Home / alt.fashion / Friday, January 12, 2007
Hong Kong Nazi Chic: Hitler The Trendy Leader
€ 5,999,999
1/12/2007 7:34:01 AM
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http://finblake.home.mindspring.com/HongkongNaziChic200.jpg
http://www.xbiz.com/images/xbiz/temp/r3_10901_8.gif
http://www.xbiz.com/images/xbiz/temp/r3_10901_8.gif
KHARGHAR, India –– When an Adolf Hitler–themed restaurant opened its
doors in a suburb of cosmopolitan Mumbai in August, many were
horrified. The restaurant, Hitlers' Cross, changed its name a week
later to Cross Cafe, but it is hardly the only example of how some
Indians view Hitler and his legacy.
Hindu fundamentalist groups praise Hitler's leadership skills. A
college poll a few years ago showed he was perceived as an ideal
leader. Books and videos of him are top sellers. Most patrons prefer to
call Cross Cafe by its previous name. Plates and cups still bear the
Hitlers' Cross logo, with a Nazi swastika in place of the "O."
"We call it `Hitler' only," said Ashish Anant, 18, an aeronautics
college student who likes to come to the cafe with friends. "We say,
`Let's go to Hitler.' It's a trendy name. It's different."
It's not clear why Hitler is popular in some circles. Some experts say
it's because of a belief that Indians were the original Aryan race.
Others say it's because Hitler used the traditional Hindu good–luck
symbol of the swastika, rotating it slightly. Those who believe
strongly in the caste system of India also may like Hitler's eugenics
and race beliefs.
Any praise for Hitler is not reflected in national policy. India has
strong ties with Israel and views it as an ally in the war on terror.
And Jewish and non–Jewish Indians were horrified by Hitlers' Cross.
Daniel Zohar Zonshine, the Israel consul general in Mumbai, looked
visibly upset when talking about the portrayal of Hitler in India,
especially Hitlers' Cross. He said he thinks the owners wanted the free
publicity that comes with such controversy.
Educating the public
The consulate has tried to educate Indians about Hitler, sending a
Holocaust photograph exhibit and education materials last year to the
western state of Gujarat, where government textbooks have praised
Hitler. The Israeli Consulate will bring a Holocaust survivor and
artist to Mumbai to talk to Indian audiences next month.
"It's not an Israeli issue," said Zonshine, adding that World War II
was not ingrained in the DNA of India as it was in that of Europe or
Israel. "It's not a Jewish issue. It's a humanitarian issue."
Joshua Reuben, 29, who belongs to India's small Jewish community, said
he was offended by the restaurant but did not blame the owners.
"They probably haven't thought about hurting anybody's feelings," he
said.
Interviews with many young Indians indicated that they had little idea
of what Hitler actually did and that it did not really matter. They
described Hitler as "cool" or "trendy." They did not know details of
the Holocaust.
"I don't know much," admitted Puneet Sabhlok, 22, one of the
co–founders of Hitlers' Cross, which serves only one marginally German
item, German chocolate cake.
"He was a dictator," added co–founder Shakir Siddiqui, 27. "Gas
chambers and all."
Hitler is glorified in other ways. A poll of 400 students from the
country's most prestigious colleges by a leading Indian newspaper in
2002 found that Hitler was their third most requested ideal leader of
India, behind independence leader Mahatma Gandhi and the country's
then–Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
A pizza and cake chain in New Delhi, A Slice of Italy, sells a cake
called "one for the Hitler," featuring Hitler's face. Last year the
cake was sold with a swastika on the cap and was described as a
children's cake over the phone. Last month there was no swastika.
"It's not common, but it's exciting, madam," a worker at the pizza
chain told one woman who asked about the cake in November. "Order it."
`Hitler, the Supremo'
In Gujarat, textbooks have praised Hitler's leadership abilities,
fascism and the Nazi movement. Until recently, state social studies
textbooks have featured chapters on "Hitler, the Supremo" and "Internal
Achievements of Nazism." The textbooks have been changed slightly this
year but still barely mention the Holocaust.
This is the same state where Hindu–led riots led to the deaths of more
than 1,000 Muslims in the spring of 2002. Several investigations blamed
the state government, led by a Hindu–right political party, for
permitting the riots.
Bal Thackeray, the founder of Shiv Sena, a Hindu fundamentalist party
based in Mumbai, has openly praised Hitler and said he was willing to
wipe out troublemaking Muslims. Shiv Sena's secretary, Anil Desai, said
Thackeray liked Hitler's leadership abilities, not his attempts to
exterminate the Jews.
Thackeray likes "the way Hitler pushed the things in his time," Desai
said.
Hitler's autobiography, "Mein Kampf," flies off the shelves of many
bookstores. The Bandra branch of Crossword, a major bookstore chain in
the Mumbai area, sells 35 copies a week.
At the Rhythm House in downtown Mumbai, one of the city's oldest and
most popular video stores, the documentary "Hitler a Career" is sold in
the video section for children.
