By Danny Bloom
TAIPEI, Taiwan — When a British newspaper recently splashed some color photos of high school girls at a private Catholic school in Thailand
sporting Nazi uniforms during a sports day festival, all hell broke loose on the Internet after the German and Israeli
embassies in Bangkok issued statements to the English-language media there. Oops.
Another Asian Hitler gaffe. How could
it be? Thailand? The land of 10,000 smiles? A country full of friendly, hospitable souls devoted to Buddhism and other
Asian religions? It can happen anywhere these days, from Taiwan to Thailand, and from India to Japan. All these Hitler image incidents
in Asia over the past 20 years shows the danger of cultural and historical ignorance in this part of the world. But there is hope, Politicians
and educators in Asia are learning from these incidents and are slowly catching up with the rest of the world. The key is education
and public awareness. But it’s going to take time in this part of the world, so patience is advised. But also: “be alarmed, be very alarmed.”
“A few years ago, a beer bar on Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok thought it would be cute, or a good marketing ploy, to have its staff dress up in Nazi uniforms and give “Sieg Heil” salutes to people passing by”, according to a recent editorial written by a Thai gentleman in the Bangkok Post
a few days ago. He added: “A couple of years ago, there was uproar after a Thai wax museum in Pattaya put up highway billboards using the image of a saluting Adolf Hitler. The billboards quickly came down after the incident drew a fierce response from the Israeli and German embassies.”
And here’s his conclusion, and it’s worth noting: “The museum management was quick to go into damage control mode, apologizing for any offense it had caused and maintaining that they weren’t celebrating the [German] fascist dictator but pointing out that he is an important [yet evil] historic figure.
There’s more from Thailand: A few weeks ago, a group of teenage girls from the Sacred Heart High School in Thailand dressed up in full Nazi and SS Guard uniforms to celebrate their annual sports day.
The Bangkok Post was quick to criticize what they did, opining: “There isn’t much actual sport held on that day; it’s more of a fun-and-games activity, an opportunity to express oneself. Nevertheless, quite what they thought the Nazis have to do with fun and games is anyone’s guess. Of course they knew who Hitler was and knew what his regime did to six million Jews and minority peoples just decades ago. The questions here, therefore, are: What were the girls thinking? What had they learned at school? Does the school think it was all right? The school said it wasn’t aware of the plan because the students, in line with tradition, kept it to themselves until the parade day. Maybe so. We will never know the truth, although it is doubtful that none of the teachers or administrators knew. Also, is it right to pass the buck to the students? Perhaps it is Thai education system, our entire society, or just our complete ignorance and indifference to the pain and suffering in the history in the other parts of the world. That may best explain why some Thai people are indifferent to atrocities and the pains that are suffered elsewhere.”
Well said. And it’s not just the education system in Thailand, it’s also the education systems in Japan and Taiwan and China and India and Vietnam and the Philippines. In Asia, Hitler is a cartoonish oafish icon of evil, and everyone knows it. But they don’t always know that’s it’s not such a good idea to go around on school sports days wearing Nazi uniforms. Then again, Prince Harry thought it was a good joke, too. Remember that ”Hitler costume gaffe” in London a few years ago by someone who could become the future King of England? Oops.
Education and awareness are the keys to this Hitler meshagus in Asia. It will happen again, soon. It will take some more time to change thinking and behavior patterns here in regards to Hitler iconography. But slowly, people in Asia are waking up to what Hitler did, and it’s not a pretty picture –in any language!
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Bloom is Taiwan bureau chief for San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted at dan.bloom@sdjewishworld.com