MADISON, Wis. — Madison Children's Museum said in a statement Monday an employee was fired after wearing an Adolf Hitler costume.
The employee was seen in viral photographs celebrating Halloween on Saturday night in Madison's downtown area.
We are nauseated to see a man has dressed up as Adolf Hitler to celebrate Halloween at the U. Wisconsin Madison
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) October 30, 2022
With antisemitic incidents on the rise at both this particular school and across the country, this costume was meant to do one thing, and one thing only - spread hate pic.twitter.com/2paqLqOT4n
According to a statement, the employee has cognitive disabilities and has worked at the museum for the past 10 years. The museum said it was their understanding that the man believed his costume was mocking Hitler.
"The organization has determined that his continued employment would create an environment at odds with our values and unwelcoming to visitors and staff," Madison Children's Museum said in part. "We still hope to facilitate a restorative justice process to redress the harm done to the community while allowing him to understand the effects of his actions and accept accountability."
The Madison Police Department said the costume is "offensive and reprehensible" but said wearing it was not a crime. Police said they have spoke to the man regarding the concern surrounding his costume.
UW Hillel, an organization supporting Jewish students at UW-Madison, denounced the costume.
Photographs of the man quickly circulated the internet, even gaining attention from the Jerusalem Post and StopAntisemitism, a group that documents national antisemitic acts.
"We are nauseated to see a man has dressed up as Adolf Hitler to celebrate Halloween at the U. Wisconsin Madison," StopAntisemitism said. "With antisemitic incidents on the rise at both this particular school and across the country, this costume was meant to do one thing, and one thing only - spread hate."
UW-Madison said the incident occurred off campus and the man is not affiliated with the campus. However, the campus has experienced its own antisemitic incidents this school year. In September, the UW-Madison campus woke up to multiple sidewalk chalkings around campus that targeted several Jewish student groups.
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According to a joint statement from leaders with the Jewish Federation of Madison and the Wisconsin Jewish Conference, the sidewalk chalkings labeled Jewish student groups as "racist," "genocidal," and "having blood on their hands."
UW-Madison also experienced antisemitic incidents last March after a swastika was etched into a residence hall bathroom stall and other students reported being harassed.
Anyone experiencing or witnessing antisemitic incidents or any other hate on campus is urged toreport it through UW-Madison.
