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Nazi chic
Nazi chic is the use of style, imagery, and paraphernalia in clothing and popular culture related to Nazi-era Germany, especially when used for taboo-breaking or shock value rather than out of genuine support of Nazism or Nazi ideology.
Its popularity began in the 1970s with the emergence of the heavy metal, punk, and glam rock movements: the Sex Pistols' first television appearance occurred with a person of their entourage wearing Nazi regalia. Nazi chic was later used in the fashion industry. The trend, while having originated in the Western culture, by the late 20th and early 21st century became particularly popular in Asia. Nazi chic also partly inspired some of the fashion of the leather subculture.
In the surf culture of the 1950s and 1960s, "Surf Nazis" would experiment with Nazi aesthetics, such as swastikas and Nazi helmets, and sometimes paint swastikas on their surfboards. Their motivation was often anti-establishment rebelliousness, rather than genuine sympathy with the Nazis. 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." In the 1960s, some filmmakers looking for edgy and controversial ideas incorporated Nazi themes into their works for shock value, with the 1965 film Censored described as having "the dubious honour of being the very first skinflick to mix Nazis and naked women".[unreliable source?]
In the early 1970s, glam rock acts incorporated Nazi symbolism into their works, often for the shock value and outrageousness, or for comedic effect. Steve Priest, of the glam rock band The Sweet, wore a Nazi uniform and fake toothbrush moustache in a December 1973 live performance of "Block Buster!", on Top of the Pops. In the 1970s punk subculture, 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. However, the English classical composer, Cornelius Cardew, a Maoist, wrote a tract that called punk rock fascist.[citation needed]
In 1984, two T-shirt designs featuring Adolf Hitler were produced in West Germany. 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". 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. 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.
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."
English heavy metal and rock and roll 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".
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. 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.
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Nazi chic
Nazi chic is the use of style, imagery, and paraphernalia in clothing and popular culture related to Nazi-era Germany, especially when used for taboo-breaking or shock value rather than out of genuine support of Nazism or Nazi ideology.
Its popularity began in the 1970s with the emergence of the heavy metal, punk, and glam rock movements: the Sex Pistols' first television appearance occurred with a person of their entourage wearing Nazi regalia. Nazi chic was later used in the fashion industry. The trend, while having originated in the Western culture, by the late 20th and early 21st century became particularly popular in Asia. Nazi chic also partly inspired some of the fashion of the leather subculture.
In the surf culture of the 1950s and 1960s, "Surf Nazis" would experiment with Nazi aesthetics, such as swastikas and Nazi helmets, and sometimes paint swastikas on their surfboards. Their motivation was often anti-establishment rebelliousness, rather than genuine sympathy with the Nazis. 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." In the 1960s, some filmmakers looking for edgy and controversial ideas incorporated Nazi themes into their works for shock value, with the 1965 film Censored described as having "the dubious honour of being the very first skinflick to mix Nazis and naked women".[unreliable source?]
In the early 1970s, glam rock acts incorporated Nazi symbolism into their works, often for the shock value and outrageousness, or for comedic effect. Steve Priest, of the glam rock band The Sweet, wore a Nazi uniform and fake toothbrush moustache in a December 1973 live performance of "Block Buster!", on Top of the Pops. In the 1970s punk subculture, 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. However, the English classical composer, Cornelius Cardew, a Maoist, wrote a tract that called punk rock fascist.[citation needed]
In 1984, two T-shirt designs featuring Adolf Hitler were produced in West Germany. 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". 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. 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.
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."
English heavy metal and rock and roll 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".
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. 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.
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