The author of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” — the guy who said Hitler had reason to target the Jews — was cruel to say what he said, according to the guy’s own family.
Roald Dahl, a wildly successful author who also wrote “Matilda,” “The BFG” and “The Witches,” said during a 1983 interview, “There is a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity. Maybe it’s a kind of lack of generosity towards non-Jews. I mean, there’s always a reason why anti-anything crops up anywhere.”
And then, he said this … “Even a stinker like Hitler didn’t just pick on them for no reason.”
He practiced what he preached … Dahl’s screenplay for “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” included a large-nosed child snatcher … an anti-Semitic trope that Dahl seemed to embrace.
Although he died 30 years ago, his anti-Semitism is now making the rounds, which caused his family to issue a mea culpa.
The family said they deeply apologize “for the lasting and understandable hurt caused by some of Roald Dahl’s statements. 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.”
The family added, “We hope that, just as he did at his best, at his absolute worst, Roald Dahl can help remind us of the lasting impact of words.”
Anne Hathaway, who is Jewish, is starring in a feature film based on Dahl’s book, “The Witches.”