Praying Hitler in Warsaw ghetto sparks emotion

The Associated Press, Friday, December 28, 2012, 6:35am (PST)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A statue of Adolf Hitler praying on his knees on display in the former Warsaw Ghetto, the place where so many Jews were killed or sent to their deaths by Hitler's regime, is provoking mixed reactions.

The work, "HIM" by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, has been drawing visitors since it was installed last month, but some are angered by it.

One Jewish group, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, this week condemned the work's placement in the former ghetto as "a senseless provocation which insults the memory of the Nazis' Jewish victims."

However, many others are also praising it, saying it has a strong emotional impact that forces them to face the nature of human evil.

Even Poland's chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, says it could have some educational value.