The University of British Columbia (UBC) says it’s looking into “disturbing” racist and pro-Nazi posters found plastered at the school’s War Memorial Gym on Saturday.
The gym is the site of UBC’s annual Remembrance Day events, and students and staff were scheduled to gather there for ceremonies.
One poster is captioned, “Lest we forget the true heroes of WW2” over an image of Nazi soldiers, while another is emblazoned with a large swastika. Both direct people to racist websites.
Images of the posters first reported by The Ubyssey, UBC’s student newspaper.
“The posters that were discovered at War Memorial Gym on November 11 are disturbing and of serious concern, particularly on a day when we collectively honour and remember all those who served in times of war, military conflict and peace,” said Philip Steenkamp, UBC’s vice president of external relations in a statement.
Steenkamp said the school took the posters down as soon as it was alerted, and that UBC takes “incidents of hate and racism very seriously.”
The university is asking anyone with information on the posters to contact campus security.
WATCH: Full coverage of racist literature distributed in the Lower Mainland
B’nai Brith, a Jewish organization that frequently speaks out about anti-Semitism, said the posters came two days after pro-Nazi images were drawn on a blackboard in UBC’s forestry building.
“Once again, we see anti-Semitism and neo-Nazism raising their ugly heads at a B.C. university,” said B’nai Brith Canada cheif executive officer Michael Mostyn in a statement.
“These disturbing incidents constitute a threat to Jewish students and other minorities on campus, as well as an unforgivable insult to Canadian veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice to defeat Nazi tyranny.”
CKNW has reached out to the University RCMP for comment.
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