Fast food giant KFC has apologised after inviting its German customers to mark the anniversary of a night which saw Jews killed by the Nazis by ordering a cheesy chicken dish.
The push notification was sent out to customers in Germany via the company's app in time for Nazi Kristallnacht.
On November 9–10, 1938, Nazi leaders unleashed a series of pogroms against the Jewish population in Germany and recently incorporated territories.
Kristallnacht - The Night of Broken Glass - was named because of the shattered glass that littered the streets after the vandalism and destruction of Jewish-owned businesses, synagogues, and homes.
During the pogrom, around 30,000 Jewish males were rounded up and taken to concentration camps.
This was the first time Nazi officials made massive arrests of Jews specifically because they were Jews, without any further cause for arrest.
KFC sent the message to its customers on Wednesday, the 84th anniversary of the Night of Broken Glass.
It read: “Commemorate Kristallnacht – treat yourself to more soft cheese and crispy chicken. Now at KFCheese!”
About an hour later it sent out another message apologising for the first and said it was due to “a fault in our system”.
Germany tabloid Bild called the mistake “tasteless” and said it was “fast-food advertising at the cost of the remembrance of the victims of the Nazi regime”.
Official reports at the time said 91 people were killed in the attacks, about 7,500 businesses were devastated, and 267 synagogues and community halls were destroyed.
But historians believe the real figure was higher, with more than 1,300 people losing their lives and at least 1,400 synagogues in Germany and Austria badly damaged or destroyed.
The events of that night marked the end of Jews being able to lead public lives in Germany and prompted hundreds of thousands of Jewish families to flee the country.
Persecution of Jews, other minorities and political opponents was subsequently stepped up by the Nazis and ultimately led to the Holocaust during World War II which saw millions put to death in extermination camps.
