Was Hitler Jewish? Russia rekindles old conspiracy theory amid Ukraine war, sparks massive criticism

In the middle of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made a claim about Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, insinuating that the politician had Jewish roots, a remark which has now sparked a lot of controversies.

Partaking in an old but popular conspiracy theory from the World War 2 era, the Russian Foreign Minister said that Adolf Hitler, who was known to commit war crimes while Germany was under Nazi rule, had “Jewish blood”.

This statement sparked massive outrage and criticism from international world leaders, and also raised a question about the original roots of Hitler, which are not clearly known. Hitler being of Jewish descent has been one of the most popular conspiracy theories, which have raised a lot of eyebrows in the past.

Further, the comments by Lavrov over the weekend have threatened diplomatic ties between Russia and Israel as the Jewish community in the country stands offended by the statement, calling the claim of the Russian minister “unforgivable.”

"Such lies are intended to accuse the Jews themselves of the most horrific crimes in history that were committed against them," Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement, demanding an apology.

"The use of the Holocaust of the Jewish people for political purposes must stop immediately," he added.

Lavrov made the assertion on Italian television on Sunday when he was asked why Russia said it needed to "denazify" Ukraine if the country’s own president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was himself Jewish.

While speaking through an Italian interpreter on the Rete 4 channel, Lavrov made the outrageous claim, “When they say ‘What sort of nazification is this if we are Jews’, well I think that Hitler also had Jewish origins, so it means nothing.”

"For a long time now we’ve been hearing the wise Jewish people say that the biggest anti-Semites are the Jews themselves," he further added. This sparked a lot of criticism from international politicians, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"This means that the Russian leadership has forgotten all the lessons of World War Two," Zelenskyy said. "Or perhaps they have never learned those lessons."

The German government’s anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, said Lavrov’s remarks mocked the victims of Nazism and "shamelessly confront not only Jews but the entire international public with open anti-Semitism."

The conspiracy theory of Hitler being Jewish was a popular one, which had emerged during World War II. Hitler's father, Alois, was an illegitimate child, and his own father was unknown. It was speculated that Hitler’s grandfather was of Jewish descent, making Adolf part-Jewish. 

(With Reuters inputs)

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