Toronto (April 21, 2020)  - Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) notes with disappointment that a Calgary coffee shop owner sent a local doctor a Hitler meme after receiving a complaint about overcrowding on his patio.

According to news reports, a doctor wrote a letter to the owner of the Purple Perk noting the crowding on his patio and urging him to maintain stricter social distancing protocols at his café in compliance with health guidelines. The café owner responded by sending the doctor a Hitler meme.

Today FSWC commemorates Yom HaShoah and remembers the 6 million Jews murdered in Europe by Hitler and his collaborators. FSWC condemns the evocation of Hitler in inappropriate contexts, without recognition, awareness or respect for the scope of his crimes against the Jewish people and all humanity.