9 December 2020 12:10 am
The family of Roald Dahl apologises.....
The family of Roald Dahl, late author of children's classics such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, has apologised for anti-Semitic remarks he made, saying the comments were "incomprehensible to us".
The British author, who died in 1990 aged 74, remains popular with young readers around the world and several of his books such as The BFG, Matilda, Fantastic Mr Fox and most recently The Witches, have been turned into movies and stage shows.
However, controversy has occasionally flared up over anti-Semitic comments, particularly those made in a 1983 interview with Britain's New Statesman magazine.
"There is a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity, maybe it's a kind of lack of generosity towards non-Jews," he said, adding that "even a stinker like Hitler didn't just pick on them for no reason".
In a statement on the official website of the organisations that manage his legacy, copyrights and trademarks and a museum dedicated to him, the Dahl family apologised for what they said was the lasting and understandable hurt his remarks had caused.
"Those prejudiced remarks are incomprehensible to us and stand in marked contrast to the man we knew and to the values at the heart of Roald Dahl's stories, which have positively impacted young people for generations," they said.
Reuters