KFC’s German branch issued an apology after sending out an app notification on Kristallnacht, urging customers to order KFC chicken as a way to commemorate Kristallnacht — known as “The Night of Broken Glass” — which is widely believed to be the start of the Holocaust.
On the night of Nov. 9, 1938, the Nazi regime coordinated a wave of violent attacks against Jewish people in Germany. Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues were destroyed, and 92 lives were taken. The Nazis took 30,000 Jews to concentration camps, per the Deseret News.
On Wednesday, KFC Germany sent an app alert to customers, urging them to commemorate Kristallnacht with “crispy chicken,” according to NBC News.
The notification was titled, “Anniversary of the Reich’s pogrom night,” according to screenshots of the message on Twitter. The body of the text reportedly said, “It’s memorial day for Kristallnacht! Treat yourself with more tender cheese on your crispy chicken. Now at KFCheese!”
Roughly an hour later, KFC sent out a follow-up message, apologizing for what it called an “error,” stating that it was an “automated push notification” for holidays and anniversaries, reports BBC News.
KFC said the message was an “unplanned, insensitive and unacceptable message and for this we sincerely apologize,” per BBC.
The apology was not enough to cool the frustration and hurt caused by the initial notification. One Twitter user said he was “utterly speechless and repulsed” by the notification.
Another user criticized KFC’s apology which called the message an “error.” The user wrote, “So KFC Germany sends a promotion out through its app to commemorate Kristallnacht? Says it was accidentally issued? Why was it even written??”
According to the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Israel, Yad Vashem, more than 1,400 synagogues were destroyed on Kristallnacht. Jewish homes and businesses were also attacked. The Nazis made Jews pay “compensation” for the damages.
In Germany, Kristallnacht is taken seriously. It is typically recognized with memorial events, lighting candles and laying flowers at synagogues, and taking part in discussions which reflect on the lives lost to Nazi violence, reports BBC.