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Retail chain asked to pull ‘Shoah’ garb

ADL tells Urban Outfitters gray-and-white stripped tapestry too similar to gay prisoners’ uniform in Nazi death camps

An Urban Outfitters tapestry the ADL says is reminiscent of uniforms gay prisoners were forced to wear at Nazi concentration camps. (Photo credit: ADL)
An Urban Outfitters tapestry the ADL says is reminiscent of uniforms gay prisoners were forced to wear at Nazi concentration camps. (Photo credit: ADL)

The Anti-Defamation League urged retail chain Urban Outfitters on Monday to pull an item that was “eerily reminiscent” of a uniform gay prisoners were forced to wear in Nazi concentration camps during World War II.

The item in question is a gray-and-white striped tapestry with a pink triangle.

ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman said the garment was “deeply offensive and should not be mainstreamed into popular culture.”

“We urge Urban Outfitters to immediately remove the product eerily reminiscent of clothing forced upon the victims of the Holocaust from their stores and online,” he added.

This was the latest Holocaust-related faux-pas the retail company made over the past several years.

This Urban Outfitters T-shirt has been labeled 'Auschwitz chic' and retails for $100.
This Urban Outfitters T-shirt has been labeled ‘Auschwitz chic’ and retails for $100.

In 2012, Urban Outfitters caused an uproar over a $100 T-shirt featuring a six-pointed star, which critics said evoked the Star of David that the Nazis forced Jews to wear. The item was available for sale on the website for a short period of time before it was removed by the Danish company that designed it.

Eight years prior, the chain sold a shirt bearing the slogan “Everybody loves a Jewish girl” surrounded by dollar signs.

The chain has a history of putting out offensive garments that have riled up not just the Jewish community, but also African-Americans, Native Americans and groups that work to raise awareness about eating disorders.

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