An Opelika Youth Ministry has been under fierce scrutiny the past week due to the erection of a billboard featuring an Adolf Hitler quote.
A billboard at the Village Mall in Auburn, was put up, covered and then removed in just days. The billboard featured five children, a quote from Adolf Hitler and a bible verse.
According to Lamar Advertising's Montgomery office, the billboard was rented out by Life Savers Ministries, based in Opelika.
The Hitler quote read: "He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future." The quote was taken from a 1935 speech in which Hitler tried to capture youth's attention towards the Nazi movement.
Below the Hitler quote was a Bible verse from Proverbs which read "Train up a child the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."
The billboard, seen by thousands via internet alone, has caused people in the Auburn community to wonder why an organization such as Life Savers Ministry would put up the billboard.
"I just don't see why in the world someone would put a Hitler quote next to a Bible verse, much less next to kids," said Jamie Shepherd, a sophomore in pre-communication. "I don't see how that billboard could help the ministry in any way possible, but maybe that's just me."
The billboard went up Friday and was taken down shortly after, following a request from Life Savers Ministry.
Life Savers Ministries, founded in 1996, now has a number of school buses and a facility of its own "where hundreds of boys and girls are brought from around 20 different rough and tough locations throughout Opelika and Auburn," according to the ministries site's about page.
Founder James Anderegg told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer it was not their intention to confuse the public and sees that other quotes could have been used.
"We are pulling the billboard and certainly never intended to cause confusion," Anderegg told the Ledger-Enquirer.
Anderegg went on to say that President Herbert Hoover would have been a better person to quote, also saying that the children were the heart of their ministry.
'Children are our most valuable resource,'" Anderegg said. "We are a children's organization and had honorable intentions and nothing less."
Although it was LSM's decision to put up the billboard and then remove it, Lamar Advertising Company ultimately has the final decision in what content reaches their billboards. Deemed the "Outdoor Advertising Company," Lamar works the same as a television station or newspaper and is therefore not required to put up any sign from anyone who pays them.
The Auburn Plainsman was unable to reach anyone at the Lamar Advertising firm in Montgomery for comment.
However, according to their about us page on their site, Lamar Advertising gives their customers a blank page in which Lamar Advertising will help create the ad in order to deliver the message with a strong impact.
"We offer our customers a blank canvas and provide the support to deliver their messages with maximum impact, from start to finish," reads the page on their site.
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