The Tamesis
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum fired back at Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz this week for comparing victims of ICE raids in the state to Anne Frank, a Jewish girl who was murdered in a concentration camp during the Holocaust.
“Children in Minnesota are hiding in their homes, afraid to go out,” Walz said at a press conference after Alex Pretty was killed by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis over the weekend. “A lot of us grew up reading the stories of Anne Frank. Someone would write a children’s story about Minnesota.”
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On Monday, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum later issued a statement in response. “Anne Frank was targeted and murdered simply because she was Jewish,” the museum wrote on social media. “It is absolutely unacceptable for leaders to falsely equate her experience for political purposes. Despite the tensions in Minneapolis, exploiting the Holocaust is deeply offensive, especially amid rising anti-Semitism.”
The museum’s statement did not mention ICE, which targets immigrants across the country in its raids. Many claimed the attacks involved excessive use of force, especially after the killings of Pretty and Renee Nicole Goode in Minneapolis, which sparked a series of protests. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump continues to seek what he calls “absolute immunity” for ICE.
The statement comes as the nation continues to focus on Minneapolis, with local museums even affected by protests against ICE and its tactics. The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, located near where Pretty was killed, closed for two days before reopening on Tuesday.
