A short propaganda film commissioned and released by Thailand's military rulers used Adolf Hitler to promote the "12 core values" every student in the country must now learn, according to Vice News.
In the video, a Thai student is seen painting Hitler's face while other students appear to be applauding. The video has been screened in many major theaters across the Southeast Asian nation since Saturday.
The Israeli Embassy in Bangkok condemned the video, among many other critics, including Western countries, Vice reported.
Simon Roded, Israel's ambassador to Thailand, said in a statement he was "deeply saddened to see this trivialization and misuse of Nazi symbols in an official Thai movie."
"I was surprised that throughout the screening process this movie must have gone through to be approved for public broadcast, none of the smart, well educated people checking it had identified it as being problematic and offensive," Roded said. "If we learn anything from this incident it is that Holocaust education, especially its global messages of tolerance, should be introduced into the Thai curriculum."
Panadda Diskul, a senior official in Thailand's prime minister's office, said the bad response to the propaganda video is a "misunderstanding," and said the Nazi imagery in the cartoon scene would soon be replaced, according to Vice.
The propaganda film shows two students who are supposed to be learning about life and loyalty. The Hitler image next to a swastika was placed there to depict the child's mother as a dictator, Diskul revealed.
The video alone doesn't give the message that the mother is supposed to be a dictator. The part of the film that depicts Hitler is just one scene that occurs during a normal school day.
"The film is good, but it has caused a slight misunderstanding in our society. We won't stop the project, but we will replace that problematic picture with another, more proper one," Diskul said.
The coup leader-turned-Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said the 12 values reflect traditional concepts in Thai culture, which the military felt needed reinforcing. Some of the values are upholding the monarchy, respecting parents and understanding "true democratic ideals."
