Social post spurs ire, says guns may have thwarted Holocaust

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – A Facebook page claiming to be the Republican Party of Virginia Beach promoted a debunked theory over the weekend that the Holocaust could have been prevented if Jewish people had guns.

Republican Party of Virginia Beach Chairwoman Tina Mapes says the page is a copycat and not official, denouncing its posts.

The Washington Post reports the Saturday morning post was directed at students who have walked out of school in recent weeks in response to the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, and called for stricter gun laws. It was posted along with a photograph of hundreds of shoes belonging to Holocaust victims and said “These are the shoes of Jews that gave up there firearms to Hitler.”

Page operator James Cohen said it was posted on accident by someone else.

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Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com