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title: Sean Spicer: Hitler 'Didn't Sink to Using Chemical Weapons'
description: Sean Spicer incorrectly claimed that Adolf Hitler did not use chemical weapons during World War II
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og:title: Sean Spicer: Hitler 'Didn't Even Sink to Using Chemical Weapons'
og:description: Hitler used poison gas to kill millions of people
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# Sean Spicer: Hitler 'Didn't Even Sink to Using Chemical Weapons'

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/VrIbxAJ1.m3u8" -->
## Video: Sean Spicer: Hitler 'Didn't Even Sink to Using Chemical Weapons'

[Watch (HLS stream): Sean Spicer: Hitler 'Didn't Even Sink to Using Chemical Weapons'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/VrIbxAJ1.m3u8) (0:51)

![Sean Spicer: Hitler 'Didn't Even Sink to Using Chemical Weapons'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/VrIbxAJ1/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2017-04-11. Sean Spicer incorrectly claimed that Adolf Hitler did not use chemical weapons during World War II while comparing him to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a Tuesday press conference._


by 

[Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/)


## Mahita Gajanan


Gajanan is an editor at TIME.

Updated: Dec 13, 2023 9:35 AM UTCPublished: Apr 11, 2017 6:43 PM UTC

by 

[Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/)


## Mahita Gajanan


Gajanan is an editor at TIME.

Updated: Dec 13, 2023 9:35 AM UTCPublished: Apr 11, 2017 6:43 PM UTC

Sean Spicer incorrectly claimed that Adolf Hitler did not use [chemical weapons](http://time.com/4734440/vladimir-putin-rex-tillerson-russia-us/) during World War II while comparing him to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a Tuesday press conference.

Asked about [Russian support for Assad](http://time.com/4734222/syria-airstrikes-tillerson-syria-assad-g7/), whose regime used chemical weapons against its citizens in an attack last week, Spicer pivoted to talking about Hitler.

“You had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons,” he said.

Hitler’s Nazi regime used the deadly pesticide gas Zyklon B to kill concentration camp prisoners during the Holocaust.

When offered a chance to clarify the comment, Spicer [said](https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/851861066535624706) Hitler “was not using the gas on his own people the same way Assad is doing.”

Hitler did employ chemical weapons against the German people. Prior to Hitler’s rise, Jewish people were assimilated German citizens. Nazi Germany also targeted the handicapped, homosexuals and Catholics — people considered citizens of Germany — during the Holocaust.

In a second clarification, Spicer said he was not “trying to lessen the horrendous nature of the Holocaust.”

“However, I was trying to draw a contrast of the tactic of using airplanes to drop chemical weapons on innocent people,” he said.

A few minutes later, Spicer released yet another clarification, saying he was not trying to “lessen the horrendous nature of the Holocaust.”

> [](https://twitter.com/BraddJaffy/status/851875534493581314)


## Transcript

We didn't use chemical weapons in World War II. You had someone who's despicable as Hitler, who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons. So you have to, if you're Russia, ask yourself, is this a country and a regime that you want to align yourself with? The visit is part of our effort to maintain direct lines of communication. With senior Russian officials. And to ensure that the United States' views on the situation in Syria, counterterrorism efforts, North Korea, and other matters are clearly conveyed. We're open to strategic cooperation with Russia when we can achieved a shared goal, such as defeating ISIS.

But we'll stand up for our interest and values when we do not see eye to eye.

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