Wisconsin school investigating apparent mass Nazi salute

Associated Press

BARABOO, Wis. – A Wisconsin school district is investigating a photo of a group of high school boys giving what appears to be a Nazi salute, drawing a strong rebuke on social media.

Baraboo Superintendent Lori Mueller said she became aware of the photo Monday after it was posted on social media. The photo of more than 60 male students dressed in suits with their right arm extended upward while posed on the steps of the Sauk County Courthouse.

Mueller did not say this opportunity may have brought the students together, but said the picture appears to have been taken last spring; some of the boys are wearing boutonnieres. Mueller said it was not taken on school grounds or at a school-sponsored event.

"The school district is investigating this situation and is working with parents, staff and local authorities. If the gesture is what it appears to be, the district,

The photo spread quickly on Twitter Sunday night and Monday morning with the hashtag #barabooproud, which is often used by the district to promote its activities and athletic programs.
The Baraboo Police Department said it was assisting with the district's investigation.

A photo showing a group of male, mostly white Wisconsin high school students with their arms raised in the face of a Nazi salutes has sparked a district investigation and criticism from a Holocaust memorial group, and police are looking into it https: // t. co / fMSRc1DCWe pic.twitter.com/3A1XRLZUdK

– CNN (@CNN) November 12, 2018

The picture is from a representative of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Baraboo, a town of about 12,000 residents that is about 115 miles northwest of Milwaukee.

"This is why every day we work hard to educate. We need to explain what is the danger of hateful ideology rising. Auschwitz with its gas chambers was at the end of the long process of normalizing and accommodating hatred, "the Auschwitz Memorial tweeted.

Democratic Sen. Jon Erpenbach, whose district includes Baraboo, suggests teenagers are taking their cues from President Donald Trump.

"There's no room in the world for anything like that at all. From what they're seeing out of the White House, it's OK to be intolerant and racist. Never is. Never was. Never will be, "Erpenbach said.

The White House did not immediately respond to an email for a response to Erpenbach.

Democratic Gov.-elect Tony Evers said the actions in the photo "have no place in Wisconsin" and added: "Intolerance and bigotry must never be tolerated, in our schools or anywhere else."

GOP Gov. Scott Walker did not immediately issue a statement, and a spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A group called Baraboo Young Professionals organized at the Courthouse for Monday afternoon. In a Facebook post, Sherri Schaaf invited people to "bring our best symbols of love … and let's #SpreadMoreLoveThanHate!"

It's not the first time Baraboo High School students have been accused of racially controversial symbols. In 2012, a group of students drove trucks around displaying a crash in the battlefield. The students removed the flags at the request of school officials. Many associate the flag with slavery, segregation and white supremacy.