The Anne Frank Center Slams Trump For "Driving Our Nation Off a Moral Cliff”

Exhibit at the United States Holocaust Museum in 2003

The Anne Frank Center responded on Facebook to Donald Trump's executive order on Wednesday that called for the construction of a wall between the US and Mexico, saying the president is "driving our nation off a moral cliff." The same day, reports leaked that Trump is expected to sign an order blocking refugees from coming into the country.

The Facebook post, which was penned by Steven Goldstein, executive director of the organization, described Wednesday as "one of the most hateful days in our nation's history." He said Trump is limiting American promises of freedom "to an extent we have not seen from a President since Franklin Roosevelt forced Japanese Americans into internment camps."

Goldstein also referred to Trump's actions as prejudice and stated that the president is exacerbating the largest global refugee crisis in history. He wrote that this will "go down in American history as one of the most tragic deviations from our natural conscience."

The Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect, located in New York City, is the US chapter of an organization honoring Anne Frank worldwide. According to its Facebook page, it "fight[s] discrimination in America and advocate[s] for a kinder and fairer world." The organization was founded in 1959 by Anne Frank's father, Otto, who wanted the organization to "build a world based on equal rights and mutual respect."