Chulalongkorn Fine and Applied Arts Faculty dean apologizes for Hitler graduation mural

[Johnnie99]

Resignations should follow.

[GuestHouse]

What a great advert for "Thailand's most prestigious university".

The Dean and staff no doubt now in full face saving mode but missing the point that this display tells the world the depths of ignorance to found amongst its graduates.

[GuestHouse]

Resignations should follow.

Well why not, there's a first time for everything.

[hellodolly]

What's the point of apologising to presumably the Thai public as they have no idea who or what he was and even if they did they wouldn't give a monkey's ?

The best apology they could do would be to explain how Hitler tried to wipe out the Jewish population and the Romney population and in the process of killing 11,000,000 of them killed around 60,000.000 more including there own losses.

I doubt that will happen. After all they were an ally of Japan.

[hellodolly]

What a great advert for "Thailand's most prestigious university".

The Dean and staff no doubt now in full face saving mode but missing the point that this display tells the world the depths of ignorance to found amongst its graduates.

Even worse among it's own academics.

[Loaded]

John Lennon wanted to include an image of Hitler on their Sergent Peppers LP. All of the Beatles goosestepped on stage during their time in Hamburg. I think people got it. They knew it wasn't racist. I think many posters here are being angry-of-Tunbridge-Wells and really don't get it either.

[DocN]

Too little, too late!

And may I ask: good super-heroes and bad super- heroes??

Seriously?

So...the incredible Hulk is basically the same thing as Hitler?

The mind boggles!

And: where are the other "bad super- heroes"?

No sorry, I am not buying it!

[rafish]

The ongoing racism and xeznophobia that lives and breaths Thailand. Nothing new here. Complete ignorance starts at the top.

[Tatsujin]

They should be apologizing not just for this, but for the crap education they are giving to their students.

I'm mightily sick of the "respect" and "understanding" we as foreigners are obliged to give Thai's, be nice if it was reciprocated sometimes. Be even nicer if they realized there is more to the world than just their tiny little corner of it.

[gerrythepoet]

For the very high standard that is continually exhibited by high school students with regards to their drawing ability this particuar backdrop is pretty pathetic-especially since it has presumably been done by the Applied Arts Dept of Chula.

[Thaddeus]

I suggest that this Uni should organise some field trips to a museum in Kanchanaburi.

That was the Japanese. Did you not know that?

Of course I knew that.

My Father was stationed in Burma during that war and very nearly ended up working on that bridge, so I am unlikely not to know it.

The whole point of taking the students (and probably most of the staff) to the Dearth Museum would be it illustrates the conditions of life that some had to endure, and how many didn't live through it.

Once they have witnessed that, it can then be explained that without the bloke with the raised arm and moustache, it would probably have never happened.

[sonsoftherock]

It is sad, ignorance is sad and college is spelt this way.But it is Thailand and they have their own guilty secrets!

Was collage not a play on words mural/collage fairly similar or was that the Dean of the fine arts posting judging by the level of ignorance?

[unanimosity]

So a hollow apology was issued. Has the mural been removed?

[salapau]

So an apology - did he get it taken down and destroyed ?

[Jingthing]

Next time this sort of thing happens in Thailand, and of course IT WILL, I suggest the Weisenthal Center contact the German ambassador to Thailand and propose that they send a message of complaint JOINTLY. I would be surprised if the German ambassador would object to that. I think that would be a stronger message. That the modern country of Germany has NO TOLERANCE for heroic depictions of Hitler and Nazism. This is of course COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than anything to do with Mao, as Mao is REVERED by the current Chinese government and the majority of people in today's China, right or wrong, I would say wrong. I reckon that the vast majority of Thai people including the "cultural elite" don't fully appreciate that modern German people for the most part of course are NOT proud of Hitler.

Edited July 15, 2013 by Jingthing

[culicine]

Try and tell a Thai why it is inappropriate and wrong... and they will just tell you that foreigners have no right to tell them what to do because they were never colonised... their general benightedness knows no bounds...

If they are that enlightened how come they don't know the Chinese have been colonising Thailand for a couple of hundred years or more. Or asian colonisation is ok?

[KhunVee]

I would prefer her to rip open her shirt like Superman.

That's not going to happen, as such thing would be bad for the University's reputation and the girl would be reprimanded, if not severely punished.

Edited July 15, 2013 by Scott

[unanimosity]

Now look here! - What sort of apology is this? _ I think we can learn a lot from this pronouncement...and none of it positive.

I'd like to know if it was originally made in English or Thai language?

Anyhow, somewhere along the line it picks up the word benighted - what kind of vocabulary is that????

" in a state of pitiful or contemptible intellectual or moral ignorance, typically owing to a lack of opportunity:"

It is a word I don't often use but intend to make a lot more use of, especially when referring to high-ranking officials and institutions in Thailand - so thanks for that.

There are 2 possibilities...

1 - He'd been trying with his colleagues to dream up a statement to save face - i.e. blame it on the students

OR

2 - It is TRUE!

So - are we now to accept that the students were in in a state of pitiful or contemptible intellectual or moral ignorance, typically owing to a lack of opportunity: and this is from - THE VERY PERSON WHOSE JOB IT IS TO OVERSEE THEIR EDUCATION!!!!!!

