Arnold Schwarzenegger might not have chosen the best time to sign his famous Terminator catchphrase in an Auschwitz guestbook during a recent visit.
The 75-year-old was visiting the former concentration camp on Wednesday (September 28) with the Auschwitz Jewish Centre Foundation, who were recognizing him for his efforts to counter racism and anti-semitism, The Sun reported. The concentration camp saw the devastating deaths of 1.1 million people - including 960,000 Jews, 74,000 Poles, 21,000 Roma, 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war.
"I am witness to the ruins of a country broken by the Nazis," Schwarzenegger said during the visit.
"I saw firsthand how this hatred spun out of control and I share these painful memories with the world in the hopes of preventing future tragedies and educating soldiers about personal responsibility. I stand with the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation and their mission of education to ensure NEVER AGAIN," the former Governor of California added.
"I was the son of a man that fought in the Nazi war," Schwarzenegger said, per CNN. "And one generation later, here we are."
Per The Mirror, the anti-Semitism foundation had awarded Schwarzenegger with their inaugural Award for Fighting Hatred, weeks after vowing to help the group in "terminating hate."
The Auschwitz Memorial Museum took to Twitter to document the seven-time Mr. Olympia winner's visit, positing an image of his inscription in the guest book. The Terminator star had simply signed: "I'll be back," his most notable line from the popular 1984 film.
Of course, this didn't sit well with many Twitter users, who commented their thoughts underneath the post. One person wrote: "I'm glad he visited and wrote in the book but I had to think twice about the message. I'm sure he meant it in the nicest possible way and having been there I know its hard to find the right words but I'm not sure these were the best."
Another added: "Seems flippant."
A further user replied that the signature seemed: "A bit frivolous and tacky."
The Auschwitz Memorial Museum was forced to respond to the negative comments, writing several times that the former professional bodybuilder's inscription simply meant he would be returning to the camp in the near future: "It was a visit that was very short. He wrote it as a promise to return for a longer visit."
Other Twitter users mirrored this sentiment, with one commenting: "It's so sad to see so many hate on him for this. He obviously means he will come back to the site in the future. Yikes."
"It was not a play on words. That was made clear by the museum," someone else chimed in.
Regardless of the divided opinion, the 75-year-old's commitment to eliminating anti-Semitism and racism is commendable. Let's hope the Austrian-born actor will be back soon.
