Conservative commentator Candace Owens found herself at the center of a controversy following comments she made about Josef Mengele’s experiments at Auschwitz. Owens reportedly referred to some accounts of these experiments as “bizarre propaganda” and questioned their plausibility, sparking widespread criticism and accusations of Holocaust denial.
The Anti-Defamation League, an organization dedicated to combating antisemitism, strongly condemned Owens’ remarks. It characterized her statements as “Holocaust denial” and warned that such commentary is not only historically inaccurate but also dangerous. The organization emphasized that Mengele’s experiments were extensively documented, including by Mengele himself, and that survivors have testified about these atrocities.
Irina Tsukerman, a human rights and national security lawyer, echoed these concerns. She warned that Owens’ comments could contribute to normalizing antisemitism and pro-Nazi ideology. Tsukerman suggested that such rhetoric might feed into Holocaust denial, minimize Nazi crimes against humanity, and support the spread of hateful conspiracy theories.
Historians contend that from 1943 to 1944, Josef Mengele, known as the “Angel of Death,” conducted cruel and often deadly experiments on twins at Auschwitz. These included amputations, deliberate infection with diseases, and attempts to create conjoined twins. Out of approximately 1,500 twins subjected to these experiments, only about 200 survived.
Owens’ remarks have prompted significant backlash on social media, with some calling it her “lowest performance ever.” Others have expressed concern about her mental state.
This incident follows Owens’ recent departure from The Daily Wire, a conservative media outlet. Her exit came after weeks of tension with co-founder Ben Shapiro over the Israel-Hamas war and her promotion of various contentious theories. Owens has also been engaged in heated online debates with several members of the Jewish community.
Ms. Owens insisted that her Mengele comments were taken out of context. She posted a longer clip of her podcast and criticized those she referred to as “Zionists” for attempting to censor her. Her defense appears to have done little to quell the storm surrounding her statements.
