Thai Student Nazi Dress-Up Day Causes Outrage

[webfact]

Fuhrer furore! Thai student Nazi dress-up day causes outrage

Foreign parents and teachers appalled by the costumes

Thai teachers 'did not understand' the controversy

School asked to put the Holocaust on the curriculum

By KERRY MCQUEENEY

They had been meticulously planning their costumes for quite some time.

The annual summer sports day had a long tradition of fancy dress and, eager to impress, the pupils of Sacred Heart Catholic School kept their outfits under wraps for weeks.

They wanted to surprise their parents and teachers as they made their entrance at the school in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand.

And surprise them they did. With a flourish and a fanfare, they revealed their costumes - to outraged gasps from the crowd.

The smiling pupils arrived at the school dressed in full Nazi regalia and carrying large Swastika flags, leaving foreign parents and teachers open-mouthed.

Leading the march into the sports ground was a girl dressed as Adolf Hitler - complete with toothbrush moustache - seemingly unaware of the offence she had caused.

She was followed by a procession of pupils dressed as SS guards - brandishing plastic machine guns.

Stunned ex-pats were appalled. Surely the pupils were aware of what the Swastika and Nazis represented?

Full story and pictures: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2042097/Student-Nazi-dress-day-causes-outrage-Thailand.html

-- dailymail.co.uk 2011-09-27

[Seri]

I see that every day. Swastikas on their t-shirts, Third Reich helmets and even swastikas tattooed on their arms or hands. When I ask them whether they know what it represents, they answer "fashion!"

They are not aware, not the children nor the parents. How can they be made aware? Very difficult IMO. It does need to be included in their curriculums, at school, but so do many other things.

[FOODLOVER]

OH MY GOD! I posted on this not being in the curriculum 6 months ago. No one new what a swastika was when i queried people who had received multiple masters degrees from upstanding Thai universities. The swastika looks like a Chinese good luck emblem was what i got. When i explained the holocaust to them they had never heard of such a thing.

[toybits]

This is very strange and is smacks of total ignorance of WWII history and Nazi Germany. Don't these teachers read? If I am not mistaken, this is NOT the first time it has happened in Thailand.

[Mario2008]

The swastika is a religious symbol, from India copied by the nazi's. See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika Together with lack of historical knowledge this probably led to the students not being aware of what they were doing.

I once borrowed "Shindlers List" to a headmaster. He was schocked and showed the movie to his students, so i gave the DVD to him and he wanted to see more movies about the holocast.

Maybe someone can send a DVD to this school.

[Guest]

"Scourge of the Swastika" should be required reading.

[Thailand]

295 Posts and counting!

[benbear]

She was followed by a procession of pupils dressed as SS guards - brandishing plastic machine guns.

SICK, I'm lost for words but that is sick

[KKvampire]

I can remember seeing a Nazi Swastika badge on the shirt of a BTS station cashier/clerk a few months ago. You can see them on bags , T-shirts, Even on the painted company buses that are everywhere, Clearly WW2 was something missing from the ciriculum in Thailand

Edited September 27, 2011 by KKvampire

[AleG]

This is very strange and is smacks of total ignorance of WWII history and Nazi Germany. Don't these teachers read? If I am not mistaken, this is NOT the first time it has happened in Thailand.

One would expect that while doing some research for making the costumes they may have come across a reference or two of what the Nazis did.

[Mario2008]

I can remember seeing a Swastika badge on the shirt of a BTS station cashier/clerk a few months ago. You can see them on bags , T-shirts, Even on the painted company buses that are everywhere, Clearly WW2 was something missing from the ciriculum in Thailand

The swastika is a religious symbols, don't mix it up with the nazi swastika. See the link in my earlier post.

[Seri]

remember the hitler billboards in pattaya promoting the louis tussaud wax museum? they were taken out only after the israeli and german ambassador vented their outrage.

[JAG]

It's sad that these children had no idea of the implications of these costumes, nor were aware of the acts committed by the Nazis. But we should ask ourselves, before we condemn the Thai educational system, how many secondary school pupils in the UK or anywhere in the west are aware for example of the Japanese actions in China throughout the 1930s?.

