Company says sorry over ‘Anne Frank costume’ for Halloween

A company has withdrawn an “Anne Frank Halloween costume” after complaints from prominent figures in the Jewish community.   HalloweenCostumes.com said it apologised for any offence caused.

Other outlets are selling the same product, which includes a dress, a beret, a shoulder bag and a “destination tag”, but market it as a “child World War Two evacuee costume”.

Pictures of the “Anne Frank” costume circulated on social media, and were met with anger by representatives of UK Jewish charities.

“Why would anyone want to ‘dress up’ as Anne Frank, a young girl murdered by the Nazis, for Halloween,” said Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET).

“It is utterly inappropriate, offensive and quite simply beggars belief. The Holocaust is not a joke – this company needs to have a serious rethink.”

A spokesperson for the company released a statement on Twitter “apologising for any offence it has caused, as that’s never our intention.

“We sell costumes not only for Halloween season, such as school projects and plays. We offer several types of historically accurate costumes – from prominent figures to political figures, to television characters.

SOURCE