HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver from June 1st, 2015, includes a major segment on the use of images of Hitler in Thailand:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wraq6VnXmGo
The use of Hitler and Hitler images in Thailand has been criticized by both the Simon Wiesenthal Center (for example, here) and the Israeli Embassy (for example, here), and the former has also criticized the use of language by supporters of Article 112 equating human beings with ‘human trash’ (here).
The adoration of Hitler in Thailand is seen as being due to the majority of Thais having only a limited understanding of world history or even of the history of their own country. However, because of Thailand’s surrender and subsequent alliance with the Axis powers during the Second World War, its institutional memory, particularly that of certain members of the Establishment and military, still sees Hitler as a strong, model leader, as criticized by the Israeli Embassy here. Such an attitude is only conducive to hyper-nationalism.
It is a tragedy that Thais’ understanding of the world around them has become a joke for civilized countries, but it is deadly serious that such ignorance risks enabling the re-emergence of fascism in Thailand.
Prachatai English is an independent, non-profit news outlet committed to covering underreported issues in Thailand, especially about democratization and human rights, despite pressure from the authorities. Your support will ensure that we stay a professional media source and be able to meet the challenges and deliver in-depth reporting.
• Simple steps to support Prachatai English
1. Bank transfer to account “โครงการหนังสือพิมพ์อินเทอร์เน็ต ประชาไท” or “Prachatai Online Newspaper” 091-0-21689-4, Krungthai Bank
2. Or, Transfer money via Paypal, to e-mail address: [email protected], please leave a comment on the transaction as “For Prachatai English”