The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has criticised Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for comparing the situation in Minneapolis to the experience of Anne Frank. During a press conference on Sunday, Walz warned that children were 'hiding in their houses' from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, drawing a parallel to the Jewish teenager who hid from the Nazis during the Second World War.
'We have got children hiding in their houses, afraid to go outside,' Walz told reporters. 'Many of us grew up reading that story of Anne Frank. Somebody's gonna write that children's story about Minnesota.' The remarks came just two days before International Holocaust Memorial Day, which marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The museum responded on X, stating: 'Anne Frank was targeted and murdered solely because she was Jewish. Leaders making false equivalencies to her experience for political purposes is never acceptable.' The statement added that exploiting the Holocaust is 'deeply offensive, especially as antisemitism surges.'
Other officials also condemned the comparison. Trump's antisemitism envoy, Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, wrote: 'Ignorance like this cheapens the horror of the Holocaust. Anne Frank was in Amsterdam legally and abided by Dutch law. She was hauled off to a death camp because of her race and religion. Her story has nothing to do with the illegal immigration, fraud, and lawlessness plaguing Minnesota today.'
Walz's comments followed the fatal shooting of nurse Alex Pretti during a protest against ICE operations. The governor had previously referred to ICE agents as a 'modern-day Gestapo,' a comparison that has also drawn criticism.
