Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has sought the assistance of the Jewish rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Center after the organization had alerted the acclaimed celebrity that his name is being displayed on a poster of historical figures and celebrities at a prominent mall in Istanbul, Turkey, that also prominently displays Adolf Hitler.
The poster, titled “Who Would You Like to Meet if You Could?” can be seen at the Sapphire Mall, an upscale mall in Istanbul.
It lists historical figures including Suleiman, Ataturk, and Lenin, as well as celebrities such as Schwarzenegger, the Beatles and Michael Jackson. However, the most prominent name as well as the only figure depicted on the poster is Adolf Hitler.
“Thank you for alerting me about the offensive exhibit at the Sapphire Mall in Istanbul, Turkey,” Governor Schwarzenegger wrote in an e-mail to in an e-mail to Rabbi Marvin Hier, Founder and Dean of the Wiesenthal Center.
“I understand that my name is included with others in an exhibit called ‘Who would you like to meet?’ that features a large photograph of Adolf Hitler. As someone who has had a long relationship with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and despises everything that Hitler stood for, it is repugnant to me to have my name in any way associated with history's greatest criminal, responsible for the murder of more than six million Jews, along with millions of other victims,” he wrote.
“I authorize you to contact whomever is responsible for this exhibit and to take whatever steps necessary to immediately remove my name from this display,” he added in the e-mail to the Wiesenthal Center.
Earlier this week, Wiesenthal Center officials protested the Hitler display to the Turkish ambassador in Washington, D.C. as well as Turkish officials in Ankara, urging that this offensive poster be immediately removed.