The leader of the Pacific island nation says the 2007 video showing him saying “Heil Hitler” does not reflect his beliefs. Published 5 October 20265 October 2026 Samoa Prime Minister La’auli Leuatea Schmidt has apologized after a never-before-seen video showed him performing a Nazi salute and saying “Heil Hitler” at a family gathering. Schmidt apologized on Monday after the Samoa Observer, a local newspaper, published the seven-second clip the day before. The footage was recorded at a Schmidt family gathering on the island of Savai’i in July 2007, when he was a deputy and deputy speaker of parliament. In the video, Schmidt holds a microphone as he leads a “hip hip” exchange with the group before telling those present to raise their right hands and say “Heil Hitler.” About a dozen people visible in the footage appear to follow him. Radio New Zealand said it had independently verified the footage through its correspondent in Samoa. Schmidt said Monday that the words and gesture were inappropriate regardless of what was intended at the meeting and apologized for any offense they might cause. “I reject Nazism, anti-Semitism, racism and all forms of political extremism,” he said, adding that the episode did not represent his beliefs or the values of the government and people of Samoa. The apology followed criticism from academics contacted by the Samoa Observer. Richard Evans, a historian of Nazi Germany, told the Samoa Observer by email that the images were “shocking and disturbing.” The newspaper also quoted Canterbury University academic Anne-Marie Brady as saying Schmidt should explain and apologize. Schmidt, who became prime minister in 2025, has made strong public expressions of support for Israel. At his swearing-in he wore a Jewish prayer shawl, on which he blew a shofar, a horn used in Jewish religious ceremonies. He also pledged to open a Samoan Embassy in Jerusalem before the end of 2026, a step taken by only a handful of countries due to the city’s disputed status and Palestinian claims to East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state. In his statement Monday, Schmidt said he considered the controversy addressed and would focus on the country’s economic and social challenges.
