For many, Halloween is a time that signifies free candies, and personifying your icons through costume, or an excuse to watch horror movies, dress up as ghosts, monsters, and zombies, and cover yourself with fake blood. For others, it’s a time to be as offensive as humanly possible.
And, thanks to social media, sharing offensive costumes has never been easier, whether you decided to dress up this year as a paralyzed Lamar Odom, Caitlyn Jenner (pre, and post-operation), Bill Cosby, in blackface, or as Adolf Hitler.
Thanks to a New York Times survey asking readers if they’d travel back in time to kill a “baby Hitler,” that was also a costume people were forced to deal with this year.
WHAT A SHANDA: People dress their kids as Anne Frank and Hitler for Halloween. https://t.co/uoLjn65OYt pic.twitter.com/hPBwP1ZfDp
— Mt. Sinai in J.C. (@BestShulEver) October 29, 2015
Despite its controversial connotations, some trick or treaters still decided to dress up as the Nazi dictator on Oct. 31.
The stupidity of some never fails 2 amaze. That’s Youssef Hosseini of ONTV as #Hitler for Halloween. V @Salamonty_ pic.twitter.com/DAYNn0JELQ — Amr No 2 CC (@Cairo67Unedited) November 1, 2015
This was only an experiment, but I’m definitely not dressing as (just) Hitler for Halloween. #HappyHalloween #hitler pic.twitter.com/EtNC9c4qYB
— Shea Stadium (@jacfalcon) October 30, 2015
While Hitler is likely controversial enough, it was photos of a couple dressed as both he and Anne Frank that truly sparked outrage on social media.
SICK: Couple dress up as Hitler & holocaust victim for Halloween. Bag of ashes with Anne Frank’s mom written on it. pic.twitter.com/EgQfkVPTN5 — Taylor (@Taylor_505) November 1, 2015
The photos depicts a young woman dressed as Frank carrying a bag of her mom’s ashes standing in a provocative pose with her companion. Pro-Israel advocacy organization StandWithUs posted the photos to its Facebook page, which was shared over 6,700 times at time of publication. Comments on the photos referred to the costumes as “horrible,” a “disgrace,” and utterly shameful. “This is appalling and very disturbing to me,” wrote one. “Over 6 million innocent Jews lost their lives. Words cannot say how angry I feel (sic) when I see this kind of heartless form of disrespect. I feel that could have been my family and the Jews are my brothers and sisters. Regardless if I am an American Catholic Christian, the Holocaust was the murdering of God’s beloved people.”
Yes – this is actually a Halloween costume that someone wore this year, and posted about it on Facebook. It is…
Posted by StandWithUs on Sunday, November 1, 2015
According to StandWithUs, the photos, posted to Facebook, were eventually removed.
