Nazi Symbols Used as Decorations on New Clothing Line

This week Hong Kong fashion company www.izzue.com launched their newest line of clothing. The designer, who wanted a military motif, chose the swastika and other symbols of the Nazi party for decorations, not realizing that they might offend people.

Diplomats from Germany and Israel are urging people to boycott the 14 stores owned by www.izzue.com. A German diplomat said, "It's totally inappropriate because these symbols of the Nazi regime stand for cruelty and crimes against humanity."

The same diplomat, who is stationed in Hong Kong, also said, "These symbols brought a lot of pain not only over Europe, but over the whole world. It's definitely not the way to promote clothes."

IZZUE FASHIONS

To the designer of the clothing I say "Here's your sign"

Originally posted by MiStErBeLLaTrIx


The designer, who wanted a military motif, chose the swastika and other symbols of the Nazi party for decorations, not realizing that they might offend people.




IZZUE FASHIONS

Well I can see where one might not realize that it was really not appropriate. But It is a part of history.
I really dont see what the fuss is all about.

In case people don't know "Here's your sign" was a comedy routine by American comic Bill Engvall that made fun of stupid people.

the swastika symbol was used long before hitler so why everyone associates it with JUST hitler is beyond me. so they are not JUST symbols of nazism. maybe lightning bolts and "ss" symbols....



besides, its not illegal to use it and they can boycott if they want. they're still whining. people are too quick to over react.

dont like it? then dont buy the clothing. thats the fastest way to drive a business into the ground, not give them any attention or money.

this is free press and even bad press is good press to them. this is working better than an advertising campaign they would have come up with. after all if it were not for this i would not have heard about it but i still dont give a rats behind about it.

thumbs down for the emotionally over reactive.

Originally posted by ThePrankMonkey
the swastika symbol was used long before hitler so why everyone associates it with JUST hitler is beyond me. so they are not JUST symbols of nazism. maybe lightning bolts and "ss" symbols....

Because how we dress and act is an important part of communication, just as important as the words we speak and write.

If you wear a nazi symbol, people will assume that you support nazi ideals. You can argue all you want that the symbols have historical meanings that predate nazism all you want, but people will still think that you support nazism.

Knowing that in advance, if you choose to wear the symbols, you're making a choice to communicate support of those ideals, even if you don't actually support them.

Anyway, www.izzue.com seems to be down at the moment. Too bad, I would have liked to see them.

Originally posted by ThePrankMonkey
the swastika symbol was used long before hitler so why everyone associates it with JUST hitler is beyond me. so they are not JUST symbols of nazism. maybe lightning bolts and "ss" symbols....



besides, its not illegal to use it and they can boycott if they want. they're still whining. people are too quick to over react.

dont like it? then dont buy the clothing. thats the fastest way to drive a business into the ground, not give them any attention or money.

this is free press and even bad press is good press to them. this is working better than an advertising campaign they would have come up with. after all if it were not for this i would not have heard about it but i still dont give a rats behind about it.

thumbs down for the emotionally over reactive.

If you check out the pic it is a little more than just swastikas.

Originally posted by ThePrankMonkey
the swastika symbol was used long before hitler so why everyone associates it with JUST hitler is beyond me. so they are not JUST symbols of nazism. maybe lightning bolts and "ss" symbols....



besides, its not illegal to use it and they can boycott if they want. they're still whining. people are too quick to over react.

Remember, the sign s used prior to the National Socialists in Germany were an American Indian tribe and the Finns. Howeer, when they utilized the sign, it was bacwards in relation to the Nazi swastika.

I agree that while it is not illegal to use it, it is particularly unfeeling. When I was much younger and started building scale aircraft you almost could not find a model with swastikas on the decal sheet. If you wanted to accurately depict a German WWII warplane, you either had to hand paint the swastika or find after market decals (not an easy thing to do in the early 60's),

Originally posted by Mycroft

Originally posted by ThePrankMonkey
the swastika symbol was used long before hitler so why everyone associates it with JUST hitler is beyond me. so they are not JUST symbols of nazism. maybe lightning bolts and "ss" symbols....

