Nazi chic
Encyclopedia
Nazi chic refers to the approving use of Nazi-era style, imagery, and paraphernalia in clothing and popular culture, especially when used for taboo breaking or shock value rather than out of genuine nazist sympathies.
Its use began in the mid-seventies with the emergence of the punk
movement in London : the Sex Pistols
' first television appearance occurred with a person of their entourage wearing a swastika. Nazi chic was later used in the fashion industry in various occasions.
, several items of clothing designed to shock and offend The Establishment
became popular. Among these punk fashion
items was a T-shirt
displaying a Swastika
, an upside-down crucifix
and the word DESTROY– which was worn by Johnny Rotten
of the Sex Pistols
, seen in the video for "Pretty Vacant
". Rotten wore the swastika another time with a gesture that looked like a Nazi salute
. In 1976, Siouxsie Sioux
of Siouxsie and the Banshees was also known to wear a Swastika armband with fetish S and M clothing, including fishnets and a whip. These musicians are commonly thought to have worn such clothing for shock value directed towards the British WWII generation
rather than being genuinely associated with any National Socialist or fascist ideologies, and those with such interests likely became part of the Nazi punk
or white power skinhead subcultures.
In 1984, two T-shirt designs featuring Adolf Hitler
became popular. 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; and tour dates given as:
A person attending an REM concert on September 28, 1986 wearing the "Adolf Hitler European Tour" T-shirt was asked to leave by Michael Stipe
. 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". Local courts ruled against the shirt makers, although Bavaria
n state courts later ruled in their favor.
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." (Later Ferry denied ever making this quote, and the newspapers printed a rectification.) The American
glam metal
band Mötley Crüe
inserted in the booklet of the album Mötley Crüe (1994) an image of Nikki Sixx
dressed as a Nazi. Officially, that photo was related to a lyric about the mistake of judging by the appearances, but actually it was inserted to mock the media The discographer decided to cancel that photo and to reprint the whole booklet. In the Mötley Crüe autobiography, The Dirt, the band writes about their "Nazi Wednesdays", in which they used to walk down the street dressed in Nazi uniforms.
In early 2005 a designer using the pseudonym "Helmut Doork
" 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
." In response to a complaint from the Anti-Defamation League
, the design was removed from CafePress
' website in late 2006.
Prince Harry
was criticized for wearing a costume with a swastika
armband causing considerable embarrassment to his family. He later issued a public statement apologizing for his actions, but his lack of apology in person angered some groups. Harry's impromptu costume resembled the Afrika Corps, rather than more political units such as the SS
.
. The symbolism of fascist, communist, and other ideologies remains popular, and a common compromise is to adopt the main design features of Nazi-era clothing– such as peaked caps, jackboots and trenchcoats– but not to include any explicit Nazi symbols. Sometimes substitute symbols are used, with designs that clearly reference the design styles of Nazi symbols without directly copying them.
Some clubs ban the wearing of the swastika
or explicitly Nazi-style uniforms as part of their dresscode.
have been on sale in East Asia
, where some consider it fashionable. Hong Kong
and Japan
have each witnessed a growth in the casual wearing of SS uniforms, as well as increased interest in White power music
. Sometimes in East Asia, Nazi
uniforms are used as part of cosplay
. 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." Nazi-inspired imagery was featured in various early releases from the Japanese band The 5.6.7.8's
.
In some parts of the world, World War II
is not taught in schools as a battle of political ideologies, but as a conventional war. This type of education treats Hitler and the Nazi Party as charismatic and powerful leaders of countries during wartime, instead of war criminals as elsewhere. George Burdi
, the former head of the neo-Nazi
record label
Resistance Records
, claimed to have sold many CDs to Japan
, because some Japanese believe themselves to be the master race
of the East. In Turkey
, Hitler's book Mein Kampf
is an annual bestseller.
Its use began in the mid-seventies with the emergence of the punk
Punk subculture
The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
movement in London : the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
' first television appearance occurred with a person of their entourage wearing a swastika. Nazi chic was later used in the fashion industry in various occasions.
Popular usage
In the 1970s punk subculturePunk subculture
The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
, several items of clothing designed to shock and offend The Establishment
The Establishment
The Establishment is a term used to refer to a visible dominant group or elite that holds power or authority in a nation. The term suggests a closed social group which selects its own members...
became popular. Among these punk fashion
Punk fashion
Punk fashion is the clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, jewelry, and body modifications of the punk subculture. Punk fashion varies widely, ranging from Vivienne Westwood designs to styles modeled on bands like The Exploited. The distinct social dress of other subcultures and art movements, including...
items was a T-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
displaying a Swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
, an upside-down crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
and the word DESTROY– which was worn by Johnny Rotten
John Lydon
John Joseph Lydon , also known by the former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a singer-songwriter and television presenter, best known as the lead singer of punk rock band the Sex Pistols from 1975 until 1978, and again for various revivals during the 1990s and 2000s...
of the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
, seen in the video for "Pretty Vacant
Pretty Vacant
"Pretty Vacant" is a song by the English punk rock band The Sex Pistols. It was released on 1 July 1977 as the third single from their only album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. The song marked the band's only appearance on the British music show Top of the Pops...
