Teen Boys Appear to Throw Up Nazi Salute in Prom Photo

Wisconsin high school students are facing criticism after being photographed appearing to give a Nazi salute. 

In the photo, almost all of the 63 boys appear to make the Sieg Heil salute before their junior prom in the spring at Baraboo High School. One student also seems to be flashing a white power sign with his hand. 

The controversial picture is reported to have been taken by a local motorcycle photographer. 

Not every boy is saluting in the picture, however. One student, Jordan Blue, who was in the photo but did not make any racist gesture, is distancing himself from the controversy. 

“I am clearly uncomfortable with what is happening,” he said in a statement to journalist Jules Suzdaltsev. 

Blue said making the salute was the photographer's idea, and it happened so fast he couldn't get out of the group picture.

"I knew what my morals were and it was not to salute something I firmly didn't believe in,” he said. 

The school superintendent released a statement saying an investigation into the photo is underway.

“The photo of students posted to #BarabooProud is not reflective of the educational values and beliefs of the School District of Baraboo. We are investigating and will pursue any and all available and appropriate actions, including legal, to address," they said. 

The school district also sent a letter to parents Monday morning in the wake of the scandal. 

Meanwhile, the photographer posted a statement saying, “To anyone that was hurt I sincerely apologize.”

The Auschwitz Memorial in Poland released a statement Monday emphasizing that the photo is one of the reasons children must continue to be taught about the brutality of what the Nazis did. 

"Auschwitz with its gas chambers was at the very end of the long process of normalizing and accommodating hatred," the museum wrote on Twitter.

RELATED STORIES