Marco Rubio's Hitler Problem: 2016 Candidate Blasted For Yom Kippur-Time Fundraiser At Home With Nazi Memorabilia

Democrats denounced Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio Tuesday over his campaign’s plans to hold a fundraiser at the spacious estate of a Texas real estate tycoon who collects Nazi artifacts. The fundraiser happened to be scheduled during Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement and the holiest day on the faith’s calendar.

Rubio, the junior, first-term U.S. senator from Florida, was holding the event in conservative philanthropist Harlan Crow’s home library, which features two paintings by Adolf Hitler, a signed copy of the dictator's "Mein Kampf," and a cabinet full of dinnerware and linens used by the Fuhrer, according to the Dallas Morning News. Tickets for the fundraising event ranged from $1,000 per person to $10,800.

Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz condemned the fundraiser as a “gross act of disrespect,” especially in light of Florida’s sizable Jewish population. The state had 638,985 Jewish residents in 2014, according to figures from the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise.

“An event at a home with items like these is appalling at any time of the year,” read a statement released Tuesday by Wasserman Schultz, a Jewish congresswoman who is also from Florida. “Holding an event in a house featuring the artwork and signed autobiography of a man who dedicated his life to extinguishing the Jewish people is the height of insensitivity and indifference.”

The DNC chairwoman called on Rubio to cancel the event. “It is astounding that the presence of these items -- that represent horror for millions of Jews the world over -- would not stop Mr. Rubio or anyone on his team in their tracks when planning this event,” Wasserman Schultz added.

The Rubio campaign had not responded to the DNC’s statement as of Tuesday afternoon. Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney also held a fundraiser at Crow’s home during the 2012 election cycle, the Morning News reported.