Adolf Hitler could not have slaughtered six million Jews if German citizens were allowed guns, according to a man hoping to become president of the United States.
Republican Ben Carson said that the Nazis would not have accomplished their “goals” if people in the European country had been armed.
In an interview with CNN the former neurosurgeon and Christian fanatic said there was a reason why dictators “take the guns first”.
Ben Carson, who is running for Republican presidential candidate, said the Holocaust would not have happened if people had been armed
The 64-year-old was questioned about comments in his new book, A More Perfect Union: What We the People Can Do to Reclaim Our Constitutional Liberties.
An extract from the book reads: “Through a combination of removing guns and disseminating deceitful propaganda the Nazis were able to carry out their evil intentions with relatively little resistance.”
The CNN presenter asked Carson: “If there had been no gun control laws in Europe at that time, would six million Jews have been slaughtered?”
He replied: “I think the likelihood of Hitler being able to accomplish his goals would have been greatly diminished if the people had been armed… I’m telling you that there is a reason that these dictatorial people take the guns first.”
The conversation then turned towards whether or not kindergarten teachers should be armed. Carson believes they should.
In the wake of last week's Oregon shooting, in which a gunman shot dead nine students at Umpqua Community College before turning the gun on himself, Carson offered some advice on how to survive a shooting.
Article continues below slideshow:
Speaking to Fox and Friends, the 64-year-old said: “I would not just stand there and let him shoot me.
“I would say 'hey guys, everybody attack him. He may shoot me but he can't get us all'.”
He then laughed.
Carson is not the only member among the Republican presidential candidates to make incendiary comments about the shooting.
Donald Trump, who is currently polling ahead of Carson, said after the Oregon killings that “these things happen”.
The 69-year-old added: “What are you going to do, institutionalise everybody?”