Also. the original report was in the Daily Wail! Try this:www.qwghlm.co.uk/toys/dailymail

Edited September 27, 2011 by JAG

[KKvampire]

I can remember seeing a Swastika badge on the shirt of a BTS station cashier/clerk a few months ago. You can see them on bags , T-shirts, Even on the painted company buses that are everywhere, Clearly WW2 was something missing from the ciriculum in Thailand

The swastika is a religious symbols, don't mix it up with the nazi swastika. See the link in my earlier post.

Yes , And the Thai students were wearing Third Reich Nazi uniforms and displaying the Flags, And I have seen the swastika displayed in Thailand with the "Red Background" which was the flag color of Nazi Germany and how many people know about any relegious significance of a "Swastika"?

Edited September 27, 2011 by KKvampire

[Rooo]

She was followed by a procession of pupils dressed as SS guards - brandishing plastic machine guns.

SICK, I'm lost for words but that is sick

This is the amazing part. To wear these clothes & brandish imitation guns, they must have been exposed to some visuals. What? they just looked at pictures? I think the kids just went for the shock effect. Teachers should hang their heads in shame, illiterate bunch they are.

[geriatrickid]

What an embarassment. .Do these students appreciate that the people they are dressing up as considered Thais to be inferior? I wonder how Thais would feel if foreign kids re-enacted the Thammasat University massacre of 1976?

Judgement at Nuremburg should be required viewing for Thai military officers and law students. I know that several of my classmates who attended advanced staff officer courses in the EU and USA all took multiple seminars on the subject of genocides and war. It had a profound impact on how they approached their duties.

Perhaps if more Thais were aware of such things they would not have been so quick to give shelter to Pol Pot and other members of his psychotic killing regime. .

[FOODLOVER]

Seems some one new something as plastic machine guns were part of the ensemble. No ggle at this school?!

Plausible, i guess that this could be very big mistake.

Edited September 27, 2011 by FOODLOVER

[Thai at Heart]

Why doesn't one teacher in the place have any brains to realise this isn't quite the most appropriate thing to do? Is there not ONE student in the entire school with the knowledge, nous and balls to speak up? Of course the culture ministry will be more stressed about strappy tops at Songkran.

This has been done before and caused a lot of headlines.

I don't really care that they are wearing swastikas in ignorance, but marching like the SS??? I wonder why they didn't choose to march like the Japanese Imperial army, they have far more recent experience. The ability to offend others with moral superiority whilst throwing their hands in the air should anyone dare to criticise Thailand from afar, is one of the biggest problems in this country.

Good to see that the Thai education system is continuing this practice at thumbing their nose at the world. I wonder if the Church will sponsor them a trip to Auswitz, which would probably be quite a humbling experience.

[Mario2008]

I can remember seeing a Swastika badge on the shirt of a BTS station cashier/clerk a few months ago. You can see them on bags , T-shirts, Even on the painted company buses that are everywhere, Clearly WW2 was something missing from the ciriculum in Thailand

The swastika is a religious symbols, don't mix it up with the nazi swastika. See the link in my earlier post.

Yes , And the Thai students were wearing Third Reich Nazi uniforms and displaying the Flags, And I have seen the swastika displayed in Thailand with the "Red Background" which was the flag color of Nazi Germany and how many people know about any relegious significance of a "Swastika"?

In Europe few peope will now the relgigious significance of the swastika, in Asia I suspect a lot of people will know the religious meaning of the swastika.

My point was that not everyone you see with a swastika is wearing the nazi symbol. Of course sometimes they clearly are, as with nazi motor helmets or with these students in their uniforms, nazi flag etc. But not everytime you see a swastika you see a nazi symbol.

[evanson]

I can remember seeing a Swastika badge on the shirt of a BTS station cashier/clerk a few months ago. You can see them on bags , T-shirts, Even on the painted company buses that are everywhere, Clearly WW2 was something missing from the ciriculum in Thailand

The swastika is a religious symbols, don't mix it up with the nazi swastika. See the link in my earlier post.

The swastika may very well be a religious symbol, but the uniforms and plastic machine guns are not.

Where on earth did this idea of 'fashion' spring from? And what on earth was going through their heads!? Getting a bit tired of the same lame excuse for this breathtaking ignorance.

[Thai at Heart]

I can remember seeing a Swastika badge on the shirt of a BTS station cashier/clerk a few months ago. You can see them on bags , T-shirts, Even on the painted company buses that are everywhere, Clearly WW2 was something missing from the ciriculum in Thailand

The swastika is a religious symbols, don't mix it up with the nazi swastika. See the link in my earlier post.

