Historian Andrew Graham-Dixon has been placed on a new ‘blacklist’ of speakers at the Cambridge Union for imitating Hitler in a discussion of the motion, ‘There is no such thing as good taste’.
In the debate last week, Mr Graham-Dixon used the example of Adolf Hitler to show that because some things are clearly bad taste, this in turn means that good taste exists.
To illustrate his point, Mr Graham-Dixon paraphrased Hitler’s racist statements as an example of how bad taste and bad morality often are intrinsically linked.
In a statement, Mr Andrew-Dixon apologised for his performance, saying: “In my speech I caricatured Hitler, briefly, paraphrasing HIS crass and insensitive statements about art and race.
"I apologise sincerely to anyone who found my debating tactics and use of Hitler's own language distressing; on reflection I can see that some of the words I used, even in quotation, are inherently offensive."
After the event, the president of Cambridge Union, Keir Bradwell, accused Mr. Graham-Dixon of "grotesque language".
Mr Blackwell, who told JC that he had had two glasses of wine before the event and was heard saying ‘I’m quite drunk’ while presiding over the debate, but denied it affected his ability to chair the discussion.
In a statement to Cambridge Union members, Mr Blackwell said: "I would like to offer my unreserved apology for the comments made by a speaker in our debate on Thursday night. Neither I nor the society condones the thoughtless and grotesque language used by the individual in question, and I am sorry for my failure to intervene at the time. I and my committee represent an intelligent and diverse membership; I am disappointed that this debate let a number them down this week.
“The debate was on the motion, ‘This house believes there is no such thing as good taste’. The speaker in question employed a crass and deeply insensitive impression of Hitler to make the point in opposition that there is such a thing as bad taste, and that therefore there must be such a thing as good taste. It was inexcusable, and I regret not intervening.”
When contacted by the JC, Mr Bradwell said: "We already have a list of internal speakers that we don't want to invite back, its already a thing we keep a record of, and we're turning it from a random miscellany to a formal thing.
“Pubs have lists of guests they don't want to serve, this is not dissimilar to that. It's retrospective based on what happened when they were invited."
When asked why Mr Graham-Dixon was included on the list, Mr. Bradwell said: “He's put us in a bit of a crisis, I don't think union presidents should be put in the position he's put me in.
Mr Graham-Dixon’s impression was criticised by Jewish groups on campus. Cambridge JSoc said in a statement: “Whilst we understand it was a light-hearted deabte, the impression of Hitler and language used was insensitive and made a number of people feel uncomfortable and represents a serious misjudgement on the part of the speaker.”
In response to the concerns of Jewish students and others at the university, according to The Daily Telegraph, Mr Bradwell said that as Union president he would “create a blacklist of speakers never to be invited back” and confirmed that Mr Graham-Dixon would be included on it.
