(CNN) When comparing yourself to world leaders or historical figures, there are perhaps less controversial choices than Adolf Hitler.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday likened himself to the Nazi leader, saying he wants to kill millions of drug addicts, just as Hitler killed Jews during the Holocaust.

"Hitler massacred 3 million Jews. Now there is 3 million, what is it, 3 million drug addicts (in the Philippines), there are," he said in a speech in his hometown of Davao City.

"I'd be happy to slaughter them. At least if Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have (me). You know my victims, I would like (them) to be all criminals, to finish the problem of my country and save the next generation from perdition."

History counts the cost of Hitler's purges against "undesirables" at 11 million, 6 million of whom were Jews.

World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder, in Israel to attend the funeral of former Prime Minister Shimon Peres , condemned the remarks.

"These statements are revolting, and President Duterte must retract them and apologize," Lauder said. "We just marked the 75th anniversary of Babi Yar, the massacre of more than 33,000 Jews in Ukraine by Nazi Germany. ... Now, the elected leader of the Philippines openly calls for the mass murder of people who are addicted to drugs.

"Drug abuse is a serious issue. But what President Duterte said is not only profoundly inhumane, but it demonstrates an appalling disrespect for human life."

The controversial leader campaigned on a hard line against crime, particularly drug offenses, and has in the past uttered statements which have caused many in the international community to recoil.

Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. Speaking at a business forum in Manila in December 2016, Duterte admitted killing suspected criminals during his time as mayor of Davao City. Hide Caption 1 of 17 Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. The day after Trump won the US presidential election in November 2016, Duterte said he and Trump share some traits. Hide Caption 2 of 17 Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. After reports emerged of a potentially blocked arms sale, Duterte told CNN Philippines in November 2016 that he would turn to Russia for weapons. Hide Caption 3 of 17 Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. During a state visit to China in October 2016, Duterte announced his economic and military 'separation' from the US. Hide Caption 4 of 17 Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. In October 2016 Duterte expressed growing hostility with the US president. Hide Caption 5 of 17 Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. After US president Barack Obama said he would raise extrajudicial killings in a meeting with Duterte, the Philippines President responded angrily on September 5, first in English then in Tagalog. As a result, Obama canceled the meeting. Hide Caption 6 of 17 Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. As he addressed troops at the country's Armed Forces Central Command Headquarters on August 5, Duterte recounted U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to the country, saying in Tagalog that he was feuding with U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg. Hide Caption 7 of 17 Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. The Philippines president-elect effectively said he supported vigilantism against drug dealers and criminals in a nationally televised speech in June 2016. Hide Caption 8 of 17 Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. Foreign diplomats weighing in on Rodrigo Duterte's controversial remarks did not sit well with the then-mayor. Hide Caption 9 of 17 Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. Duterte apologized to the Pope after cursing him for the traffic he caused during a 2015 Papal visit to the Philippines. Hide Caption 10 of 17 Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. In September 2016, Duterte likened himself to the Nazi leader and announced that he wants to kill millions of drug addicts. Hide Caption 11 of 17 Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. Speaking at a press conference to unveil his new cabinet on May 31 2016, Rodrigo Duterte said journalists killed on the job in the Philippines were often corrupt. Hide Caption 12 of 17 Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. During the third and last presidential debate, Duterte had said that he would plant a Philippine flag in disputed territories should China refuse to recognize a favorable ruling for the Philippines. Hide Caption 13 of 17 Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. Duterte made international headlines in April 2016 with his inflammatory comments on the 1989 rape and murder of an Australian missionary that took place in Davao City. Hide Caption 14 of 17 Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. He also lashed out at the womens' group that filed a complaint against him before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). Hide Caption 15 of 17 Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. At a CNN Philippines Townhall event in February 2016, Duterte, admitted that he had three girlfriends and a common-law wife. His marriage to Elizabeth Zimmerman was annulled due to his womanizing, but he denied this meant he objectified women. Hide Caption 16 of 17 Photos: Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. Although he later denied the accusations, the former Davao City mayor admitted his links to the alleged Davao death squad in a May 2015 broadcast of his local television talk show. Hide Caption 17 of 17

Hard line on crime

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Since taking office in June, Duterte has stood by his promise to crack down hard on crime, with hundreds of suspected drug users killed by his police force, alongside hundreds of others deaths attributed to vigilante killings.

Police have made thousands of arrests and have implemented a controversial " knock and plead " policy of visiting suspected drug users at their homes and inviting them to register as users with their local community officials.

