MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Unprecedented consensus in Chile against newspaper article marking 75th anniversary of Göring's death

Göring was sentenced to death but escaped his appointment with the hangman through a cyanide pill

Chile's Jewish community, Germany's Embassy in Santiago and the entire country's political spectrum Sunday agreed to condemn an article carried by the large-circulation daily El Mercurio reviewing the life of convicted Nazi leader Hermann Göring.

Göring's involvement in the Holocaust and other Nazi-sponsored atrocities led to him being sentenced to death at the Nuremberg trials, even though but he dodged his appointment with the hangman by taking a cyanide pill the night before. He died Oct. 15, 75 years ago, an anniversary El Mercurio found worth remembering. Such a publication would be a crime in Europe, the Jewish community leaders noted.

The page-and-a-half article, located in the “Society” section under the heading “Hermann Göring, Hitler's Successor” contains quotes from Göring himself praising Hitler, describing his “meteoric rise” and referring to him as “the laureate marshal.”

The German embassy said on its Twitter account that although it is not in the diplomatic mission's habit to comment on press articles, it wanted to make it clear only that “this character, H. Goering, committed crimes against humanity and was one of the pillars of the Nazi regime” and that “that does not leave even the slightest space to justify or minimize morally and politically - and much less in legal terms - his nefarious role during the Nazi regime and in the Holocaust.”

The Jewish Community of Chile also pointed out that “a tribute” to Göring was “unacceptable” because it constituted an “apology for Nazism.”

El Mercurio's article goes through Göring's biography with references to his childhood, military career and his relationship with Adolf Hitler.

Chilean presidential candidate Yasna Provoste said, ”the normalization of extremisms, as El Mercurio does with this profile of a convicted person of crimes against humanity, goes against a basic principle: permanent respect for human rights.”

Sebastián Sichel, who is also running for president next month on behalf of the incumbent Sebastián Piñera's political front, stressed that on social media that “not the slightest space for criminals against humanity,” should be left. “My solidarity to the Jewish community and to all those who could feel violated with the publication. Unrestricted support for Human Rights,” he added.

Leftwing candidate Gabriel Boric agreed: “Unacceptable reminder of one of the greatest Nazi war criminals and founder of the Gestapo Hermann Göring full page in El Mercurio. An offence to the victims of the holocaust and to all of us who have an unrestricted commitment to human rights.”

Meanwhile, Cristina Dorador, a member of the Constitutional Assembly said “a page and a half obituary to one of the most horrendous Nazi criminals” was something “nefarious.”