During World War II, Jewish citizens were the target of many horrific attacks. Six million Jewish people were killed by the Nazis, and to this day the damage has not been healed.
One of the victims, Anne Frank, became a household name when her diaries of living in captivity were released. Frank and her family were Jewish and under threat of being sent to concentration camps. They hid in the home of a family friend, all of them staying in a secret attic for just over two years. Sadly, her family was captured by the Nazis and killed. The Diary of Anne Frank became a best-selling book, showcasing first-hand what those in peril were suffering through.
While many would look at Anne Frank as a historical figure who suffered through unimaginable pain with incredible bravery, one company decided she was more than suitable to become a costume for kids.
HalloweenCostumes.com debuted a "World War II Anne Frank Girls Costume" this Halloween, and it went over about as well as you'd expect.
This is how the costume was described:
Now, of course, people were pretty upset with this costume as it's pretty insensitive. Dressing up as someone who endured immeasurable suffering so you can go trick-or-treating isn't in the best taste.
A spokesperson for HalloweenCostumes.com, Ross Walker Smith, had this to say about the incident:
"We sell costumes not only for Halloween, but for many uses outside of the Halloween season, such as school projects and plays. We offer several types of historically accurate costumes - from prominent figures to political figures to television characters.
We take feedback from customers very seriously. We have passed along the feedback regarding this costume, and it has been removed from the website at this time. We apologize for any offense it has caused, as that's never our intention."
Many other sites took the costume down, while others just re-branded it as "World War II Evacuee Girl."
"Evacuate your way out of the war zone and into a great party with this World War II Girl costume. Be careful, when they're gone they're gone!"
Some people don't think it's that big of a deal, saying there's nothing wrong with dressing up as Anne Frank. Others find it culturally insensitive.
What do you think?