Rome-based artist Mario Improta posted the cartoon on his Twitter account on Saturday, after Johnson’s Conservatives won a majority in the UK election.
The cartoon was accompanied by the hashtag #Brexit, referring to Johnson’s promise to “get Brexit done” by the scheduled deadline of January 31.
The artwork features Johnson waving a union flag as he flees a concentration camp with the inscription “European Union” occupying the same position as the words “Arbeit macht frei” (work sets you free) do at the entrance to Auschwitz.
The comparison between the EU and a concentration camp immediately sparked outrage among politicians, Rome’s Jewish community and even some of the artist’s own Twitter followers.
The Auschwitz Memorial tweeted in Italian, noting that “‘Arbeit macht frei’ was a cynical illusion the SS gave to prisoners of Auschwitz.”
“Those words have become one of the icons of human hatred,” the memorial added.
“It is painful for the memory of Auschwitz and its victims to see this symbol used and shamefully abused.”