". Rotten wore the swastika another time with a gesture that looked like a Nazi salute
Nazi salute
The Nazi salute, or Hitler salute , was a gesture of greeting in Nazi Germany usually accompanied by saying, Heil Hitler! ["Hail Hitler!"], Heil, mein Führer ["Hail, my leader!"], or Sieg Heil! ["Hail victory!"]...
. In 1976, Siouxsie Sioux
Siouxsie Sioux
Siouxsie Sioux is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer of the critically acclaimed rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees and of its splinter group The Creatures . The Banshees produced eleven studio albums and a string of hit singles including "Hong Kong Garden",...
of Siouxsie and the Banshees was also known to wear a Swastika armband with fetish S and M clothing, including fishnets and a whip. These musicians are commonly thought to have worn such clothing for shock value directed towards the British WWII generation
Timeline of the United Kingdom home front during World War II
This is a Timeline of the United Kingdom home front during World War II. For narrative and bibliography see Home front during World War II-1939:3 June 193924 August 19391 September 19393 September 19391 October 19396 October 1939-1940:8 January 1940...
rather than being genuinely associated with any National Socialist or fascist ideologies, and those with such interests likely became part of the Nazi punk
Nazi punk
A Nazi punk is a neo-Nazi who is part of the punk subculture. The term also describes the related type of music. Nazi punk music sounds similar to most forms of punk rock, but it differs by having lyrics that express hatred of Jews, homosexuals, communists, anarchists, anti-racists and people who...
or white power skinhead subcultures.
In 1984, two T-shirt designs featuring Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
became popular. 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
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, with conquered territories shaded; and tour dates given as:
- September 1939 Poland
- April 1940 Norway
- May 1940 Luxembourg
- May 1940 Holland
- May 1940 Belgium
- June 1940 France
- September 1940 England Cancelled
- April 1941 Jugoslavia
- May 1941 Greece
- June 1941 Crete
- August 1942 Russia Cancelled
- July 1945 Berlin Bunker.
A person attending an REM concert on September 28, 1986 wearing the "Adolf Hitler European Tour" T-shirt was asked to leave by Michael Stipe
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
. A less popular T-shirt featured Hitler giving the Roman salute
Roman salute
The Roman salute is a gesture in which the arm is held out forward straight, with palm down, and fingers touching. In some versions, the arm is raised upward at an angle; in others, it is held out parallel to the ground. The former is a well known symbol of fascism that is commonly perceived to be...
, and a yo-yo
Yo-yo
The yo-yo in its simplest form is an object consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a length of twine looped around the axle, similar to a slender spool...
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". Local courts ruled against the shirt makers, although Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n state courts later ruled in their favor.
In an interview with Welt am Sonntag
Welt am Sonntag
Welt am Sonntag is a German national Sunday newspaper published by Axel Springer AG, and established in 1948. Its head office is in Berlin, and it has local editions for Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Düsseldorf....
, Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
, the English singer and musician, acknowledged that he calls his studio in west London his "Führerbunker
Führerbunker
The Führerbunker was located beneath Hitler's New Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex which was constructed in two major phases, one part in 1936 and the other in 1943...
". He was quoted as saying, "My God, the Nazis knew how to put themselves in the limelight and present themselves. ... Leni Riefenstahl's
Leni Riefenstahl
Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl was a German film director, actress and dancer widely noted for her aesthetics and innovations as a filmmaker. Her most famous film was Triumph des Willens , a propaganda film made at the 1934 Nuremberg congress of the Nazi Party...
movies and Albert Speer's
Albert Speer
Albert Speer, born Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, was a German architect who was, for a part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...
buildings and the mass parades and the flags - just amazing. Really beautiful." (Later Ferry denied ever making this quote, and the newspapers printed a rectification.) The American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
glam metal
Glam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
band Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
inserted in the booklet of the album Mötley Crüe (1994) an image of Nikki Sixx
Nikki Sixx
Nikki Sixx is an American musician, songwriter, author, fashion designer, radio host, and photographer, best known as the co-founder and bassist of the band Mötley Crüe. Prior to forming Mötley Crüe, Sixx was a member of Sister before going on to form London with his Sister band mate Lizzie Grey...
dressed as a Nazi. Officially, that photo was related to a lyric about the mistake of judging by the appearances, but actually it was inserted to mock the media The discographer decided to cancel that photo and to reprint the whole booklet. In the Mötley Crüe autobiography, The Dirt, the band writes about their "Nazi Wednesdays", in which they used to walk down the street dressed in Nazi uniforms.
