A praying Hitler statue on display at the former Warsaw Ghetto, where many Jews were killed during under Hitler's orders, is causing controversy.
The statue of a kneeling Hitler, which many believe to be praying was installed at the Warsaw Ghetto last month. The work was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. His purpose for the work is to make people think about the nature of evil.
The work, called "HIM," is stirring up emotions from various groups. Jewish advocacy group, the Simon Wiesenthal Center finds the work very offensive. They're calling it "a senseless provocation which insults the memory of the Nazis' Jewish victims," according to AP.
"As far as the Jews were concerned, Hitler's only 'prayer' was that they be wiped off the face of the earth," the group's Israel director, Efraim Zuroff, said in a statement, according to AP.
The Warsaw Ghetto was one of the areas that the Nazi's used to keep Jewish people in cramped, inhumane conditions before they sent them off to death camps. Many died there before they were transported due to starvation, disease and execution.
Others admire the work and are defending its placement, such as the Center for Contemporary Art, which oversaw the installation of the statue.
"There is no intention from the side of the artist or the center to insult Jewish memory," Fabio Cavallucci, director of the Center for Contemporary Art, told AP. "It's an artwork that tries to speak about the situation of hidden evil everywhere," he said.
"It had a big emotional impact on me. It's provocative, but it's not offensive," Zofia Jablonska, a 30-year-old lawyer who saw the artwork told AP. "Having him pray in the place where he would kill people - this was the best place to put it."
Those who visit the statue can't see much. It is only visible through a hole in a wooden gate. Only the back of the statue can be seen and it appears to be the figure of a small child praying.
"Every criminal was once a tender, innocent and defenseless child," the Center for Contemporary Art said.
Michael Schudrich, Poland's chief rabbi was approached before the statue was installed but he gave his permission for it to be installed as he was told that it was not meant to offend anyone, but to show that evil can be found even in a small child.
"I felt there could be educational value to it," said Schudrich.
More of Cattelan's work in a project called "Amen" is featured at the center in the Ujazdowski Castle. The collection shows examples of life, death, good and evil. Schudrich says he appreciates how the artwork "forces us to face the evil of the world."
This isn't the first time Catellan's work caused controversy. In a 2000 art gallery, he displayed a piece of work called "La Nona Ora"(The Ninth Hour), which showed Pope John Paul II being crushed by a meteorite. This image was highly offensive to a predominantly Catholic Poland, where the Pope was born.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
