Volkswagen CEO apologizes for Nazi pun

The incident happened this past Tuesday, when he made a pun referencing a well-known Nazi slogan:

Quote:

Speaking at a Volkswagen (VLKAF) management event in Germany on Tuesday, Herbert Diess used the expression "Ebit macht frei." The phrase sounds similar to "Arbeit macht frei," a slogan inscribed the gates of Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Arbeit macht frei means "work sets you free." Ebit is a measure of a company's profits, and is short for earnings before interest and taxes. Diess' comments were first reported by German news organizations. "At no time was it my intention for this statement to be placed in a false context," Diess wrote in a post on social network LinkedIn on Wednesday. "At the time, I simply did not think of this possibility." He said his comments were intended to highlight Volkswagen's strong profits, not cause offense. "This was definitely an unfortunate choice of words," he wrote. "If I have unintentionally caused offense, I am extremely sorry. I would like to apologize unreservedly."

I for one find the bolded statement to be utterly duplicitous. It simply beggars belief that Diess did not realize he was directly referencing the "Arbeit macht frei" slogan when he said "Ebit macht frei". It's an obvious aural pun, the connection is the whole point.

via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/2TTJxkQ