June 29, 2007

Mayor slams Hitler t-shirt

London Mayor Ken Livingstone joined with Holocaust survivors this week to condemn t-shirts glorifying Hitler on sale in Camden Market. The garment, being sold in Camden Market Hall, displays a picture of Hitler performing a Nazi salute above a list of countries he invaded, describing the war as a “European Tour.”

Livingstone said the t-shirt gives a bad impression of London. He told TJ: “There is no case for selling these t-shirts, which aim to make money by exploiting the horror of Nazism, under which millions were killed.”

Holocaust survivor Roman Halter added: “It is terrible that people find this sort of thing appealing. Holocaust survivors felt the memory of Hitler was buried with his death, but nowadays fame is equated with infamy.”

Gerry Gable, editor of anti-fascist magazine Searchlight, said: “This kind of money making out of a war that killed more than 30 million people is appalling. What kind of impression must it make not only to Londoners but the hundreds of thousands of tourist who visit that market every year.”

But Myles Parker, manager of Camden Market Hall insisted that the t-shirt was not offensive or in bad taste. He said: “I think it is satirical. People may also be offended by some pro-Israel t-shirts on sale or items with Che Guevara. It’s a sensitive subject but where do I draw the line, these t-shirts are clearly geared at adolescents, they can be notoriously cruel and heavy handed.

“The person with the stall has only been there for 3 or 4 weeks, he is not a political person. I don’t find that particularly offensive, but if somebody has an objection they should raise it with the trader. I can empathise with people’s viewpoints but it is not breaking any laws.”

Totally Jewish

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This obnoxious T shirt has been around for a long time.I do recall seeing something similar advertised in the ads columns in the NME back in the mid 80s. I also remember same T shirt being worn by assorted punks and students back then as well.