"Why are people buying it? Because they like him," store clerk Maqbool
Sayed said. "If it was up to me, I would hide these. I wouldn't put
them out at all."
http://www.countercurrents.org/barker241206.htm
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/9215/izzuenazi01cz9.jpg
http://img288.imageshack.us/img288/5083/nachigodaaa6.jpg
http://finblake.home.mindspring.com/HongkongNaziChic200.jpg
http://www.xbiz.com/images/xbiz/temp/r3_10901_8.gif
http://www.xbiz.com/images/xbiz/temp/r3_10901_8.gif
KHARGHAR, India –– When an Adolf Hitler–themed restaurant opened its
doors in a suburb of cosmopolitan Mumbai in August, many were
horrified. The restaurant, Hitlers' Cross, changed its name a week
later to Cross Cafe, but it is hardly the only example of how some
Indians view Hitler and his legacy.
Hindu fundamentalist groups praise Hitler's leadership skills. A
college poll a few years ago showed he was perceived as an ideal
leader. Books and videos of him are top sellers. Most patrons prefer to
call Cross Cafe by its previous name. Plates and cups still bear the
Hitlers' Cross logo, with a Nazi swastika in place of the "O."
"We call it `Hitler' only," said Ashish Anant, 18, an aeronautics
college student who likes to come to the cafe with friends. "We say,
`Let's go to Hitler.' It's a trendy name. It's different."
It's not clear why Hitler is popular in some circles. Some experts say
it's because of a belief that Indians were the original Aryan race.
Others say it's because Hitler used the traditional Hindu good–luck
symbol of the swastika, rotating it slightly. Those who believe
strongly in the caste system of India also may like Hitler's eugenics
and race beliefs.
Any praise for Hitler is not reflected in national policy. India has
strong ties with Israel and views it as an ally in the war on terror.
And Jewish and non–Jewish Indians were horrified by Hitlers' Cross.
Daniel Zohar Zonshine, the Israel consul general in Mumbai, looked
visibly upset when talking about the portrayal of Hitler in India,
especially Hitlers' Cross. He said he thinks the owners wanted the free
publicity that comes with such controversy.
Educating the public
The consulate has tried to educate Indians about Hitler, sending a
Holocaust photograph exhibit and education materials last year to the
western state of Gujarat, where government textbooks have praised
Hitler. The Israeli Consulate will bring a Holocaust survivor and
artist to Mumbai to talk to Indian audiences next month.
"It's not an Israeli issue," said Zonshine, adding that World War II
was not ingrained in the DNA of India as it was in that of Europe or
Israel. "It's not a Jewish issue. It's a humanitarian issue."
Joshua Reuben, 29, who belongs to India's small Jewish community, said
he was offended by the restaurant but did not blame the owners.
"They probably haven't thought about hurting anybody's feelings," he
said.
Interviews with many young Indians indicated that they had little idea
of what Hitler actually did and that it did not really matter. They
described Hitler as "cool" or "trendy." They did not know details of
the Holocaust.
"I don't know much," admitted Puneet Sabhlok, 22, one of the
co–founders of Hitlers' Cross, which serves only one marginally German
item, German chocolate cake.
"He was a dictator," added co–founder Shakir Siddiqui, 27. "Gas
chambers and all."
Hitler is glorified in other ways. A poll of 400 students from the
country's most prestigious colleges by a leading Indian newspaper in
2002 found that Hitler was their third most requested ideal leader of
India, behind independence leader Mahatma Gandhi and the country's
then–Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
A pizza and cake chain in New Delhi, A Slice of Italy, sells a cake
called "one for the Hitler," featuring Hitler's face. Last year the
cake was sold with a swastika on the cap and was described as a
children's cake over the phone. Last month there was no swastika.
"It's not common, but it's exciting, madam," a worker at the pizza
chain told one woman who asked about the cake in November. "Order it."
`Hitler, the Supremo'
In Gujarat, textbooks have praised Hitler's leadership abilities,
fascism and the Nazi movement. Until recently, state social studies
textbooks have featured chapters on "Hitler, the Supremo" and "Internal
Achievements of Nazism." The textbooks have been changed slightly this
year but still barely mention the Holocaust.
This is the same state where Hindu–led riots led to the deaths of more
than 1,000 Muslims in the spring of 2002. Several investigations blamed
the state government, led by a Hindu–right political party, for
permitting the riots.
Bal Thackeray, the founder of Shiv Sena, a Hindu fundamentalist party
based in Mumbai, has openly praised Hitler and said he was willing to
wipe out troublemaking Muslims. Shiv Sena's secretary, Anil Desai, said
Thackeray liked Hitler's leadership abilities, not his attempts to
exterminate the Jews.
Thackeray likes "the way Hitler pushed the things in his time," Desai
said.
Hitler's autobiography, "Mein Kampf," flies off the shelves of many
bookstores. The Bandra branch of Crossword, a major bookstore chain in
the Mumbai area, sells 35 copies a week.
At the Rhythm House in downtown Mumbai, one of the city's oldest and
most popular video stores, the documentary "Hitler a Career" is sold in
the video section for children.
"Why are people buying it? Because they like him," store clerk Maqbool
Sayed said. "If it was up to me, I would hide these. I wouldn't put
them out at all."
http://www.countercurrents.org/barker241206.htm