27 Dec 2009

Nazi costume event "offensive" - RSA

12:22 pm on 27 December 2009

The Returned & Services Association says the actions of a group who dressed as Nazi officers are "ignorant and offensive".

Members of the Military Re-enactment Society attended a private dinner in Cambridge last month in full Schutzstaffel (SS) uniforms and posed for a photo beneath a swastika flag.

The dinner was part of a series of events run by the society to mark Armistice Day.

RSA national president Robin Klitscher says it's not appropriate to the memories of fallen soldiers from New Zealand for anyone to dress up for private purposes.

A member of the Re-enactment Society, Jordan Hart, says he's been instructed not to speak to the media as there could be legal ramifications.

It's the third incident involving Nazi re-enactments this year. The others involved students from Auckland Grammar and Lincoln University.

The Grammar students apologised after being photographed kissing a swastika at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

The Lincoln students were criticised when they dressed up as Nazi soldiers and Jewish prisoners.