Wisconsin Baraboo School Investigates Photo of Students Giving Nazi Salute for Junior Prom Photo

A group of male students from Wisconsin’s Baraboo High School appear to be giving the Nazi one-arm salute in a pre-prom photograph that’s gone viral on Twitter.

The image shows a large gathering of more than 50 boys in suits with boutonnieres on the steps of a building. Many of them are smiling as they throw their right arm extended upward in the air in what appears to mimic the ‘Sieg Heil’ greeting.

Journalist Jules Suzdaltsev first tweeted the photo, with the caption, “If anybody from Baraboo High School in Wisconsin can clue me in on why it appears the entire male class of 2018 is throwing up a Sig Heil during their prom photos – that would be great.”

The image has been shared more than 9,ooo times and even prompted a response from the official Auschwitz Memorial Twitter account.

“It is so hard to find words,” Auschwitz Memorial tweeted. “This is why every single day we work hard to educate. We need to explain what is the danger of hateful ideology rising. Auschwitz with its gas chambers was at the very end of the long process of normalizing and accommodating hatred.”

In a second tweet, the account quoted Auschwitz survivor Roman Kent, who said, “We must all teach our children #tolerance and #understanding, both – at home and in school. For tolerance cannot be assumed… it must be taught. We all must make it clear that hate is never right and love is never wrong!”

Suzdaltsev says he spoke to Jordan Blue, the “only student who is visibly not comfortable with the salute.” In a statement, Blue confirms the group is Class of 2019 and that he was “clearly uncomfortable, with what was happening.”

“I couldn’t leave the photo as it was taken within 5 seconds,” he says in the statement. “The photographer took the photos telling us to make the sign, I knew what my morals were and it was not to salute something I firmly didn’t believe in. I attend BHS, these classmates have bullied me since entering middle school, I have struggled with it my entire life and nothing has changed. These are the boy of Class of 2019, nothing has been done and my question is.. With anything ever be done. I truly & firmly believe we need to make a change to this horrible act, it needs to stop. Bullying. Immaturity. and just taking things as a ‘joke’…”

Baraboo school district released a statement via Twitter claiming they are “investigating this situation.” The district confirms the photo was taken “last spring” and it was not taken on “school property or at a school-sponsored event.”

“If the gesture is what it appears to be, the district will pursue any and all available and appropriate actions, including legal, to address the issue.” The school reiterates that it is, “a hate-free environment where all people, regardless of race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin or ancestry, are respected and celebrated.”