New York State Sen. Peter Oberacker, a Republican candidate for Congress, previously shared a post on social media honoring his grandfather who served in the Nazi German military. The resurfaced post, first reported by Politico, featured a photograph of his grandfather, Ludwig Oberacker, in a Nazi military uniform and was posted on Nov. 11, 2015.
Oberacker captioned the now-deleted Facebook post, “I debated on whether to post this picture, my Grandfather [sic] Ludwig Oberacker who gave his life for his country, I salute all who served.” The image included a German eagle with a swastika wreath and a swastika badge.
Oberacker is currently seeking to unseat Democratic Rep. Josh Riley in New York's 19th Congressional District. He stated to Politico that he had shared the photograph to acknowledge "veterans of all conflicts." He also commented on how the image is viewed differently in light of current antisemitism, noting his role on the state Senate's Republican antisemitism working group.
"Looking at it through the prism of today, totally different story. Having been on the antisemitism task force for the Senate Republicans, I would look at it a little bit differently now," Oberacker said.
In March 2024, Oberacker, as part of the Republican antisemitism working group, proposed legislation to expand the definition of harassment to include Nazi symbols. This legislative action followed a report released by the group.
This is not the first controversy involving Oberacker and antisemitism. Politico previously reported that Bobby Walker, who was slated to be Oberacker's campaign manager, was involved in a group chat with Young Republicans leaders that contained praises of Hitler and racial slurs. Oberacker dismissed Walker after the report surfaced in October 2025.
Oberacker described his grandfather as a conscript who died during the Battle of the Bulge, asserting that his grandfather "didn’t have a choice, you got drafted and you served your country, and that was really basically it."