Legendary Liverpool midfielder John Barnes again found himself caught up in controversy after his comments on Adolf Hitler and black Jews. Barnes is known for sparking controversies, as he was among the very few who defended the Qatar World Cup and rather called out the British media for tarnishing the middle-east nation’s efforts. However, this time, it was something very sensitive and Barnes apparently couldn’t calculate the depth of the matter.
Barnes represented Liverpool for a decade between 1987 to 1997 and earned his legendary status by making a over 450 appearances for the club, scoring 107 goals and providing 93 assists while lifting five trophies with the club including two league titles. However, in recent years, the former midfielder has had unsettling opinions on various matters while featuring on TV after his short hiatus which was apparently caused due to ‘bankruptcy’.
Ex-Liverpool midfielders claims World War II wouldn’t have happened if Hitler had invaded Africa
The World War II was fought between 1939 and 1945 causing an estimate killings of 35 million to 50 million people. All of the major nations of the world, including all of the superpowers, participated in the war as members of either the Allies [led by the Soviet Union, UK, USA and China] or the Axis [led by Germany, Japan, and Italy]. The line between civilian and military resources was blurred as many parties pushed their economic, industrial, and scientific powers behind this all-out conflict.
In a bizarre opinion, Barnes claimed that the World War II, waged by the atrocities and unethical lust for power of Nazi Germany dictator Adolf Hitler, wouldn’t have happed if the fascist leader had rather invaded Africa than Europe. Hitler wanted a full control of Europe, and the wiping out of Jews having murdered thousands of those in cold blood in holocaust killings. The former Liverpool midfielder wrote on Twitter:
“If he took over black countries in Africa, the other non-white countries in Asia or South America, where the Allies didn’t have a vested interest, would WW2 have occurred?
“WW2 started because the Allies wanted to stop Germany becoming too powerful, nothing to do with right or wrong. Had Hitler left the European Jews alone and went to Ethiopia and committed the same atrocities to the black Falasha Jews, I doubt WW2 would have started.
“The genocide, destruction, exploitation. The Nazi ideology was based on that. If Adolf Hitler did what he did in Africa or anywhere else, the rest of Europe would’ve accepted that. But you can’t do it to white Europeans.”
Barnes’ comments drew the ire of many as it caused an uproar on the social media platform. Even former British advisor on Terrorism Law, Lord Carlile too had to intervene in order to explain the Liverpool and England legend’s controversial take on the World War II, Hitler, Jews and the idea of ‘Africa invasion’. Lord Carlile told the Jewish Chronicle:
“Comparing the Holocaust with the undoubted systemic persecution of black people [in multiple settings] runs the risk of diluting the importance and impact of both. The Holocaust was a planned trauma of extermination of fellow Europeans under the guise of racial purification. Jews support strongly the exposure of the wickedness of slavery and discrimination.”