Roger Waters receives backlash for Anne Frank mention during Germany concert

nme.com:

Roger Waters has provoked backlash after making a reference to Anne Frank at one of his concerts in Germany.Taking place in Berlin last week (May 17), the former Pink Floyd member also pretended to fire a rifle during part of his set, and wore an outfit that some deemed as having connotations to the Second World War.The show was part of the ongoing leg of his ‘This Is Not A Drill’ farewell tour, and was one of the two shows that were originally cancelled in the country following controversy regarding comments which many viewed as anti-semitic.Both shows — set for Berlin and Frankfurt — were initially cancelled by the municipal government due to the musician’s views on Israel.

Eventually, the decision was overturned, and the former show took place as scheduled — kicking off with Pink Floyd classics ‘Comfortably Numb’ and ‘The Happiest Days Of Our Lives’.Later in the show, however, the musician provoked controversy by pretending to fire a dummy rifle and showing both Anne Frank and Shireen Abu Akleh’s names on a screen above him.The former is referencing the German-born Jewish girl who historically documented her time in Nazi Germany, and the latter is a Palestinian journalist who was tragically killed by accident while covering Israel’s operation in the West Bank last year.Following the controversial set-up, the moment has led to backlash online, with many condemning the display as “disgraceful” and “desecrating the memory of Anne Frank”.The Foreign Ministers for Israel also took to Twitter to condemn the display as being offensive, writing: “Good morning to every one but Roger Waters who spent the evening in Berlin (Yes Berlin) desecrating the memory of Anne Frank and the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust.”Good.