AUSTIN — A Houston-area state representative linked gun control advocates to Holocaust victims on Monday with a meme that appeared to blame gun control for the genocide of 6 million Jews during World War II.

Republican Valoree Swanson shared a Facebook post Monday from the Ted Cruz Meme Page. She did not add a comment to the post, which showed two photos. The first was from March 13, when 7,000 pairs of shoes were left at the U.S. Capitol to represent the children who have died from gunshot wounds since the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012. It was captioned: "Shoes left by gun control supporters, 2018."

The second photo, of a pile of shoes in a concentration camp, was captioned: “Shoes left by victims of gun control, 1945.”

Below the photos was a phrase attributed to philosopher George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Swanson's page has since deleted the post. It still exists on the Ted Cruz Meme Page.

The original post had more than 100,000 shares and 300,000 "reactions." Most of the comments on Swanson's post decried the picture.

"Comparing state sanctioned genocide to mass shootings in schools is not only stupid but it insults the severity of the Holocaust and undermines the security of children in schools," one commenter wrote.

Lawmakers have previously connected gun control to the Holocaust. An Alaska representative said in February that gun control left Holocaust victims unable to defend themselves. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson argued the same thing in 2015.

A spokesman for the Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission said the agency is unable to comment on candidates during election years.

Swanson, a member of the the ultraconservative Freedom Caucus in the Texas Legislature, did not respond to a request for comment. With the help of support from well-funded organizations such as Empower Texans and Texas Right to Life, Swanson won her primary race in March and in November will face Democrat Michael Shawn Kelly.

Swanson was sworn into the Texas House in 2017 after unseating incumbent Debbie Riddle, who was first elected in 2002 to represent House District 150.