Uniform policy

RAILWAY bosses have declared war on people dressing up in Nazi uniforms during a popular 1940s war weekend.
A ban on visitors wearing Swastikas and SS outfits has been imposed on the East Lancashire Railway after concerns they could offend Holocaust survivors.

Ho hum. Another day, another ban.

Christina Seidel, ELR’s marketing manager, said: “We are asking people not to turn up in German officer or SS uniforms, because we do not want to offend the Jewish community on our doorstep.”
The ban was introduced after complaints that a minority had turned up the annual event in SS regalia, with one even impersonating Hitler's henchman Herman Goerring.
Officials from the Greater Manchester Jewish Represenative Council (GJRC), which covers East Lancashire, have been lobbying the ELR after receiving complaints regarding last year’s celebrations.

World War Two, the horrors the Nazis committed and the effects it as had on the world since are a significant part of history which cannot just be airbrushed out. We shouldn't even try. Mistakes of the past are supposed to be learned from.

Did the Allies not fight for freedom? Yet every day we remove more and more freedoms. We are not learning from history as we should be, and one of the reasons is because we attempt to deny or forget that which was bad rather than keeping it at the forefront of our minds.

I could understand if they had simply requested that those in German officer uniforms don't wander about shouting "Heil" and throwing sauerkraut at the simple village folk, but banning the uniforms and regalia altogether denies our history.

Simple village folk

“There are a number of people in this area who suffered at the hands of the Nazis during the war and the Holocaust, which should be taken into account.”

There certainly are, as there are all over the world. Many people suffered at the hands of the Nazis; many people suffered as a result of the war. If we deny history then it is doomed to repeat itself, causing more suffering than seeing a mock German at a war weekend.

Mock battles will still take place at Rawtenstall and Ramsbottom stations over the weekend between ‘Allied’ and ‘Axis’ volunteer troops.

What is a battle re-enactment without the enemy?

David Harris, editor of the Jewish Telegraph, said: “The wearing of a Nazi uniform is not only deeply offensive to Jewish people, for obvious reasons, but to anyone who fought in the last world war or was tortured in prisoner of war camps.

I would imagine glorifying the Nazis would be offensive. Remembering our history should not be.

Chief Superintendent Jon Rush, head of policing in Ramsbottom, said he was aware of ‘sensitivities’ around the display of Nazi uniforms and Swastikas.
He added: “We will not be overzealous when it comes to the wearing or displaying of Nazi symbols or uniforms as this is basically an historical recreation of the World War Two period.
“It is for the organisers to communicate any dress code they want those attending to follow but we will make them aware of the particular concerns that have been raised.
“That said, we will not tolerate anyone who is found to be doing anything to cause deliberate harassment or distress or with a view to inciting hatred, regardless of what they may or may not be wearing.

That's a more sensible response. And from a copper no less.