SPRINGFIELD, Mo (KMOX) - The Auschwitz Memorial and museum in Poland is calling a Missouri woman's comparison of a local face mask mandate to Nazis forcing Jews to wear yellow stars during the Holocaust a "disrespectful" statement.
During the July 13 city council meeting in Springfield, Mo. one woman was among 61 residents to speak about a proposed new mask ordinance in the city. She said it would infringe on her freedom.
"In Nazi Germany, the Jews were forced to wear a yellow star. Well this mask is our yellow star," said the woman who didn't identify herself at the meeting. "Citizens of Springfield are being coerced into wearing something as they shop and function in society, and we will be fined if we do not comply, just like the Jews. Now that’s pretty scary, isn’t it."
The woman described herself as someone who works with the public on a daily basis, but admitted she isn’t a medical or legal expert.
She also compared the mask mandate to slavery, after reading the definition of "liberty" and reading a passage from the Bible.
"To force a mask is to force a muzzle," the woman said. "It is a form of enslavement. Well, I’m not a slave, and you’re not my masters."
She also urged the city council to "search your hearts" and vote against the ordinance.
"These are tools of the devil," she continued. "And if you put this on to the people of Springfield you are promoting evil. That's right evil."
Similar comments made in the nearby Missouri town of Branson, where at least three people also compared a face mask mandates to the Holocaust at a board of aldermen meeting.