Because how we dress and act is an important part of communication, just as important as the words we speak and write.

If you wear a nazi symbol, people will assume that you support nazi ideals. You can argue all you want that the symbols have historical meanings that predate nazism all you want, but people will still think that you support nazism.

Knowing that in advance, if you choose to wear the symbols, you're making a choice to communicate support of those ideals, even if you don't actually support them.

ugh, its just a symbol! good grief, its been used by other people than nazis and skinheads. it is not JUST a "nazi symbol". you're still in that "its a nazi thing" mindset.

and basically what you're saying is people are short sighted, narrowed minded and pretty much shallow by being judgemental.



thanks for the heads up.



i already knew that!!!

and how one dresses doesnt mean squat. if it does then you're judging a person based on looks instead of their merits, might as well judge them based on their skin color while you're at it.

Prankmonkey is correct. No government regulation or anything like that should bar this company from selling what they want to sell. If people are annoyed, let them not support the company. A company out of business will find it hard to piss someone off.
As for their customers, I'd be interested to see what plays out if someone wore one of those shirts in NYC. That would be something worth taping and sending to realtv

Here are some examples of the swastika element in the cultures of
India, China, Ancient Greece, Israel, America and Europe.

The word SWASTIKA is derived from the Sanskrit word: SVASTIKAH, which means 'being fortunate'. The first part of the word, SVASTI-, can be divided into two parts: SU- 'good; well', and -ASTI- 'is'. The -ASTIKAH part just means 'being'. The word is associated with auspicious things in India - - because it means 'auspicious'.


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In India, both clockwise and counterclockwise swastikas were used, with different meanings. Since the swastika is a simple symbol, it has been used, perhaps independently, by many human societies. One of the oldest known swastikas was painted on a Paleolithic cave at least 10,000 years ago. The swastika still continues today to be an extensively used sign in Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. In Jainism, it delineates their seventh saint, and the four arms are also used to remind the worshiper of the four possible places of rebirth; the animal or plant world, in Hell, on Earth, or in the spirit world. To Hindus, the swastika with the arms bent to the left is called the sathio or sauvastika, which symbolizes night, magic, purity, and the destructive goddess Kali. In both Hinduism and Jainism, the swastika or sathio is used to mark the opening pages or their account books, thresholds, doors, and offerings.



Swastika as hinduist and jainist symbol


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In China, about 2000 years ago, when Buddhism was brought to China from India, the Chinese also borrowed the swastika and its sense of auspiciousness. In China, the swastika is considered to be a Chinese character with the reading of WAN (in Mandarin). It is also thought to be equivalent to another Chinese character with the same pronunciation, which means 'ten thousand; a large number; all'.

The silk was discovered during the 1970s at Mawangdui, near Changsa, in Number Three Tomb. There were 29 comets illustrated on the silk, of which the last 4 are shown above. As you can see, the last comet, on the far left, is illustrated by a Swastika.




According to Joe Hofler, who also refers to Dr. Kumbari of the museum of Urumqi in Xinjiang, China, the Indo-Aryans of the Germanic branch traveled into Europe around 2000 BC and brought with them the "swastika" symbol (sun disk) of their religious art at that time as shown by excavations of Kurgan graves on the steppes of Russia and Indo-Aryan graves in Xinjiang, China.

The ancient Chinese WuShu coin

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In Greece, Ancient Crete and Ancient Troy the swastika was widely used as decorative element.

A Geometric Bowl at
the Otago Museum
dates to the 8th century B.C.

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In the Americas, the swastika was used by Native Americans in North, Central, and South America. The swastika was also widely used in Mayan and Aztec art. In North America, the swastika was a symbol used by the Navajos, Tennessee and Ohio Indian burial mounds (Hopewell Mound).
Rug from Central America

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In Israel one can find the swastika as element of decoration in ancient synagogues.




Ein-Gedi -
The Swastika mosaic from the earlier synagogue.