In early 2005 a designer using the pseudonym "Helmut Doork
The Day the Clown Cried
The Day the Clown Cried is an unfinished and unreleased 1972 film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. It is based on a script of the same name by Joan O'Brien, who had co-written the original script with Charles Denton 10 years previously. The film was met with controversy regarding its premise...
" 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
Arbeit macht frei
"'" is a German phrase, literally "work makes free," meaning "work sets you free" or "work liberates". The slogan is known for having been placed over the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust, including most infamously Auschwitz I, where it was made by prisoners...
." In response to a complaint from the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
, the design was removed from CafePress
CafePress.com
CafePress, Inc. is an online retailer of stock and user-customized on demand products. CafePress, Inc. is headquartered in San Mateo, California, USA and its production facility is located in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2001, CafePress.com won the People's Voice Webby Award in the Commerce...
' website in late 2006.
Prince Harry
Prince Harry of Wales
Prince Henry of Wales , commonly known as Prince Harry, is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and fourth grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
was criticized for wearing a costume with a swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
armband causing considerable embarrassment to his family. He later issued a public statement apologizing for his actions, but his lack of apology in person angered some groups. Harry's impromptu costume resembled the Afrika Corps, rather than more political units such as the SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
.
Nazi chic in fetish clothing
Nazi chic is a controversial topic in the fetish clothing subcultureSubculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
. The symbolism of fascist, communist, and other ideologies remains popular, and a common compromise is to adopt the main design features of Nazi-era clothing– such as peaked caps, jackboots and trenchcoats– but not to include any explicit Nazi symbols. Sometimes substitute symbols are used, with designs that clearly reference the design styles of Nazi symbols without directly copying them.
Some clubs ban the wearing of the swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
or explicitly Nazi-style uniforms as part of their dresscode.
Nazi chic in Asia
Uniforms and other imagery related to Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
have been on sale in East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
, where some consider it fashionable. Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
have each witnessed a growth in the casual wearing of SS uniforms, as well as increased interest in White power music
Rock Against Communism
Rock Against Communism started out as series of white power rock concerts in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s, and is also a name for the subsequent music genre. Despite its name, RAC song lyrics rarely focus on the specific topic of anti-communism...
. Sometimes in East Asia, Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
uniforms are used as part of cosplay
Cosplay
, short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan, but recent trends have included American cartoons and science fiction...
. In South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, 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." Nazi-inspired imagery was featured in various early releases from the Japanese band The 5.6.7.8's
The 5.6.7.8's
The 5.6.7.8's are an all-female Japanese rock trio, whose music is reminiscent of American surf music, rockabilly and garage rock. They frequently cover songs from American rock and roll. Each member is from Tokyo, Japan....
.
In some parts of the world, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
is not taught in schools as a battle of political ideologies, but as a conventional war. This type of education treats Hitler and the Nazi Party as charismatic and powerful leaders of countries during wartime, instead of war criminals as elsewhere. George Burdi
George Burdi
George Burdi, also known as George Eric Hawthorne , is a Canadian musician who initially became known for his role in White nationalist organizations. He led the Canadian branch of the World Church of the Creator, which formed an allegiance with the now-defunct nationalist organization Heritage Front...
, the former head of the neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Resistance Records
Resistance Records
Resistance Records is a record label owned by Resistance LLC, a society closely connected to the National Alliance. It produces and sells music by neo-Nazi and white separatist musicians, primarily through its website...
, claimed to have sold many CDs to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, because some Japanese believe themselves to be the master race
Master race
Master race was a phrase and concept originating in the slave-holding Southern US. The later phrase Herrenvolk , interpreted as 'master race', was a concept in Nazi ideology in which the Nordic peoples, one of the branches of what in the late-19th and early-20th century was called the Aryan race,...
of the East. In Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Hitler's book Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
is an annual bestseller.
See also
- Ilsa: She-Wolf of the SSIlsa: She-Wolf of the SSIlsa, She Wolf of the SS is a 1975 Nazi exploitation film produced in the USA. The film was directed by Don Edmonds, produced by David F. Friedman and written by Jonah Royston.- Plot :...
- Nazi exploitationNazi exploitationNazi exploitation is a subgenre of exploitation film and sexploitation film that involves villainous Nazis committing criminal acts of a sexual nature often as camp or prison overseers in World War II settings...
- Uniform fetishism
- FashionFashionFashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
- Ethnic stereotypes in pornography
- List of chics