Even though the website called her “a World War II hero,” Halloweencostumes.com thought it was acceptable to sell an Anne Frank costume for this year’s holiday celebrations. Yep, that Anne Frank — the one that didn’t survive the Holocaust despite her family’s attempt to hide in a basement space.
The Anti-Defamation League tweeted, “We learn from Anne Frank’s life and death to honor her & prevent future atrocity. We don’t exploit her.” The company was charging $25 for the costume. And a spokesperson from the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect said, “There are more appropriate ways to commemorate the legacy of Anne Frank than through a Halloween costume, which is offensive and trivializes her suffering and the suffering of millions during the Holocaust.”
The website responded to the internet criticism: “We take feedback from our customers very seriously. We have passed along the feedback regarding this costume, and it has been removed from the website at this time.” I appreciate that the company, based in Minnesota, took down the costume, but maybe let’s all try to use common sense for such things in the future?
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