The Prime Minister of Samoa, Laʻauli Leuatea Schmidt, issued a formal apology on Monday after an old video clip from 2007 surfaced online showing him performing a Nazi salute and leading chants of “Heil Hitler” at a family gathering. The government released the apology in an official statement. In his statement, Laʻaulialemalietoa remarked that his words were “never intended for public dissemination” and conceded: “Whatever the context or intent was at that gathering nearly twenty years ago, I acknowledge that those words and gesture were inappropriate and could cause offense and pain, and I apologize for their use.” He was elected prime minister of the Pacific island nation last year.
The antisemitic remarks occurred during a “private family gathering” on Savai’i, the country’s largest island, in 2007, when Laʻaulialemalietoa was serving as deputy speaker of parliament. Germany administered Samoa as a colony in the early 20th century, and many citizens have German ancestry and family names.
In the seven-second clip, Laʻaulialemalietoa is seen directing approximately ten people in a Nazi salute, saying, “Raise your right hand, Heil Hitler,” while the group mirrors both his words and posture. The Samoa Observer first revealed the footage, an independent newspaper the prime minister barred from official government press conferences last year over allegations of “unfair reporting.”