UN Leader Compares Modern Extremism to the Holocaust

The UN Secretary-General has spoken out on International Holocaust Remembrance Day to compare modern extremism to the Nazi regime.

In a warning against the rise of extremist ideology Antonio Guterres said that in the modern world “tragically, and contrary to our resolve, anti-semitism continues to thrive”.

He then continued by explaining that today’s deeply troubling rise in extremism includes “xenophobia, racism and anti-Muslim hatred”.

Mr Guterres then concluded that “irrationality and intolerance are back” and vowed to “be in the front line of the battle against anti-semitism and all other forms of hatred”.

A similar sentiment was voiced in Croatia, as much of the Jewish community there boycotted official commemorations, saying the country’s conservative government needs to do more to put an end to pro-Nazi views there.

Hostility on the subject reached boiling point over a plaque in the town of Jasenovac - the site of a wartime death camp where tens of thousands of Jews, Serbs and Roma perished.

Community leader Ognjen Kraus, the coordinator of the Jewish communities in Croatia, said people decided to boycott the events once they knew that the plaque bearing a Second World War Croatian pro-Nazi salute will not be removed.