‘The Simpsons’ are Going to… Auschwitz?

In the past year, we’ve seen Italian animator Alexsandro Palombo create Simpsons-esque portraits of famous figures like Kate Middleton and George & Amal Clooney. However, this time he took a more serious approach, choosing to make a statement on the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.

“We must educate the new generations and tell them what happened. We have to do it without filters, bluntly, over and over again, through the memory of facts and terrifying images that reflect the horror of the Holocaust and the extermination of millions of human beings,” Palombo told the Jerusalem Post.

At first it seems like a curious choice to illustrate America’s favorite comedic cartoon family in such a sad light, but the artist makes a good point: over time, we become desensitized to seeing the same historical images repeatedly. By drawing audiences in with familiar faces, Palombo can bring renewed attention to one of the greatest tragedies in human history.

“It is only through memory that we are able to fight racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, and all forms of intolerance that threaten the society,” he said.

This isn’t Palombo’s first foray into meaningful art either; he made headlines last year with a series of iconic animated females who had been bruised and bloodied to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

[via The Jerusalem Post]