Bernie Ecclestone has blamed a “big misunderstanding” for the controversy caused by his comments about Adolf Hitler – although this has not stopped a senior German politician reportedly cancelling a planned meeting with the F1 supremo this weekend.Ecclestone was condemned by politicians and Jewish organisations after saying in an interview with The Times newspaper on Saturday that Nazi leader Hitler was someone who was “able to get things done”, during a discussion on politics and dictators.
Speaking to the German press after his comments provoked a media storm, the commercial impresario said the story had come about as the result of a misunderstanding and that he had not meant to paint Hitler in a positive light.
“It was all a big misunderstanding,” he was quoted as saying by the German tabloid newspaper Bild.
“In the interview we were talking about structures, and how it can sometimes be good if something is treated stringently and without reservation in order to make decisions.
“It was then when I was asked: do I know any dictators?”
He added: “I wasn’t using Hitler as a positive example; I was just making the point that before his appalling crimes [during the war] that he successfully fought unemployment and an economic crisis.”
Asked if he wanted to apologise for his remarks, Ecclestone added: “It was never my intention or idea to hurt the feelings of any community.
“Many of my closest friends are Jews, and anyone that knows me, knows that I would never attack minorities.”
The German press is also reporting that Ecclestone’s remarks have caused the prime minister of the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Guenther Oettinger, to pull out of a scheduled meeting with the Briton at the German Grand Prix this Sunday.
"itv"
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