Günter Grass says Danish cartoons reminds him of the Nazi era

The Nobel Prize-winning German author Günter Grass likened the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published by a Danish newspaper to Nazi caricatures of Jews, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday. In an interview published in Portugal in the weekly news magazine Visão, Mr. Grass, whose novels include "The Tin Drum" and "Cat and Mouse," said: "I recommend that everyone have a look at the drawings: they remind one of those published in a famous German newspaper during the time of the Nazis, Der Stürmer. It published anti-Semitic caricatures of the same style." Julius Streicher, the publisher of Der Stürmer, was found guilty of crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg war crimes trial and executed in 1946. Mr. Grass said deliberate provocation lay behind the decision by the newspaper Jyllands-Posten to publish the cartoons, which touched off outrage and violent protests among many Muslims. He said the newspaper had been warned that the drawings would be found offensive. The newspaper has defended its decision, saying the cartoons were no different from those published previously that satirized Jesus, the Danish royal family and politicians.