote as a Wednesday pre-announcement. For him, the Holocaust is "just another shit in human history."
In response to Hallam's statements, the German book publisher Ullstein has now withdrawn the publication of his book "Common Sense - The Nonviolent Rebellion Against Disaster and for the Survival of Humanity" planned for November 26.
"The Ullstein publishing house distanced itself in all form from current remarks Roger Hallams", it was said in a publishing statement. For this reason, his book "Common Sense" will not appear: "The delivery of the book was stopped with immediate effect."
Hallam's comments also caused harsh criticism in politics. Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas reacted indignantly: "The Holocaust is more than a million dead and cruel methods of torture: to assassinate and destroy Jews industrially is uniquely inhuman, and we must always be aware of this, so that we can ensure: never again!" Wrote he on Twitter. Extinction rebellion Germany distanced itself from Hallam and spoke of "trivializing and relativizing remarks on the Holocaust". Hallam is no longer welcome in the movement in Germany.
Green Party leader Robert Habeck also called on other Extinction Rebellion (XR) offshoots to abandon Hallam. The movement "must be completely clear of him completely clear of him," said Habeck the "Bild" newspaper.
North Rhine-Westphalia's prime minister Armin Laschet (CDU) spoke on Twitter of "unacceptable talk" Hallams, which relativized the Holocaust. "Why this anti-Semitic and right-wing framing, when it is supposedly about climate protection?"
