'Holocaust soap' being sold in the Plateau

A Montreal shop owner is defending the sale of a bar of soap he advertises as being made of the fat of Holocaust victims.

Jewish groups are demanding the soap be removed from the shop.

The shop owner , Abraham Botines says there is no way of knowing whether the the soap is really made of the fat of  Holocaust victims. The soap is inscribed with a swastika and displayed in a glass case with a card that says "Poland 1940." He claims he bought from Canadian soldiers who bought it in a concentration camp.

But whether it is fake or real is besides the point said Alice Herscovitch of Montreal's Holocaust Centre.

 "The sale of objects which glorify Nazism and hatred, to me, do nothing. They certainly don't help us remember." she said.

"These are items that should not be out there in a promotional, sales kind of way."

The sale of items bearing the swastika is not illegal in Canada. Selling of soap made with human remains is said the B'nai Brith.

Botines who describes himself as an observant Spanish Jew said he is selling the soap because it belongs to the the period he is from.

"I'm 73 and I was collecting things from the Holocaust and from World War II because I belong to that period," he says.

Botines also sells a braid of hair labelled as originating from a Nazi "extermination camp."

He said he wouldn't sell any of the items to a neo-Nazi.

"It's my soap and I'm free to do anything I want with it," he said.

"It makes us different from other stores. It's part of history. It's not something I would want to be forgotten," said his son, Ivan Botines.

 Montreal police said they would verify the facts and speak with local Jewish groups before deciding whether to open an investigation.