Likening the proroguing of parliament by the current UK government to the fire and subsequent suspension of the Reichstag in Nazi Germany is “deeply inappropriate”, the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) has said.
In a tweet, JLM said that the month-long extended suspension of parliament by Boris Johnson – consented by the Queen to take place from 10 September to 14 October – was “reprehensible and undemocratic.”
But the movement criticised those comparing it to the suspension of the Reichstag by Adolf Hitler in 1933 as “a disgraceful minimisation of some of the most heinous crimes in human history.”
The suspension of parliament by Boris Johnson is reprehensible and undemocratic.
— Jewish Labour Movement (@JewishLabour) August 29, 2019
However, likening this to Hitler and Nazi Germany is deeply inappropriate and a disgraceful minimisation of some of the most heinous crimes in human history.
The Reichstag building suspiciously caught fire in 1933, which was used by the Nazis as a pretext to suspend the parliament indefinitely and with it many of the rights afforded to citizens by the Weimar Constitution.
This allowed the Nazis to begin their rule of Germany without challenge. There were no parliamentary sessions held for the following 12 years of Nazi rule.
The hashtag #Reichstag was trending on Twitter after the government announced the move to suspend parliament yesterday, with many drawing the parallel.
At the same time, author Philip Pullman published a tweet suggesting Boris Johnson should be hanged from a lamp post, alluding to the fate of dictator Benito Mussolini.
Mr Pullman tweeted that “When I hear the name ‘Boris Johnson’, for some reason the words ‘rope’ and ‘nearest lamp-post’ come to mind as well”.
Mr Pullman has since deleted the tweet and apologised, stating: “I don't advocate hanging Boris Johnson.”
