Halloween is a just a little over two weeks away, causing many trick-or-treaters to scour the internet looking for the perfect costume. In the past few days, an Anne Frank Halloween costume has been discovered and has sparked outrage across the internet. Calls for it to be taken down were shouted across social media, and those calls were answered.
Anne Frank is one of the most well known Jewish victims of the Holocaust, and became a national symbol when her diary was discovered by her father. It was later published in 1947, and has been used in school curriculums across the world. Anne died tragically at age 15.
HalloweenCostumes.com came under fire, and has taken down the WW2 costume which was titled “Anne Frank Costume For Girls.” The kit included a blue button-up dress, brown shoulder bag, and a green beret. If it wasn’t specifically named with the iconic figures name, chances are the costume would have gone unnoticed.
The description of the costume noted “we can always learn something from the struggles of history,” which Twitter users abhorred.
User @carlosgeADL responded by saying, “There r[sic] better ways 2 commemorate Anne Frank. This is not one. We should not trivialize her memory as a costume.”
People of all religions, races, and ages slammed the company for stocking such a costume, calling it “uncool,” “tacky,” and “disgraceful.” After receiving a plethora of complaints, HalloweenCostumes.com decided to remove the costume from its stock. USA Today shared the statement from public relations specialist Ross Walker Smith.
“We sell costumes not only for Halloween, but for many uses outside of the Halloween season, such as school projects and plays. We offer several types of historically accurate costumes, from prominent figures to political figures to television characters… We have passed along the feedback regarding this costume, and it has been removed from the website at this time.”
Although the company stated the outfit was also used for school projects and plays, it appears the words “Anne Frank” and “costume” together were sparking the issue. Not to mention it was sold on a website with “Halloween” in the title.
Despite being removed from HalloweenCostumes.com, anyone can still purchase the outfit on other costume websites for the time being. It’s only a matter of time before those sites are forced to remove it as well. Titles of the costume on sites like walmart.com and candyapplecostumes.com, omit “Anne Franke” and use descriptions like “Child’s World War II Girl Costume,” or “Kids World War II Evacuee Girl Costume.”
The exact costume can be seen here , marketed under a different name, on a different website.
Let us know your thoughts on the Anne Frank costume controversy in the comment section below.
[Featured Image by Andrew Burton/Getty Images]