Scott Jensen Compares Gov. Walz's Mask Mandate To Kristallnacht

MINNESOTA — Republican candidate for Minnesota governor Scott Jensen is drawing criticism from the Jewish community after a video of him comparing anti-Jewish Nazi Germany policies to Gov. Tim Walz's COVID-19 mask mandates.

Jensen's comments were recorded during an April "MaskOffMN" event and were reposted by Heartland Signal on Twitter. In the video, Jensen suggests that the state's lockdown measures are reminiscent of Nazi Germany's tyranny in the 1930s and 40s.

"If you look at the 1930’s. And you look at it carefully. We could see some things happening. Little things that people chose to push aside. ‘It’s going to be okay.’ And then the little things grew into something bigger. Then there was a night called Kristallnacht, 'the night of the breaking glass,'" Jensen told the crowd.

"Then there was the book burning. And it kept growing and growing. And a guy named Hitler kept growing in power, and World War II came about."

On Kristallnacht, or the night of the Broken Glass, Hitler and his Nazi party launched violent attacks against Jewish people and their communities across Germany.

Kristallnacht took place on Nov. 9, 1938, and is viewed by historians as a turning point in Nazi Germany's history, eventually leading to the Holocaust and the death of six million Jews.

According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, on that night alone, Hiter's Nazi Party looted more than 7,000 Jewish-owned businesses and killed nearly 100 Jewish residents across Germany.

New York City-based StopAntisemitism and Minnesota-based Jewish Community Action have condemned Jensen's remarks.