Mini Skirt With Auschwitz Images Pulled From E-Commerce site

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An Australian company this week removed a mini skirt, tote bag, and throw pillow decorated with Holocaust images from its e-commerce site after the Auschwitz Memorial tweeted the merchandise was “disturbing and disrespectful.”

While Jewish organizations praised the platform for its action and apology, they expressed concern the incident reflects a wider lack of awareness about the Holocaust.

“This insensitive and disrespectful display is just the latest in what has become a pervasive trend among certain vendors to flippantly offer up offensive items without pausing to consider the dangerous ramifications of turning symbols of human evil and human tragedy into fashion,” World Jewish Conference CEO and executive vice president Robert Singer told Fortune.

The Redbubble incident is reminiscent of three separate offenses in recent years by global fashion retailers.

“In 2014, Zara sold striped t-shirts bearing the Star of David, an obvious replicate of the striped pajamas worn by concentration camp inmates and the Jewish stars forced on Jews in the ghetto,” said Singer, expressing disbelief the company would do this since, “Just two years before, in 2012, Urban Outfitters sold a similar shirt, to the disgust of the Jewish community.”

Singer continued: “In 2017, the Prada-owned Miu Miu company sold a similar item, containing a yellow patch, removing it from its website only after representatives of the WJC personally called to express its discomfort and disgust.”

“Most e-tailers are not resourced to provide ongoing, active monitoring of all content available on the site,” Greg Portell, a lead global partner at A.T. Kearney’s consumer and retail practice, told Fortune. “Most aren’t curated like a traditional retail environment. Rather, they operate as communities with a spirit of open access. So this issue will continue to challenge social and commerce sites.”

We do not pre-screen every image that is uploaded to the site, as there are tens of thousands of images uploaded daily,” a spokesperson said, noting the company has a team, as well as third-party technology, which scours the site to identify and remove content and creators that violate its guidelines.

“While our team works tirelessly on this review,” the spokesperson said, “considering the sheer volume of designs that are submitted, we greatly appreciate our community, or others, bringing any problematic works to our attention if something is found that has not yet been removed.”

In fact, shortly after Redbubble tweeted Tuesday it had removed the products emblazoned with death camp photographs, the Auschwitz Memorial tweeted it found another shirt on the site, featuring a drawing of a character named “Dr. Holocaust.”

This item was removed as well, and the Auschwitz Memorial thanked the e-tailer for its message and actions.

A 2018 study conducted by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany and Schoen Consulting found two-thirds of millennials are unaware of Auschwitz.

Citing the rise of “Nazi chic” aesthetics around the world—from Nazi themed bars and cafes, to people dressing up in SS uniforms for parades—Rabbi Cooper said, “This may seem like a fleeting incident, but it isn’t.”

Citing the rise of “Nazi chic” aesthetics around the world—from Nazi themed bars and cafes, to people dressing up in SS uniforms for parades...

Gosh.

Reminds of a tidbit I read in the margins of the National Lampoon years ago. A real thing.

Some fashion designer had models wear dark shadows around their eyes, and wear garments with wide vertical black and white strips "inspired" by the prisoners of the death camps. The project was banned from the fashion show runway, but even so. Who would even dream up such an idea?