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“Nazi chic” has emerged as a fashion trend in Eastern European countries, such as Ukraine.
By United with Israel Staff
A Ukrainian apparel company caused an uproar from the country’s Jewish community for selling a T-shirt with the phrase, “Holy s**t, What are you? A Yid.” The anti-Semitic apparel was advertised on Instagram from a store in the city of Ternopil, according to YNET.
Jewish leaders demanded the immediate removal of the shirt, threatening to ask law enforcement officials to conduct a criminal investigation into the matter. Since then, the retailer has removed the offensive shirt from its social media account and offered an apology.
Anti-Semitic apparel and items, along with shocking images that belittle the Holocaust, are becoming more common. Several years ago, the popular clothing store Zara issued a striped t-shirt with a yellow star reminiscent of the prisoner uniforms Jews were forced to wear in Nazi concentration camps. Following days of consumer complaints, the company apologized and destroyed the inventory.
This past holiday season, retail giant Amazon was blasted by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum for selling Christmas decorations and gifts with images from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp. The outcry forced Amazon to remove the offending items and issue an apology, blaming an algorithm error for permitting the items to be sold.
‘Grotesque’ Fashion Trend
In August, Michael Laitman, an expert in Jewish history, anti-Semitism, and philosophy, wrote a blog for Times of Israel about anti-Semitic symbols and imagery becoming in vogue.
“There is nothing chic about Nazism but there is already a fashion trend called ‘Nazi chic’ gaining popularity in the world,” he explained.
Laitman stressed that “Jews cannot remain indifferent to this phenomenon” or normalize “the horrors of the past.”
“Once taboo, the glorification of anti-Semitic manifestations and Nazi symbols is becoming increasingly popular in the world of fashion, art, music, sports, festivals and even amusement park attractions such as a swastika-shaped ride recently closed in Germany, where public display of Nazi propaganda and memorabilia is illegal,” he wrote. “Just this past year, this ban was surprisingly lifted for computer games.”
Calling the trend “grotesque,” Laitman suggested a way to stem the tide of rising anti-Semitism and denigrating the Holocaust.
“Now is our time to become a ‘light unto the nations’ through our example, to make unity, peace and calm the only trendy fashion in the world. We cannot allow atrocities to happen again when we have a method of prevention through our connection,” he concluded
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