Steven Spielberg rebels against anti-Semitism: it is "to be proud with your hands on your hips like Hitler and Mussolini"

Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg stopped by "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" on Thursday night to discuss his film nominated for the best film "Les Fabelmans", but also to deliver a message against anti-Semitism.

In "The Fabelmans," a semi-autobiographical film based on Spielberg's childhood, Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle) is the subject of anti-Semitic slurs from his bullies at school. After discussing the film, Colbert asked Spielberg if he found the rise of anti-Semitism in the United States and around the world surprising.

"I find that very, very surprising," Spielberg replied. "Anti-Semitism has always been there, either it was just around the corner and slightly out of sight but still hidden, or it was much more overt like in Germany in the 1930s. But since the Germany of the 1930s , I didn't see anti-Semitism no longer hiding, but proudly standing with its hands on its hips like Hitler and Mussolini, kind of challenging us to challenge it. I've never experienced that in my entire life, especially in this country."

Spielberg, who also directed the 1994 Holocaust drama "Schindler's List," went on to say that anti-Semitism started from a general pattern of hatred that he has observed over the past decade.

"In a way, the marginalization of people who are not part of some kind of majority race is something that has plagued us for years and years and years…Hate has become a kind of club membership that has attracted more members than I ever thought possible in America,” a- he said. "And hate and anti-Semitism go together, you can't separate one from the other."

However, Spielberg hopes people can learn and grow - a message he hopes to convey through the story of "Les Fabelman".

"To quote Anne Frank, I think she's right when she says most people are good," Spielberg said. "And I think that deep inside us there is kindness and empathy."

Watch an excerpt from Spielberg's interview with Colbert below.

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