Either way I would say that if this is the best the dean can do he should resign!

It is the shallow attempt of a Thai academic (remember how many have bought their credendtials) actually believing in his benighted bliss [ignorance] that he or she can talk down to educated adults like they believe the are doing to Thai students that cannot question them.

[gerrythepoet]

There are comics and movies about the Superhero's some by Marvel but what I cannot understand is where do the students in Thailand get the idea that Hitler was a hero. Has there ever been any books, magazines or movies about him that made him out as a hero. Is this something to do with the Groucho Marx black comedy. Anybody got any ideas it's way beyond me.

[smileydude]

I would prefer her to rip open her shirt like Superman.

What a truly ignorant and horrendous picture.

Had no idea the students were doing heil hitler poses too. Jesus, these kids need to get their noses out of their textbooks and learn more about the outside world. Fads and copycats can become quite annoying and thai's seem to be very susceptible to adopting them brainlessly.

What a national embarassment.

Edited July 15, 2013 by Scott

[Salapoo]

I fully suspect it will be done again in a few years time, just after another school does another Nazi themed sport's day parade, after another kick-up about it they will all apologize, without really understanding why, then it will all be happily done again a few years later.

[culicine]

Next time this sort of thing happens in Thailand, and of course IT WILL, I suggest the Weisenthal Center contact the German ambassador to Thailand and propose that they send a message of complaint JOINTLY. I would be surprised if the German ambassador would object to that. I think that would be a stronger message. That the modern country of Germany has NO TOLERANCE for heroic depictions of Hitler and Nazism. This is of course COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than anything to do with Mao, as Mao is REVERED by the current government and the majority of people in today's China, right or wrong, I would say wrong. I reckon that the vast majority of Thai people including the "cultural elite" don't fully appreciate that modern German people for the most part of course are NOT proud of Hitler.

Hopefully a story like that would hit the German and other European newspapers. I'm sure they would like to know how they are treated with contempt by their hosts on their next holiday to Thailand.

[unanimosity]

Too little, too late!

And may I ask: good super-heroes and bad super- heroes??

Seriously?

So...the incredible Hulk is basically the same thing as Hitler?

The mind boggles!

And: where are the other "bad super- heroes"?

No sorry, I am not buying it!

Sounds like weak rationalization right out of the 2012-2013 White House and DOJ playbook.

[Jingthing]

I fully suspect it will be done again in a few years time, just after another school does another Nazi themed sport's day parade, after another kick-up about it they will all apologize, without really understanding why, then it will all be happily done again a few years later.

Of course it will.

It seems to me the trend is growing.

[sonsoftherock]

They made a stupid mistake its not caused any death or destruction only a few outraged individuals , don't forget Thailand is so insular, I remember when the Tsunami happended nobody in Bangkok seemed overly concerned unless they had relatives in the vicinity where it happened, if they don't give a stuff about their own people that kind of sums things up.

[Wavefloater]

Next time this sort of thing happens in Thailand, and of course IT WILL, I suggest the Weisenthal Center contact the German ambassador to Thailand and propose that they send a message of complaint JOINTLY. I would be surprised if the German ambassador would object to that. I think that would be a stronger message. That the modern country of Germany has NO TOLERANCE for heroic depictions of Hitler and Nazism. This is of course COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than anything to do with Mao, as Mao is REVERED by the current government and the majority of people in today's China, right or wrong, I would say wrong.

That sounds like a sensible enough approach. I wish I had even a smidgen of hope that something positive would come of it. I'm truly convinced that Thais virtually shut their ears when farang speak. Don't forget they've been taught all their lives that nobody and nothing else matters in the world besides Thais and Thainess.

Edited July 15, 2013 by Wavefloater

[FiestyFarang]

As a Jew it is highly offensive to me and I would also think to many Russians who lost 20m people in WWII The really sad thing here is just how isolated and ignorant this facility must be to let it get to this stage. Ignorance comes to mind......the joke is on Thailand.

[kruangfaifar]

I suggest that this Uni should organise some field trips to a museum in Kanchanaburi.

Perhaps you should go. Then you can see that what happened there was not related to Hitler. Doh!

[Jingthing]

As a Jew it is highly offensive to me and I would also think to many Russians who lost 20m people in WWII The really sad thing here is just how isolated and ignorant this facility must be to let it get to this stage. Ignorance comes to mind......the joke is on Thailand.

Yes it's basically ignorance but I think a new trend is growing of immature Thais KNOWING it ticks off foreigners so using Nazi images to have fun with that. But the bright side is that there really isn't an actual politically oriented Neo-Nazi movement in Thailand.

[scotbeve]

I suggest that this Uni should organise some field trips to a museum in Kanchanaburi.

A field trip would entail 1,000's pics of students taking pictures of themselves and disregarding the guide or teacher TRYING to explain to the class who Hitler was.... Was it just last week that someone actually ADMITTED (fell off my seat at this one) that the Thai education is in tatters? I think that most of us knew this for some time now....... A revamp was proposed but, sadly, without a plan (as usual). And for those of you (younger) folks who rely on auto spell crap, please look up in your dictionary how to spell college (NOT collage!!!).