Thai University Removes Hitler Superhero Mural
School apologizes for misguided congratulatory banner, blames freshmen
July 17, 2013
Student poses in front of the mural in question.(Simon Wiesenthal Center)
Thailand’s prestigious Chulalongkorn University has apologized for a confusing mural on campus featuring Hitler alongside a bunch of well-known superheroes, JTA reports.
The mural, which was meant to be a congratulatory billboard for graduates, depicted Hitler among comic book superheroes such as Superman, Batman and the Incredible Hulk. It was up for two days before being removed on Saturday.
According to the Bangkok Post, the dean of the faculty of fine and applied arts issued an official apology, basically blaming the whole thing on freshmen:
“The students only wanted to show through the mural that different superheroes are there to protect the world and that there are both good and evil people.
“Please do not forget that they are first year students and have been here for only a few months,” Mr Supakorn said.
The artistic vision for the piece, sadly, doesn’t seem to have been fully executed, with only Hitler and what appears to be a ghost over Superman’s left shoulder representing the ‘evil people.’ Though it’s admittedly hard to pay attention to any of that once you notice the proud graduate happily posing for a picture in front of the mural, giving a Nazi salute.
School’s out, I guess.
Stephanie Butnick is the founder of GOLDA, a Jewish lifestyle newsletter. She hosted the Tablet podcast Unorthodox, co-authored The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia: From Abraham to Zabar’s and Everything in Between, and worked as a writer and editor at Tablet.
