Story By: Jana Tomovska, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
An Italian university professor has sparked outrage after posting several pro-Nazi tweets that claimed Hitler was “defending Europe’s entire civilisation”.
According to local media, the incident started when university professor Emanuele Castrucci from the city of Siena in the north-western Italian region of Tuscany posted a photo of Adolf Hitler with his German Shepherd dog Blondi.
He wrote alongside: “They told you I was a monster to not let you know that I was fighting against the real monsters who govern you today, ruling the world.”
When his Tweet sparked an online backlash, the professor replied: “The gentle protestors of my Tweet do not understand one fundamental thing, that Hitler, even though he was certainly not a saint, was defending Europe’s entire civilisation at the time.”
According to local media, the professor later apologised for appearing supportive of Nazism and the university rector is not planning on taking any further action.
University of Siena rector Francesco Frati said that Professor Castrucci was “writing in a personal capacity and has taken responsibility [for his actions]”.
“The University of Siena, as demonstrated on multiple occasions, is openly anti-fascist and shuns any form of historical revisionism towards Nazism.”
However, reports said that it is not the first time that Castrucci has posted far-right and anti-Semitic rhetoric.
On 20th November, he reportedly posted a sentence by the Romanian fascist founder of the Iron Guard Corneliu Zelea Codreanu which read: “There is nothing the Jews fear more than unity in a people.”
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