Anti-Semitic messages: Musk visits Nazi WWII death camp

Elon Musk, who faced accusations of permitting anti-Semitic content on his social media platform, X, visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp on Monday.

Reflecting on the experience, Musk expressed that witnessing the Holocaust’s tragedy in person profoundly impacts one’s heart.

Musk toured Nazi Germany’s most infamous extermination camp from World War II before participating in an anti-Semitism conference organized by the European Jewish Association in the nearby Polish city of Krakow.

Here is a video of the visit. pic.twitter.com/Ng5TBj17Ka

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) January 22, 2024

Acknowledging recent awareness, Musk admitted to his previous naivety about the extent of anti-Semitism. He attributed this realization to the fact that most of his friends are Jewish, and he had limited personal exposure to such experiences in his own life.

“In the circles that I move, I see almost no anti-Semitism,” Musk said at the conference in a discussion with conservative podcaster Ben Shapiro of the Daily Wire.

“And, you know, there’s this old joke ‘I’ve got like this one Jewish friend.’ No, I have like two-thirds of my friends are Jewish. I have twice as many Jewish friends as non-Jewish friends. I’m like Jewish by association, I’m aspirationally Jewish.”

He defended his X platform as a bastion of free speech, emphasizing that fostering a open exchange of ideas is crucial in combating hatred. Musk highlighted the historical suppression of freedom of press and information by the Nazis, underscoring the importance of preserving such liberties.

“The overarching goal for the X platform is to be the best source of truth in the world,” he said. The “relentless pursuit of the truth is the goal with X and allowing people to say what they want to say, even if it’s controversial, provided that it does not break the law.”

The billionaire has confronted accusations from the Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish civil rights organization, and others, alleging that he has tolerated anti-Semitic messages on the platform, formerly known as Twitter, since his acquisition of it in 2022.

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In November, he triggered outcry, even from the White House, for endorsing a user’s anti-Semitic remark on X. He later apologized, deeming it the “dumbest” post he has ever made.

Last year, Disney and IBM, among other major brands, halted advertising on the platform after Media Matters claimed their ads appeared alongside pro-Nazi and white nationalist content. X responded by suing Media Matters, alleging the nonprofit fabricated the report to damage X Corp. by driving advertisers away.

Accompanied by his 3-year-old son, Musk visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau site alongside individuals such as Shapiro and Rabbi Menachem Margolin, the founder and head of the European Jewish Association.

Situated near the town of Oswiecim in southern Poland, the site is enclosed by barbed wire, featuring wooden barracks that once housed prisoners and remnants of gas chambers, bearing witness to Nazi atrocities. Additionally, a monument to the victims stands on the grounds, serving as the focal point for annual remembrance ceremonies.

“It was incredibly moving and deeply sad and tragic that humans could do this to other humans,” Musk said about the visit.

“I’m a student of history, so I had seen the pictures, I’d seen the videos, but … it hits you much more in the heart when you see it in person.”

Initially scheduled for Tuesday, Musk surprised observers by visiting the Nazi death camp on Monday, diverging from the expected timeline for the visit and participation in a memorial service alongside political figures attending the EJA conference in Krakow.

“Due to schedule concerns, before Elon Musk’s arrival to the European Jewish Association conference, he took part in a private visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau with EJA Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Ben Shapiro and Holocaust survivor Gidon Lev. Musk laid a wreath at the wall of death and took part in a short memorial ceremony and service by the Birkenau memorial,” the EJA said in an email.

The EJA conference addressing the surge of antisemitism took place in Krakow before International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27.

Over 1.1 million people, predominantly Jews, were murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz during World War II. The victims also encompassed Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war, and others. The Holocaust claimed the lives of approximately 6 million European Jews, and when the Soviets liberated the camp, around 7,000 survivors were found.