I don't condone what the guy was doing... but he has the right to make whatever kind of cake he damn well pleases... and in any shape he wants.
But just like a southern White flying the rebel flag is seen by many as an affront to the black community... he has the right to fly it. And I'd say if any community comes close to what the Jews went through, it was the slaves.
But I think that's the American perspective and Europeans have a tough time understanding it. Freedom of expression is sacrosanct, for better or for worse. (except when it isn't, which is a travesty)
Also: The fact that I can find Mein Kampf at the local bookstore here while owning the book is a crime in Germany and Austria (as far as I remember) says a lot. Those who would just as soon forget history are doomed to repeat it... and I see a lot of attempts to simply forget the Holocaust among Germans. If I were in charge.. I'd make every kid read the book... spend large chunks of the school year learning about Hitler.. how f**ked up he was, how his cult of personality led to genocide... to admit that the whole affair was a defining moment of our history, for better or worse, learn from it, and move forward. Instead you mention Hitler in a room full of Germans and you can cut through the awkwardness with a chainsaw.
Fact is that here in Austria WW2 is often not really discussed in school, at least it was the case when I was in school from 5th to 8th grade.
In our history classes, we started from past to present, as was the case in the books that we had. In 5th grade we learned about evolution, stone age, etc. then 6th grade I think about ancient Greece and Rome and the Middle Ages, 100 years war etc. 7th grade about Columbus who found America, 30 years war, reformation in Europe, Austria-Hungary.
Then in 8th grade I think we started with the developing industry in America and Europe and about the American and French Revolution, but because the year was almost over, the teacher stopped after WW1.
...
The fact that I know a lot about WW2 is because I went to a higher school after middle school, which 50% of Austrian kids are NOT doing. They have 8 years of school with a final labor-oriented year and then start to work as apprentice in some company.
That's also the reason why the FPÖ is so strong among young apprentices. They have almost no clue about modern history (1900-2011). Just recently we got new apprentices in our company incl. a few 15/16 year old girls. When I talked to 1 of them about September 11, she didn't even knew that happened on this date.
