Warwick pulls event with 'Holocaust just another f***ery in human history' activist

University apologises for inviting XR co-founder Roger Hallam, saying it did not 'recognise the concerns' raised by Warwick Jewish Society ahead of the event

Warwick University has cancelled an event with a co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, who dismissed the Holocaust as “just another f***ery in human history”.

The event titled “Our Responsibilities at This Time” was scheduled to take place tomorrow at 7pm but has been cancelled following an outcry from the Warwick Jewish Society.

In a statement posted to their Facebook page Warwick Jewish society criticised the event and slammed the university for failing to “… recognise the concerns with inviting Roger Hallam, founder of XR, whom has a history of Holocaust minimisation and trivialisation.”

In 2019, the controversial climate activist told German newspaper Die Zeit that the Holocaust was “just another f*ckery in human history”. In the interview Hallam elaborated that “…the fact of the matter is, millions of people have been killed in vicious circumstances on a regular basis throughout history”. In the interview Hallam added that the memory of the Holocaust was holding Germany back,

Following a huge backlash Hallam was forced to apologise for his remarks and“crass” language but he refused to apologise for drawing attention to the“genocide that is happening now” – a reference to the climate crisis.

Climate Reality Warwick confirmed the event’s cancellation in a post shared to their Instagram story earlier today. They stated:

“We have made the decision as a society to cancel the talk tomorrow. When we were approached about the guest speaker, we were not aware who he was until after confirming the event, and of course this is a mistake on our part for not checking.

As a society we strongly condemn some of Roger’s statements in the past, especially regarding the Holocaust, and we don’t feel that he represents us as a society.

We apologise for any potential harm caused.”