A Canadian Army sergeant of German descent received a “severe reprimand” and a fine of nearly $2,200 for making a Holocaust joke during an infantry training school.
The 38-year-old officer was not, however, demoted, despite the fact that a military tribunal thought about doing so. K.E., Bluemke the sergeant, was present.
Bluemke was prosecuted after 12 trainees said he made several antisemitic jokes and remarks against Jews and the Holocaust.
He pleaded guilty last October in an Ontario court martial to one count of “conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline.”
Bluemke opened the training session by requesting, “Is anyone here Jewish? “, according to court records, which were originally published on Friday by CTV News Vancouver Island.
He continued to say things such as, “Move with the same sense of urgency as a certain group did leaving Germany in 1939,” and “Why do Jews have big noses?” throughout the course.
The military judge who handed out the punishment expressed his sadness at the jokes about the Holocaust.
“I am having difficulties finding the right word to qualify the use of stereotypes and the reference to the unspeakable horrors suffered by the Jewish community before and during the Second World War to make adverse comments intended as jokes,” Cmdr. Martin Pelletier, the judge, wrote in his decision.
“The word ‘distasteful’ does not suffice. It is, in my opinion, utterly disgusting.
Regardless of who in the [Canadian Armed Forces] engages in such conduct, it should make a reasonable member cringe and worry about belonging to the same organization as the perpetrator.”
The hearings provide a glimpse into how the Canadian military manages the presence of individuals thought to have neo-Nazi sympathies, which is viewed as a rising issue in the armed forces of many nations.
Germany has been struggling with the rise of far-right extremists in its military, and according to the publication Roll Call, a 2020 Pentagon report stated that “despite a low number of cases in absolute terms, individuals with extremist affiliations and military experience are a concern to U.S. national security because of their proven ability to execute high-impact events.”
The National Guard airman who was recently detained for leaking intelligence documents also had extremist affiliations.
Bluemke was born in Potsdam, Germany, and moved to Canada in 1995 when she was a little child.
After finishing high school, he enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces in 2002.
According to court records, soldiers in the training program called Bluemke’s behavior “offensive, demeaning, and unprofessional.”
A victim impact statement from a Jewish soldier was expressly mentioned by Pelletier as an “aggravating factor” in Bluemke’s sentence.
The impact statement stated that Bluemke’s remarks were “extremely disturbing,” regardless of whether he was joking when he uttered them.
It was submitted on behalf of a soldier named Master Corporal Mahar.
Mahar said in the statement that he had lost all trust in himself and was so furious that he was unable to remember what he was being taught.
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