KFC apologises for Kristallnacht promotion telling customers to ‘treat yourself’ with cheese

The fast food chain blames the promotion on an ‘error in the system’

KFC has apologised to its German customers after a promotional message encouraging the commemoration of Kristallnacht with “more cheese”.

Kristallnacht - the night of broken glass- marks the 9 November in 1938 when Nazis led a series of attacks against the Jewish community in Germany, ending in over 90 fatalities and the destruction of Jewish-owned businesses and places of worship.

The night is widely seen as the start of the Holocaust.

The fast food chain sent an app alert on Wednesday, saying: “It’s memorial day for Kristallnacht! Treat yourself with more tender cheese on your crispy chicken. Now at KFCheese!”

KFC’s message was heavily criticised for its insensitivity. Another message was sent an hour later, apologising to customers and blaming the message on an “error in our system”.

“We are very sorry, we will check our internal processes immediately so that this does not happen again. Please excuse this error,” the message said according to the Bild newspaper.

Dalia Grinfeld, the associate director of European affairs at the Jewish NGO Anti-Defamation League, tweeted: “How wrong can you get on Kristallnacht KFC Germany. Shame on you!”

KFC Germany said a bot was to blame for the message blunder.

In a statement to Newsweek magazine, they said an “automated push notification” was “linked to calendars that include national observances” and apologised “sincerely” for the “unplanned, insensitive and unacceptable message”.

App communications have been suspended while the company undertakes an examination.