Outrage over ‘sickening and ugly’ video of schoolgirl performing Nazi salute

Mentone Girls’ Secondary College is under fire after a student was filmed at school impersonating Adolf Hitler, complete with a drawn-on moustache.

Shocking footage of a female student impersonating Adolf Hitler at an all-girls high school in Melbourne’s Bayside suburbs has sparked outrage over the public classroom display.

A senior student at Mentone Girls’ Secondary College was this week filmed performing a Nazi salute while donning a drawn-on moustache that resembled the dictator’s distinctive facial hair.

A German song is played from a laptop as the student stands with her arm extended while the student filming the video, in what is believed to be a birthday tribute for another student, can be heard laughing in the background.

Footage shows a Mentone Girls’ Secondary College student performing a Nazi salute on school grounds.

Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dr Dvir Abramovich called for the school to take action over the “sickening and ugly” video.

“This is the modern face of Holocaust abuse in Victorian public schools, and this growing climate of antisemitic hostility has made many Jewish parents wonder whether sending their kids to class every morning is safe,” he said.

“This young person, who deliberately and proudly desecrated Holocaust memory and tore up the values of respect and inclusivity, must be disciplined since it is hard to believe that they did not know about Hitler’s extermination of six million Jews and millions of others.

“This is a timely reminder that we should not sweep such incidents under the carpet but work even harder to ensure that all young people understand the evils of the Holocaust and that schools will not ignore or minimise such abhorrent acts.”

It comes as a damning new report into antisemitism at Australian universities revealed 56 per cent of Jewish students hid their identity to evade antisemitism.

In January, a swastika was drawn onto a basketball court at Toorak Primary School.

Leaked documents detailing interviews with staff revealed that students at St Bernard’s College in Essendon had saluted Hitler amid claims of simulating sex acts and threatening teachers in October last year.

A Department of Education spokesman said any antisemitic behaviour in schools was distressing and taken extremely seriously.

“We work closely with the Victorian Jewish community to strengthen our zero-tolerance approach to anti-semitism,” he said.

“Victorian schools have access to a range of programs that have been co-designed with the Jewish community to address antisemitism – including the Courage to Care initiative, learning programs delivered in partnership with the Melbourne Holocaust Museum, and a dedicated hotline for schools, students and parents to report racism.”

Mentone Girls’ Secondary College has been contacted for comment.