A children’s Halloween costume depicting Holocaust victim Anne Frank has been removed from fancy dress websites following an angry backlash.
An outfit made up of a blue dress, a beret and a cross-body bag was being sold as an "Anne Frank costume" on the FunCostumes and HalloweenCostumes sites.
The product’s description appeared to sell the costume as educational, saying: “We can always learn from the struggles of history!” and “Now, your child can play the role of a World War II hero”.
Horrified social media users took to Twitter to voice their shock, with one writing: “We should not trivialise her (Anne Frank’s) memory with a costume”.
A picture of the outfit appeared on the “Far Right Watch” Twitter account with the caption “You’ve got to be joking right?”
One user pointed out that this isn't the first "distasteful" Halloween costume to hit the shelves.
The same costume also appears on Escapade and Amazon, but marketed as a "World War Two Child Evacuee" costume.
Ross Walker Smith, PR representative for FunCostumes, responded to criticism, writing: “We sell costumes not only for Halloween, but for many uses outside of the Halloween season, such as school projects and plays.”
Mr Walker Smith then apologised for “any offense [sic] it has caused”.
The costume has been removed from the FunCostumes site.
The Standard has contacted FunCostumes for comment. Amazon declined to comment.
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