Yes , And the Thai students were wearing Third Reich Nazi uniforms and displaying the Flags, And I have seen the swastika displayed in Thailand with the "Red Background" which was the flag color of Nazi Germany and how many people know about any relegious significance of a "Swastika"?

In Europe few peope will now the relgigious significance of the swastika, in Asia I suspect a lot of people will know the religious meaning of the swastika.

My point was that not everyone you see with a swastika is wearing the nazi symbol. Of course sometimes they clearly are, as with nazi motor helmets or with these students in their uniforms, nazi flag etc. But not everytime you see a swastika you see a nazi symbol.

I agree. Someone individually wearing a symbol because of its religious meaning or in ignorance of what it means is one thing. Actively dressing up like the hitler youth or SS is entirely another. Essentially these kids (considering they attend a Catholic presumably religious school) have dressed themselves up to represent genocide and evil. How wonderfully jolly and instructive. Absolutely ignorant pigs.

[evanson]

Good to see that the Thai education system is continuing this practice at thumbing their nose at the world. I wonder if the Church will sponsor them a trip to Auswitz, which would probably be quite a humbling experience.

Very much doubt they'd be 'humbled'. More likely a lot of photos of grinning students showing the ubiquitous 'V' sign.

[whybother]

I can remember seeing a Nazi Swastika badge on the shirt of a BTS station cashier/clerk a few months ago. You can see them on bags , T-shirts, Even on the painted company buses that are everywhere, Clearly WW2 was something missing from the ciriculum in Thailand

From Mario's Wiki Link ...

The word swastika came from the Sanskrit word svastika, meaning any lucky or auspicious object, and in particular a mark made on persons and things to denote good luck.

[Mario2008]

I can remember seeing a Swastika badge on the shirt of a BTS station cashier/clerk a few months ago. You can see them on bags , T-shirts, Even on the painted company buses that are everywhere, Clearly WW2 was something missing from the ciriculum in Thailand

The swastika is a religious symbols, don't mix it up with the nazi swastika. See the link in my earlier post.

The swastika may very well be a religious symbol, but the uniforms and plastic machine guns are not.

Where on earth did this idea of 'fashion' spring from? And what on earth was going through their heads!? Getting a bit tired of the same lame excuse for this breathtaking ignorance.

See my post above yours.

Students in Thailand are not very aware of European history or even geography. But of course they also like to schock, etc.

What they did was clearly wrong and the school should have acted promptly and swiftly. That no teacher would have know what the studens were planning to wear is unbelieveble.

[huuwi]

i'm sick of reading this, i'm a 1960 generation, now we have 2011.

get over it.

[Thai at Heart]

I can remember seeing a Nazi Swastika badge on the shirt of a BTS station cashier/clerk a few months ago. You can see them on bags , T-shirts, Even on the painted company buses that are everywhere, Clearly WW2 was something missing from the ciriculum in Thailand

From Mario's Wiki Link ...

The word swastika came from the Sanskrit word svastika, meaning any lucky or auspicious object, and in particular a mark made on persons and things to denote good luck.

Yes, it can be a good luck symbol. It can also be a symbol of the Nazi party. I don't think these kids were trying to project anything to do with good luck or auspiciousness.

The idiocy of this really is that if these kids had happened to have been living in Germany in this period, they would all have been gassed. Ah now I get it, they were showing how lucky they were not to have been there at the time.

[StevieH]

I once borrowed "Shindlers List" to a headmaster. He was schocked and showed the movie to his students, so i gave the DVD to him and he wanted to see more movies about the holocast.

good idea that.

[cmsally]

i'm sick of reading this, i'm a 1960 generation, now we have 2011.

get over it.

I'm also 1960's born; and when something as massive as this was happens in history, I hardly think "get over it" is the appropriate response. Just as a matter of interest what nationality are you and how many people in your family were affected?

[meadish_sweetball]

i'm sick of reading this, i'm a 1960 generation, now we have 2011.get over it.

Maybe you should read something that does not make you sick, instead?

[Digitalbanana]

Where on earth did this idea of 'fashion' spring from?

Common as muck in some BDSM and Fetish subculture groups I would imagine...