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Roald Dahl’s family has apologized for his anti-Semitism in a statement buried deep on the author’s official website.
Dahl, who died 30 years ago, is described on the site as “the world’s number one storyteller,” whose books, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and The BFG, have fascinated children since the 1920s. 1960.
But Dahl was also anti-Semitic. In an interview with the New Statesman in 1983, he said: “There is a trait in the Jewish character that provokes animosity, perhaps it is a kind of lack of generosity towards non-Jews. I mean, there is always a reason why anti-anything arises anywhere. “
He added: “Even a stinker like Hitler didn’t mess with them for no reason.”
Now the family has quietly apologized for their comments. Their statement reads: “The Dahl Family and Roald Dahl Story Company deeply apologize for the long-lasting and understandable pain caused by some of Roald Dahl’s statements.
“Those judgmental comments are incomprehensible to us and are in stark contrast to the man we met and the values at the heart of Roald Dahl’s stories, which have positively impacted young people for generations.
“We hope that, like he did at his best, at his worst, Roald Dahl can help us remember the lasting impact of words.”
There is no mention of Dahl’s anti-Semitic views in the author’s official biography on the site. The family’s apology was not sent to Jewish organizations.
Dahl was born in 1916 in Wales to Norwegian parents. During his wartime service in the RAF, he was seriously injured when his Gladiator crashed in Libya. His first children’s book, The Gremlins, was published in 1943, followed by James and the Giant Peach in 1961, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 1964, and Fantastic Mr Fox in 1970.
He also co-wrote the screenplays for the James Bond film You Only Live Twice and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as well as writing adult novels.
Many of his children’s books were adapted as movies, for television, and on stage. In 2018, the latest period for which data is available, Dahl’s estate posted annual pre-tax earnings of £ 12.7 million from TV and film deals, royalties, costumes and a line of baby toiletries.
Earlier this year, Netflix announced that Oscar-winning director Taika Waititi was making an animated series on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and a second movie about the Oompa-Loompas, the factory workers in the book. In October, Warner Bros released The Witches, a film based on Dahl’s 1983 book of the same name, starring Anne Hathaway.
In addition to his notorious interview with the New Statesman, Dahl later acknowledged his anti-Semitism in an article in the Independent in 1990. He said: “I am certainly anti-Israel, and I have become anti-Semitic in everything a Jewish person is understood in another country like England. who strongly supports Zionism. I think they should see both sides.
“It’s the same old thing: we all know about the Jews and the rest. There are no non-Jewish publishers anywhere, they control the media, a very smart thing to do, that’s why the president of the United States has to sell all of this to Israel. “
Shortly before his death, Dahl received a letter from two San Francisco children saying, “Dear Mr. Dahl, We love your books, but we have a problem… We are Jews !! We love your books but you don’t like us because we are Jews. That offends us! Can you change your mind about what you said about the Jews? With love, Aliza and Tamar “.
Two years ago, the Royal Mint abandoned its plans to celebrate Dahl’s life with a commemorative coin due to concerns about his anti-Semitic views. Official documents obtained by The Guardian revealed that the Royal Mint concluded that “he was not considered an author of the highest reputation.”