Maoz Haim -
The Swastika on the synagogue mosaic floor.

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In Europe, found in the Catacombs of Rome (see Crux Dissimulata), embroidered on Christian vestments (8th and 9th cent. CE), it was known to Germanic tribes as the "Cross of Thor". As the "Cross of Thor", the symbol was even brought to England by Scandinavian settlers in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, long before Hitler.
11th century mosaic in St.Sophia Church. Kiev. Ukraine.






Soviet Army patch. 1919.
Swastika as a symbol of luck on the post card.


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"The swastika symbolizes so much more than what the Nazis planned. The swastika existed as a symbol of good fortune thousands of years before the Nazis even existed. The symbol is to many cultures an important one, representing their history and beliefs. The Nazis, by taking the swastika, annihilated the significance of the ancient symbol. Today, the swastika is to most people a symbol of evil, a symbol of demise, and a symbol of ruination. It is extremely depressing to find that although the swastika is a symbol of life, and symbol of joy, it has been made a symbol of evil, something the people of the ancient world never intended it to be." by Chirag Badlani

cool, very interesting. Its crazy what clothes companies use to make a fashion statement. Personally i think its a bad idea using the swastika symbol

A good slap in the face for all those who thought nazism died with Hitler. Shall I say "Hello?!"

edit
Althought this particular cross had a meaning before the Nazi used it.. Makes one wonder.

[Edited on 11-8-2003 by m0rbid]

Originally posted by ThePrankMonkey

ugh, its just a symbol! good grief, its been used by other people than nazis and skinheads. it is not JUST a "nazi symbol". you're still in that "its a nazi thing" mindset.

The point is there is no such thing as "just a symbol". They have meaning. If people interpret a symbol as representing hatred and violence, then that's the meaning of the symbol. If someone wears it knowing people will interpret it that way, then that's what they're choosing to communicate.

It doesn't make any sense to call other people shallow and ignorant for misinterpreting your symbol. If you wear it, you're the one doing the communicating and it's up to you to be understood.

Originally posted by ThePrankMonkeyand basically what you're saying is people are short sighted, narrowed minded and pretty much shallow by being judgemental.

There is nothing wrong with being judgmental. It's how you use your judgment that makes the difference.

A symbol which represents mass murder,rape and evil acts shouldn't be used by a fashion company. I agree with what someone said, its more the "just a symbol".

Swastika= 4 L's

Life
Liberty
Love
Light

Don't see how that is bad. Sure, Hitler(very superstitious) Used it, but that was because of what the swastika meant. He also had the Holy Lance from Italy for the myth behing the Holy Lance was the person who held it would be invincible in battle. he also used other symbols/items that were suppose to help in battle/life.

People, it is just a symbol. There is no bad symbol or good symbol. Did the symbol go out and kill little babies? Did the symbol do anything? NO! People commited actions, horrific ones, not the symbols.

Like words, even on this board, f*(k is a bad word, $h*t is a bad word, yet what did they do? What did those words do? Say f*(k to someone who doesn't know it is a "bad" word and they won't do anything. And again, what did the words do? Not once have I ever heard of $h*t going out and shooting people or spreading disease(the word, not the object) and yet it is "bad".

Anyways, let them make the clothes, I support Life, Liberty, Light, and Love, don't you?

It's obvious that the swastika does not denote Natzi, however it's what 99% of the world will think of immediately. Go to Germany and see the natzi youth there, scar and all the hatred it produces. Then think how cool you will look with your symbolysm on your chest.

$0.02

So, this would be a fashion "faux pas"?

Seriously, while the Swastika can mean many things (still a common protection ward in India), to most, it means Nazism. While I think it should be perfectly "legal" for a clothing designer to put whatever design they choose on something, it's also other's rights to organize boycotts. Hard to imagine the dolts didn't see this coming....

As one poster mentioned...."Here's your sign"

They are getting talked about, though. If that was thier aim, they have succeeded. I would never have heard thier name unless this occured.