New York, NY, September 11, 1998…The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) expressed deep concern over comments made by Jörg Haider, chairman of the far-right Austrian Freedom Party (FPOE), equating the fate of the Jewish people during the Holocaust to the expulsion of the Sudeten-Germans from the Czech Republic after 1945.

"By comparing these two uncomparable historic events, Mr. Haider minimizes the tragedy of the Jewish genocide. We welcome the reactions of the responsible politicians in Austria who harshly criticized Mr. Haider for his outrageous comments," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, and Marta S. Halpert, ADL Central and Eastern European Director, based in Vienna.

In an interview on Austrian national television, Mr. Haider was asked how he could compare the Nazi genocide with the expulsion. Mr. Haider replied, "Well, expatriation, death and any acts directed against human rights should really not depend on one's ethnic affiliation. Each of us knows, what people of Jewish decent had to suffer. But everybody is also aware of what those driven from their homes (Sudeten) had to suffer. I do not want to decide which fate was harder - I only want to say clearly and simply: If we talk about reparation or restitution - and these are unlimited in time - then this has to be valid for all."

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.