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.
It's a much different experience here... at least it was for me. I had world history in 7th and 10th grade. The 2nd quarter of world history in 10th grade, which is supposed to cover 1700-present, was spent mostly on WWI and especially WWII. I actually had an excellent teacher for the class... he was a history nut for the 1914-1945 period... so we had vets come to our class and he did all of these incredibly immersive powerpoint presentations (hey.. it was 2001).
And he didn't present it in a black and white "America.. f**k yeah... Germany is EVUL!" kinda way... but more of a factual "the roadwork was in place for WWII as soon as WWI ended" kinda way.
This is why I think Americans come across as so dumb. We spend a lot of time on social studies. Americans don't like to remember facts that are not relevant to them. Language skills, math skills, science skills, and practical skills are easier remembered and are more useful to everyday life... and yet most schools in the U.S. require four years of english and social studies in high school and only 2 or 3 years of math and science.
What does an international survey firm care about Americans knowing their obscure Victorian era facts... they wanna know what Americans know about geometry and calculus and biology and chemistry... subjects that are internationally standardized.
