KFC apologises after asking Germans to 'commemorate' Nazi atrocity

Fast food giant KFC has apologised after it asked its customers in Germany to 'commemorate Kristallnacht,' a Nazi atrocity that is seen as the beginning of systematic Nazi attempts to annihilate Jewish population. KFC on Wednesday (October 9) asked customers to commemorate the atrocity by ordering Chicken and Cheese from the fast food chain. It was a push notification sent by KFC on customers' mobile phones.

“Commemorate Kristallnacht – treat yourself to more soft cheese and crispy chicken. Now at KFCheese!” said the notification.

KFC appeared to be in damage control mode as it sent another notification just an hour later and apologised for the previous one. KFC said that the previous notification was sent due to “a fault in our system”

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84 years ago, 'Kristallnacht' or 'night of the broken glass' saw Nazi-led gangs vandalising and even setting on fire, shops and businesses owned by Jews in Germany. Even Synagogues were not spared.

It is being believed that the KFC push notification was auto-generated, with automated systems linking any anniversaryto notifications to boost sales. But a blunder such as an appeal to commemorate an anti-Jew pogrom in Germany has drawn sharp reactions.

German news outlet Bild termed the blunder "tasteless". It said it was “fast-food advertising at the cost of the remembrance of the victims of the Nazi regime”.

On Kristallnacht, the night between November 9 and 10, 1938. Nazi-led mobs went on rampage to intimidate the Jewish population.

According to the official reports at the time, 91 people were killed, 7500 businesses were destroyed along with 267 synagogues. However, it is believed that the real figure was much higher. It is said that at least 1300 people lost their lives and at least 1400 synagogues were destroyed in Germany and Austria.

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