Anne Frank Centre warns of 'alarming parallels' between Trump's America and Hitler's Germany

A human rights group inspired by Anne Frank has drawn comparisons between Donald Trump's America and Adolf Hitler's Germany.

The Anne Frank Centre for Mutual Respect warned of "alarming parallels" between the President and the Nazi leader, likening the present-day US to the "escalating steps of oppression" that led to Holocaust in the 1930s and 1940s.

The group, which has been a vocal critic of the US President, noted what it suggested were similarities between Mr Trump and Hitler in a Twitter post.

The list included "the President creates his own media", "he exploits youth at a rally," and "he demonises people who believe, look or love differently".

It was headed: "Alarming parallels of history escalate."

In an apparent warning about America's future under Mr Trump, the post concluded: "Never again to any people."

The post did not specifically mention Trump or Hitler but the centre's executive director said the comparison was intended.

He told Newsweek: "1930s Germany imposed a series of escalating steps of oppression, including demonization, discrimination and isolation of vulnerable communities, that evoke what we are seeing today. That comparison is just, and not to make the comparison would be a dereliction of our duty to ensure 'never again' to any people."

Mr Goldstein said he did not wish to "trivialise the Holocaust" by equating Trump to Hitler, who oversaw the murder millions of people.

But he added: "By the same token, it is responsible, and indeed our moral imperative, to point out parallels between actions taken by the Trump administration today and the actions taken by Germany in the 1930s before the Holocaust."

Mr Goldstein has been a vehement critic of Mr Trump since he entered the White House, accusing the President of failing to fight anti-Semitism and Islamophobia and condemning his policies on refugees and immigrants.

His comments have often been made under the name of the Anne Frank Centre, prompting accusations that he was politicising the World War Two diarist's legacy.

The group, which is based in New York, says it "calls out prejudice, counters discrimination and advocates for the kinder and fairer world of which Anne Frank dreamed".

The not-for-profit organisation states on its website it was founded by her father Otto in 1959 as an American "friends organisation" for the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.

But that account has been disputed by some, including a former director of the Anne Frank House.