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Donald Duck is in hot water and Disney and Mickey Mouse are boiling mad.

The controversy arose earlier this week after Egmont Ehapa, a publisher in Germany, printed a German edition of a Mickey Mouse comic book.

One of the panels shows a duck shouting the word “Holocaust.” The publishers say the word was meant to be “congratulations.”

It’s important to note the duck is NOT Donald, but another resident of Duckburg.

Donald was simply found guilty by association.

This controversy though got me thinking about Donald’s political leanings, especially his bent during WWII. My brief research shows the duck hated the Nazis and was no sympathizer.

Numerous cartoons and images between 1941 and 1945, depict a loyal American who was angry toward fascism.
Here’s just one example.

The sheet music for the song “Der Fuehrer’s Face” shows Donald loping a tomato straight into Hitler’s eye. This song and image comes from the 1942 Disney cartoon “Donald Duck in Nutzi Land.” The film went on to win an Oscar for best animated short in what was then the height of the war.

Donald was an enlisted duck. He joined the US Army in 1942 and was a brave soldier. In 1984, the army honored him with an award for his wartime service.

Donald Duck was promoted to the rank of sergeant — the only duck to receive such an honor.

So, to me it’s despicable (okay, so that’s a word Daffy, the other duck, would use), some want to drag Donald’s name and honor through the mud.

I say give the duck a break.

The German publisher’s by the way have admitted to the misprint. The comic book has since been recalled and a new, corrected version is now on stands.