Nazi chic is the use of style, imagery, iconography, and paraphernalia associated with Nazi Germany in clothing or popular culture, typically employed for shock value rather than as an expression of genuine support for Nazism or its ideology.
Its popularity began in the 1950s, amongst motorcycle clubs such as the Hells Angels whose members initially involved US Army soldiers who had fought in the Second World war and wore Nazi memorabilia in order to offend. By the late 1960s and 1970s, Nazi iconography was appropriated by the heavy metal, glam rock, industrial, and punk movements.
Nazi chic was later adopted in the fashion industry and partially inspired the leather subculture.[1][2] The trend, while having originated in the West, by the late 20th and early 21st century became particularly popular in Asia.[3]
The American Hells Angels motorcycle club wore Nazi memorabilia as early as the 1950s, member Sonny Barger stated that the group's obsession with Nazi paraphernalia was "not political" and partially originated from one early member who got hold of a "Nazi belt" that was brought back from the Second World War by his father. Barger stated "The Nazi flag was hung outside their clubhouse merely "to piss people off".[4] Additionally, a patch worn by select club members consists of two Nazi-style SS lightning bolts below the words "Filthy Few". Some law enforcement officials claim that the "Filthy Few" patch is awarded only to those who have committed or are prepared to commit murder on the club's behalf.[5][6][7]
During the 1960s, territorial surfers formed loose gangs that surfed in a certain break or beach and fiercely protected their "territory" from outsiders. These surfers were known as "surf punks" or "surf nazis". The term "surf nazi" initially arose to describe a territorial, aggressive, and obsessive surfer. The term was originally used simply to denote the strict territorialism, violence and hostility to outsiders of these types of surfers.[8] Some surf clubs in the 1960s, particularly at Windansea in La Jolla, embraced the term by performing Nazi salutes, wearing swastikas and Stahlhelm helmets, and painting swastikas on their surfboards and on the Windansea pump house.[8]
American artist Ed Roth sold plastic Nazi stormtrooper helmets to surfers in the 1960s, and told Time magazine, "That Hitler really did a helluva public relations job for me."[8] Surfer Miki Dora was noted as a pioneer of surfer "localism" by The New Yorker and would be known to spray paint swastikas on his surf board, while surfer Matt Warshaw later stated, "We’d paint a swastika on something for no other reason than to piss people off. Which it did. So next time we’d paint two swastikas, just to piss ’em off more."[8] In the mid-1960s, some filmmakers looking for edgy and controversial ideas incorporated Nazi themes into their works for shock value, which became known as Nazi exploitation films, with the 1965 film Censored described as having "the dubious honour of being the very first skinflick to mix Nazis and naked women".[9][unreliable source?]
English heavy metal musician Lemmy of the band Motörhead collected Nazi memorabilia and had an Iron Cross on his bass guitar, but stated that he collected these memorabilia for aesthetics, historical purposes, and interests only. He considered himself "an atheist and an anarchist" and that he was "anti-communism, fascism, any extreme".[18]
In 1984, two T-shirt designs featuring Adolf Hitler were produced in West Germany.[22] The more famous of the two was the "Adolf Hitler European Tour" design, which featured a picture of Hitler against the backdrop of a map of Europe, with conquered territories shaded; a less popular T-shirt featured Hitler giving the Roman salute, and a yo-yo hanging from his hand. The text read "European yo-yo champion 1939–1945". Sale of the apparel led to a legal case in Germany, in an attempt to have it banned as "glorifying genocide".[23] In 1988, Ralph Engelstad was criticized for a party he held at his Imperial Palace hotel-casino in Las Vegas featuring bartenders wearing the "European Tour" shirts.[24] In 1990, the ACLU represented a high school student on Long Island who was told to remove the shirt or face suspension by school officials who claimed the shirt was anti-Semitic.[25]
In an interview with Welt am Sonntag, Bryan Ferry, the English singer and musician, acknowledged that he calls his studio in west London his "Führerbunker". He was quoted as saying, "My God, the Nazis knew how to put themselves in the limelight and present themselves". ... Leni Riefenstahl's movies and Albert Speer's buildings and the mass parades and the flags – just amazing. Really beautiful."[26]
In early 2005, a designer using the pseudonym "Helmut Doork"[27][bettersourceneeded] began marketing a parody souvenir T-shirt with the slogans "My grandparents went to Auschwitz and all I got was this lousy t-shirt!" and "Arbeit Macht Frei."[28] In response to a complaint from the Anti-Defamation League, the design was removed from CafePress' website in late 2006.[29] The creator later uploaded it to Printfection. After Printfection removed it without explanation, the creator then released it into the public domain, giving anyone permission to print and/or commercialize the design.[30][bettersourceneeded]
In 2005, Prince Harry was criticized for wearing a costume with a swastika armband[31] causing considerable embarrassment to his family. Harry's impromptu costume resembled the Afrika Korps, rather than more political units such as the SS. Writer Moyra Bremner commented on BBC News 24 that no one had stopped the prince wearing the costume.[32]
Sometimes in East Asia, for example Japan, Nazi uniforms are used as part of cosplay.[36][37] Several Japanese products have reused Nazi themes in their artwork, such as the 2010 card game Barbarossa,[38] described as the "softcore Nazi anime porn" with "anime Nazi girls".[39][40][bettersourceneeded] The game was successful enough to receive an English release in 2013[41] as well as a stand-alone sequel El Alamein[42] (also released in English).[39] 2019 saw the release of video game Mein Waifu is the Fuhrer,[43] described as a "Nazi-themed anime dating simulator" and inspired by the Japanese art and the visual novel-type of game.[44]
In South Korea, an area generally isolated from Nazi cultural influences during the Nazi era, Time magazine observed in 2000 "an unthinking fascination with the icons and imagery of the Third Reich."[45]
In Indonesia, the SoldatenKaffee, a café featuring Nazi decoration and memorabilia closed in 2013, due to controversies and critiques by international media as well as death threats and hate mail to the owners. The SoldatenKaffee, however, reopened in 2014, the owner claimed that his establishment was never aimed to promote Nazi ideology explaining that Nazism was only seen from a historical perspective in Indonesia. The SoldatenKaffee closed again in 2017 due to moving elsewhere for lack of local demand.[46]
There is an ongoing interest in Thailand in Nazi symbolism, particularly among young people. The fascination with such imagery is considered to be based on a lack of understanding of the Holocaust rather than political leanings or hate crime.[47][48][49][50][51][52] A Nazi-themed restaurant in Ubon Ratchathani was opened in 2011 called Hitler Fried Chicken, which gained considerable social media traction after an image of it was posted on Twitter. At this point, the restaurant had already changed its name to H-ler Food and Drink and censored Adolf Hitler's face on its store-front branding.[53]
In 2006, a restaurant named Hitler's Cross was opened in Mumbai, India. It was later renamed after protests by the Indian Jewish community.[54] 'Nazi Collection' Bedspread was launched, by a Mumbai-based home furnishing company in 2007.[55] In 2007, in Gujarat a men's clothing store named Hitler was in the news. After the outrage, the owners claimed they did not know Adolf Hitler.[56] In 2011, a pool parlour named Hitler's Den was opened in Nagpur. It included the Nazi swastika and insignia. The Israeli embassy in India expressed displeasure with the naming. The Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organisation, called for the parlour to be renamed. However, the owners refused.[57]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
