Museum gives visitors the chance to take a 'selfie with Hitler'

A waxwork museum in Indonesia is defending a heroically posed depiction of Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler as groups call for the removal of the "contemptible" figure. De Mata, described by the Associated Press as an "infotainment-style museum" features a waxwork figure of the 20th century mass murderer in front of a background depicting the concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Emblazed above Hitler, in a strong poise, are the words "Arbeit Macht Frei", the German for 'Work Sets You Free' that greeted those sent to the concentration camps before they were murdered in gas chambers.

"Everything about it is wrong. It's hard to find words for how contemptible it is," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center "The background is disgusting. It mocks the victims who went in and never came out."

According to the news agency, Hitler is situated next to the Star Wars villain, Darth Vader, and across from Indonesia's current president Joko Widodo.

The museum's marketing officer, Warli, said that the exhibit is one of the "favourites" for visitors wanting to take a selfie. "No visitors complained about it. Most of our visitors are having fun because they know this is just an entertainment museum," he told AP.

Human Rights Watch called the exhibit "sickening". "When Hitler was finished with Europe he was going to come after the folks in Asia," Cooper noted.

Earlier in 2017, a cafe in Indonesia that was adorned Swastikas and portraits of Hitler closed down - not because of the outrage that had greeted its opening but because of a lack of interest in the Nazi-themed fares. The cafe owner's lawyer said that the slow business was due to the cafe's location more than anything else and said that those involved were not necessarily fans of the Nazi dictator: "It's not because we love Hitler, we only love things related to World War II," he told AFP.