- An Iowa school district sent a “quote of the day” to parents that was actually a Nazi slogan.
- “My honor is my loyalty,” read the quote, a Waffen SS motto attributed to Heinrich Himmler.
- The local superintendent apologized for the gaffe and said staff hadn’t realized the quote’s origin.
An Iowa school district has apologized to parents after emailing an announcement with a “quote of the day” that was actually attributed to Heinrich Himmler.
Parents of middle schoolers in the city of Indianola said they were sent a morning announcement on Monday with the quote, reported CBS-affiliate KCCI.
“Here’s today’s Respect Quote of the day: ‘My honor is my loyalty,'” a line at the bottom of the email read, per KCCI.
The quote was a common slogan used in Nazi Germany, particularly in the Waffen SS, as a motto to express loyalty to Adolf Hitler, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
It has been typically attributed to Himmler, the architect of the Holocaust and one of Hitler’s right-hand men.
Several neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups continue to use the quote as their mottos, per the ADL.
Indianola Superintendent Ted Ihns later emailed an apology to families, per the Indianola Independent Advocate, a local newspaper.
“The staff member didn’t realize that the quote was from a highly inappropriate source,” Ihns wrote, per the newspaper. “I first want to apologize for the oversight.”
Ihns said quoting Himmler was “completely unintentional,” and that school officials would make sure to double-check sources and quotes, per the local paper.
The Indianola School District did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.
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