Duterte is currently embroiled in Senate hearings, defending himself against accusations of police wrongdoing for the drug deaths and claims that he operated death squads in Davao, where he served as mayor for two decades.

Duterte himself confirmed the claims during a regular live weekly TV show broadcast locally in the Philippines last year.

"Me? They are saying that I'm part of a death squad? True, that's true," he said in a mix of English and Visayan, a language spoken in southern Philippines, before threatening to kill thousands more criminals and dump them into Manila Bay if he was elected president of the Philippines.

He later retracted the statement, but has admitted to killing two kidnapping suspects on a police raid while mayor.

His political ally, the boxer and Philippines Senator Manny Pacquiao, had Duterte critic Senator Leila De Lima removed as chair of the Justice and Human Rights Committee.

De Lima has long sought to have Duterte officially investigated over alleged death squad killings in Davao, and rights groups have denounced his apparent "impunity." Duterte has stepped up his attacks on her in recent weeks.

History of controversy

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Duterte is no stranger to making outrageous comments. He's joked about not being able to join the gang rape of an Australian missionary, cursed out the Pope, called both US President Obama and the US Ambassador to the Philippines a "son of a bitch," and told police they can kill drug dealers if they fight back.

When discussing the pontiff, he said that the traffic caused by Pope Francis' visit to the country had angered him.

"We were affected by the traffic. It took us five hours. I asked why, they said it was closed. I asked who is coming. They answered, the Pope. I wanted to call him, "Pope, (swear words), go home. Do not visit us again," he said.

Discussing Obama while in Laos for an ASEAN summit earlier in September, he said: "Who does he think he is? I am no American puppet. I am the president of a sovereign country and I am not answerable to anyone except the Filipino people."

He also declared, "Son of a bitch, I will swear at you," though he later claimed that remark was directed at a journalist and not at Obama.

On Thursday, he told members of the Filipino community in Hanoi that he would be ending joint Philippines-US military drills after the exercises scheduled for early October.

Duterte: EU, US 'hypocrites'

Photos: Philippines drug crackdown Photos: Philippines drug crackdown Police patrol a shanty community at night during curfew on June 8, 2016 in Manila. Hide Caption 1 of 9 Photos: Philippines drug crackdown Some 1,000 people whom authorities accused of being drug users and dealers take an oath before local authorities after turning themselves in in Tanauan, the Philippines, on July 18, 2016. Hide Caption 2 of 9 Photos: Philippines drug crackdown A man authorities accused of being a drug user is fingerprinted during the mass surrender of some 1,000 alleged drug users and pushers in the Philippine town of Tanauan, located about 37 miles (60 kilometers) south of Manila on July 18, 2016. Hide Caption 3 of 9 Photos: Philippines drug crackdown A social worker gives counseling to those who have turned themselves in for drug-related crimes in the Philippines on July 18, 2016. Hide Caption 4 of 9 Photos: Philippines drug crackdown A woman cradles her husband, next to a placard which reads "I'm a pusher," who was shot dead in Manila on July 23, 2016. Hide Caption 5 of 9 Photos: Philippines drug crackdown A Philippine police forensic investigator displays packets of drugs and a hand gun found inside a shanty where members of a suspected drug syndicate were killed after a shootout with police on July 3, 2016. Hide Caption 6 of 9 Photos: Philippines drug crackdown A suspected female member of a drug syndicate is presented by police in Manila on June 22, 2016. Hide Caption 7 of 9 Photos: Philippines drug crackdown A gun, bullets, marked money and sachets of crystal meth are laid on a table after a drug raid in Manila on June 20, 2016. Hide Caption 8 of 9 Photos: Philippines drug crackdown Police officers stand in formation before the start of "Oplan Rody" on June 1, 2016, a law enforcement operation named after President Duterte, whose nickname is Rody. Hide Caption 9 of 9

After the Hitler comparison, Duterte went on to defend himself against criticism from the US and EU, which have expressed concerns about Duterte's war on drugs and allegations of extrajudicial killings.

"You, US, EU, you can call me anything, but I was never into or I am never into hypocrisy like you. Close your doors and when there's time, there are migrants escaping from the Middle East," Duterte said.

"You allow them to rot. And then you're worried about the deaths of a one thousand, two thousand, three thousand?

"That's why if you were in my position, why would you not curse? You are portrayed or pictured to be some, a cousin of Hitler, and yet do not even bother to find out to investigate this."