It was a fancy dress party where costume are often meant to ridicule whatever they represent. These costumes are available to this day online on many costume party providers website. Was this an inappropriate and distasteful choice for Prince Harry in 2005? Yes. Ill-advised? Yes. Intended as a slur or to be disrespectful to those that perished in the Shoah, certainly not.
I'm sure we all did and said things when we were 19/20 years old that we would no be proud of today. Fortunately we didn't have the press to blow these things out of proportion or look to interpret a deeper, more unsettling meaning.
I don’t care what kind of party it was. A 19 year old person should know better!
You are literally excusing him wearing a Nazi outfit!!
I’m well aware they are available, does not make it right. And even worse when someone chooses to wear it.
I never wore a swastika or did blackface it anything that stupid!
Because I was knew it was wrong!
Please tell me you aren’t Jewish? Because i can not imagine any Jew excusing this! Especially not ones who lost family in the Holocaust.
I'm not defending Harry here because in his position he should not have worn that costume but he wasn't alone in wearing Nazi costumes to fancy-dress parties. I know that because back in the 90s friends of mine had a costume business and used to hire out various ranks of Nazi uniforms. It might have been acceptable to dress like this for a joke because in the 80s we had a very popular TV programme here called 'Allo Allo', which made fun of everyone ie Nazis, French resistance, British airmen etc. It was repeated for years afterwards and we've had other war themed programmes that made fun of Nazis. I also recall a WW2 theme party I held years ago and some guests dressed as Nazi officers (one as the Gestapo character from the TV prog). Two of my uncles (who had both fought in the war) were there and thought it was hilarious. Looking back now, I can see how offensive it might have appeared but I can honestly say we just thought of it as 'dressing up as the enemy'.
Just because everyone else does it, does not mean you should too.
Ther dis a different between saying a joke to dressing up as one, even as a joke.
Agree, there is a considerable degree between dressing up in a Nazi costume and showing sympathy for a Nazi ideology.
For a young royal it would usually be ill-advised and in poor taste to dress up as a Nazi, but IMO also forgivable as one of the thoughtless mistakes we all make in our lives, not least when young.
There is no degree. Nazi outfit does not change it’s meaning, the symbols remain the same. is a Nazi outfit is a Nazi outfit.
It is the equivalent of blackface to a Jewish person!
19 is old enough to know it is wrong. This was not done 85 years ago (like the queen picture saluting, done when the U.K. was just realizing the dangers of Nazi germany), this is done at a time where people knew full well what the Nazi’s and their symbols stand for.
People dressing up as "funny/crazy Hitler" for fancy dress parties was once fairly common although much less so now or even then. The entire theme of the party was something like colonial era Africa, which also got criticism for obvious reasons and questions about why he picked the Afrika Korps out of that very broad direction. IIRC it happened quite near a holocaust memorial anniversary which the organisers said at least it's given everyone a chance to discuss why they consider it inappropriate even if it's in fun and not in support. Though the other things including the use of slurs that came to light ended up forever including this in the old "PH is a racist" argument more than it would have done if this was the only time it happened.
But he could use even that (and the other less excusable public instances) of how he came to realise even things he did that were meant to be harmless and fun or were thoughtless/ill advised but not malicious could affect people and propagate negative stereotypes etc and how he grew beyond his privileged bubble. IF he has actually done so. That would definitely be more interesting and more palatable than the word salad and lecturing from on high or the "everyone else was the problem" that this book takes.
There is no excuse to wearing a Nazi outfit.
Unless any of you are jewish, you do not get to tell a Jewish person someone wearing a Nazi outfit is not anti Semitic, and that “it is excusably” when they are telling you it is not.
It is exactly like blackface!
Not “if’s” or “but’s”
No excuses.
I am utterly shocked at the blasé responds and excuses being used by memebrs here to an actual Jew telling you this is wrong.
Would you say the same thing if it came up that Harry raped a few women in his youth?
Would you simply say “oh well he didn’t mean it, he was young and “boys will be boys””?!
No. Because as (mostly) women you know rape is wrong, and there is no excuse for it, not even young age.
So, listen to me (and betsy), a granddaughter of 6!! Holocaust survivors!:
THERE IS NO EXCUSE.
His age is not an excuse.
The theme of the party is not an excuse. Many others seemed able to realize wearing such an outfit is wrong.
And if you are all so inclined, I can share with you the stories I grew up on from my grandparents.
How one jumped off a moving train headed to Trablinka, where her parents and 6 year old brother were gassed to death. How while living in the Warsaw she escaped out and back in with food for her family, because she looked like the model Aryan.
How one fled with her family to Russia living in the freeze of Siberia for 5 before being allowed back into Poland.
How one spend time in Lodez Ghetto, and ended up terrified of dogs! Because he was attacked by Nazi with dogs.
And those are easy to hear stories.
I hope the mods would not edit my comment, and I do hope they won’t put me on time out for this comment! Because i can not sit back and shut up about this.
