“From the Heart to Mars”: Germany Reacts to Elon Musk's Nazi Salute During Inauguration

Germany has so far shown a muted reaction to Elon Musk's apparent Nazi salute during Trump's inauguration, which the tech billionaire himself said was «deliberately misunderstood».

Some called it an unquestionably fascist gesture, while others called for restraint and for Musk to offer his own explanation for the situation.

But Michel Friedmann, a prominent German-French publicist and former deputy chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, unequivocally condemned the greeting, calling it «a disgrace» in an interview with the daily newspaper Tagesspiegel.

He claims that by making this gesture, Musk showed that a «dangerous point for the entire free world» has been reached.

Friedman, who comes from a family of Polish Jews, almost none of whom survived the Holocaust, said he was shocked when he saw the gesture. In his view, it was clearly a Nazi «Heil» – Hitler salute, despite attempts to downplay its meaning.

«I thought the taboo breaking had reached a point that was dangerous for the entire free world. Cruelty, dehumanization, Auschwitz, Hitler and all that. A mass murderer, a warmonger, a person for whom people were just numbers», – he commented.

In his interview, Friedman called on Musk to show political responsibility.

«Was the hand gesture an expression of his political identity? That wouldn't be so strange. Elon Musk massively posts and allows others to post anti-Semitic tweets on X», – the publicist noted.

The gesture was a sign of how «democracy in the United States is under threat», he said.

Almost all of Friedman's family perished in the German Nazi death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Thanks to German businessman Oskar Schindler, only his parents and grandmother were saved.

Musk made the gesture while speaking on stage before Donald Trump's arrival yesterday at the Capital One Arena in Washington. He thanked Trump's supporters profusely, then placed his right hand over his heart and jerked it up sharply and quickly. Then he repeated the gesture in the other direction, saying: «My heart goes out to you».

Later, the billionaire responded to criticism of his behavior on his X platform: «The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired», adding a sleeping emoji to his post.