Thread: Thai men dressed as Nazis in Christmas display reflects ignorance, Israeli ambassador

Israel's ambassador to Thailand says ignorance is to blame after photos emerged of two men posing as Nazi military officers in a busy Bangkok mall.
Key points:

The two men appear to be giving the thumbs-up atop a Christmas-themed platform
It is common to find Nazi Germany's symbols in Thailand, owing to historical ignorance
Israel's ambassador to Thailand told the ABC that officials "understand" the need for change

A photo published by online news website Stickboy Bangkok shows two men of Asian ancestry atop a Christmas-themed platform sponsored by Mastercard at central Bangkok's CentralWorld mall.

They were giving the thumbs-up while dressed in the military regalia of Nazi Germany.

A second photo shows the side-profile of one of the men standing upright, as casually dressed crowds walk past him. Others are seen taking photos of the scene on their smartphones.



Looking from the side, you see a man standing upright in a dark green Nazi Germany military uniform as people walk past him.
Photo: The men involved in the incident have not been identified. (Twitter: Stickboy Bangkok)

The head-pieces and coats clearly show Nazi iconography, which includes black swastikas and an iteration of the reichsadler — the Nazi interpretation of the German Imperial Eagle.

Responding on Twitter, Thailand's Israeli Embassy quoted ambassador Meir Shlomo saying he was "disappointed to see the sad reoccurrence of incidents in which Nazi symbols are displayed on random occasions in Thailand".

"Needless to say, that this is an insult to the 6 million Jews and other victims of the Nazi regime, and their relatives," he said.

"There is yet a lot to be done in Thailand through proper education and public awareness."

But in a written statement to the ABC, Dr Shlomo said he was "not concerned about the level of anti-Semitism in Thailand".

"I am aware that the vast majority of such incidents which are happening in Thailand stem from ignorance and due to lack of awareness regarding the implications," Dr Shlomo said.

"I do not make any generalisations and claim that Thailand has a problem of anti-Semitism, but I do believe that ignorance about the Holocaust does exist."

On Twitter, Mastercard distanced itself from the two men and said it was "appalled" by the images.

"We condemn violence, hate speech and the images in these photos. They are offensive and they are morally wrong," the company wrote.

CentralWorld also said it was "appalled" by the images on Twitter, but it copped criticism for describing the men dressed in "military-like uniforms" rather than in explicit Nazi regalia.

The mall's statement also alleged the men were performing "obscene gestures".

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@centralwOrld
Replying to @StickboyBangkok @Mastercard

Dear Stickboy Bangkok page,

On behalf of centralwOrld, CPN is deeply appalled by the images of men dressed in military-like uniforms performing obscene gestures in front of the decoration zone at centralwOrld widely circulated on social media. (1)

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@ExpatDanBKK
You STILL don't get it, do you? It's not "military-like" uniforms. They're Nazi uniforms. The hand gesture is a thumbs up, not obscene. They're dressed like Nazis - THAT'S obscene! How can you be so thick @centralwOrld ???@stickboybangkok https://twitter.com/centralwOrld/sta...42395738804224 …
centralwOrld
✔

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Education to blame

The Jewish Data Bank's 2018 World Jewish Population report found Thailand had a "core" Jewish population of 200 people.

That means Thailand's Jews make up about 0.0003 per cent of Thailand's population, which stands at roughly 69 million.

The country's largest religion is Buddhism, whose adherents make up about 94.6 per cent of Thailand's total population, according to the CIA World Factbook.

Over the years, observers raised alarms about the visibility of Nazi Germany's symbols in Thai life, whether it be swastikas featured in t-shirt designs, Adolf Hitler painted alongside superheroes in university murals, or via direct copies of Nazi flags and uniforms at market stalls.

https://www.abc. net.au/news/2019-12-24/israeli-ambassador-blames-ignorance-for-nazis-at-bangkok-mall/11826228

It's fukin dumb, but it's not sticking people in gas chambers. Point out the stupidity and move one, Merry Xmas...

Coulda been worse.
Might've been dressed up as Palestinians.

I remember a story from years ago. At a high school costume fest in Israel someone dressed as Hitler. To top this he won the costume competition. Which caused a country wide uproar.

Its the symbol of Buddha....nearly

The world is heading back towards fascism, so 2 guys dressed as nazis shouldn't be a problem

Ze only people allowed to refer to ze Nazi's are ze Jews.

How come Nazis get an apostrophe and Jews don't?




"When I look at the list of people, or movements, or countries who are attacking me, it makes me feel I must be doing something right. I’m proud of the enemies I have.”

- George Soros

Were they Nazis or just Wehrmacht soldiers?