KFC Germany Apologizes for Promotion Urging Customers to Commemorate Kristallnacht By Trying Their ‘Tender Cheese’ and ‘Crispy Chicken’

 
KFC

Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images

KFC Germany has apologized for a promotion in remembrance of the 84th anniversary of Kristallnacht.

The promotion urged customers to commemorate the day by trying their “tender cheese and crispy chicken,” according to the BBC.

Kristallnacht, or “Night of the Broken Glass,” was a Nov. 9-10, 1938, pogrom when Jewish-run businesses and institutions, including synagogues, were vandalized and destroyed and Jews were rounded up and deported to concentration camps.

“It’s memorial day for Kristallnacht! Treat yourself with more tender cheese on your crispy chicken. Now at KFCheese!”

In a follow-up notification, KFC Germany apologized.

“Due to an error in our system, we sent an incorrect and inappropriate message through our app,” they said. “We are very sorry, we will check our internal processes immediately so that this does not happen again. Please excuse this error.”

Dalia Grinfeld, the Anti-Defamation League’s associate director of EU affairs, blasted KFC Germany.

“How far can you go on Kristallnacht @KFCDeutschland?! Shame on you!” she tweeted in German.

Daniel Sugarman, public affairs director for Board of Deputies of British Jews – which advocated for U.K. Jews – called the promotion “absolutely hideous.”

“In a successful attempt to outdo Brewdog in the ‘Worst Marketing Blunder of the month’ stakes, KFC Germany reportedly sent out a push notification offering customers special chicken deals for Kristallnacht, before sending out another message apologising. Absolutely hideous,” he tweeted.

“I’m not sure what else I can say about this that doesn’t include expletives,” added Sugarman.

Tags: