{"id":917027,"date":"2026-10-05T13:42:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T13:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/917027\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T13:42:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T13:42:16","slug":"samoa-pm-apologises-after-nazi-salute-video-emerges-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/917027\/","title":{"rendered":"Samoa PM apologises after Nazi salute video emerges | News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"article__subhead\">Pacific island nation\u2019s leader says 2007 video showing him saying \u2018Heil Hitler\u2019 does not reflect his beliefs.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"avatar\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/author\/al_jazeera_staff_150119130629458\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791207736_773_2017-06-08T131939Z_1189275883_RC11B0FE7F20_RTRMADP_3_GULF-QATAR-JAZEERA-1714943623.jpg\"   aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Published On 5 Oct 20265 Oct 2026<\/p>\n<p>Samoa\u2019s Prime Minister La\u2019auli Leuatea Schmidt has apologised after previously unseen video showed him leading a Nazi salute and saying \u201cHeil Hitler\u201d at a family gathering.<\/p>\n<p>Schmidt issued the apology on Monday after the Samoa Observer, a local newspaper, published the seven-second clip the previous day.<\/p>\n<p>The footage was recorded at a Schmidt family reunion on the island of Savai\u2018i in July 2007, when he was an MP and deputy speaker of parliament.<\/p>\n<p>In the video, Schmidt is holding a microphone as he leads a \u201chip hip\u201d exchange with the group before telling those present to raise their right hands and say \u201cHeil Hitler\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>About a dozen people visible in the footage appear to follow him.<\/p>\n<p>Radio New Zealand said it had independently verified the footage through its correspondent in Samoa.<\/p>\n<p>Schmidt said on Monday that the words and gesture were inappropriate regardless of what was intended at the gathering and apologised for the offence they could cause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI reject Nazism, antisemitism, racism and all forms of political extremism,\u201d he said, adding that the episode did not represent his beliefs or the values of Samoa\u2019s government and people.<\/p>\n<p>The apology followed criticism from academics contacted by the Samoa Observer.<\/p>\n<p>Richard Evans, a historian of Nazi Germany, told the Samoa Observer by email that the footage was \u201cshocking and disturbing\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The paper also quoted University of Canterbury academic Anne-Marie Brady as saying Schmidt should explain and apologise.<\/p>\n<p>Schmidt, who became prime minister in 2025, has made strong public expressions of support for Israel.<\/p>\n<p>He wore a Jewish prayer shawl at his swearing-in, where a shofar, a horn used in Jewish religious ceremonies, was sounded.<\/p>\n<p>He has also pledged to open a Samoan embassy in Jerusalem before the end of 2026, a step taken by only a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/features\/2017\/12\/10\/why-jerusalem-is-not-the-capital-of-israel\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">handful of countries<\/a> because of the city\u2019s disputed status and Palestinian claims to East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.<\/p>\n<p>In his Monday statement, Schmidt said he considered the controversy addressed and would focus on the country\u2019s economic and social challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pacific island nation\u2019s leader says 2007 video showing him saying \u2018Heil Hitler\u2019 does not reflect his beliefs. 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