A short propaganda film produced by Thailand’s undemocratic military junta government was supposed to instill “values” in the nation’s youth.  One of those “values” apparently is a lesson on how to paint the most evil person in history, Adolf Hitler.

The video promoting the “twelve core values” every Thai student must learn was played before the main feature at major cinemas since the weekend, showing two young children learning about life and loyalty. 

At about :50 seconds in, one of the grinning kids is holding a paint brush and standing in front of an easel with a bright red painting of a swastika – no, not the south Asian religious symbol, but the twisted cross of bigotry and stupidity.  The other one applauds him.  In front is the image of nazi leader Adolf Hitler.  Apparently, the kid was comparing his mother to Hitler, as a representation of chafing against house rules.

Social media was not kind, and Israel’s ambassador to Thailand, Simon Roded, issued a statement saying he was “deeply saddened to see this trivialization and misuse of Nazi symbols in an official Thai movie.”

A spokesman for the military junta says it was a “misunderstanding”, and Hitler would be taken out of the video.  Thailand’s schools tend to gloss over world history, and The Holocaust usually isn’t even mentioned.