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Zara pulls 'Nazi concentration camp' shirt off the market

The Spanish company, Zara, stopped selling a children's shirt with black and white stripes and a yellow star which bore an unfortunately resemblance to Nazi concentration camp uniforms.

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Screen grab via Twitter
A shirt with that resembled a Nazi concentration camp uniform was sold online in several countries by Zara. The company has apologized, saying "it was inspired by the sheriff’s stars from the Classic Western film."
  • By Staff Reuters

Global fashion chain Zara, owned by Spain's Inditex, pulled from sale on Wednesday a striped children's top decorated with a large six-pointed star after it was likened to uniforms worn by Jewish concentration camp inmates in Nazi Germany.

The shirt, bearing horizontal blue and white stripes, was on sale online in three European countries but not in Israel, an Inditex spokeswoman said. The resemblance was unintentional and the design had been inspired by sheriff's stars from classic Western films, she said.

Within hours of the t-shirt being put up for sale, some newspapers had picked up on its resemblance to concentration camp uniforms and messages were posted on Twitter criticizing the design.

"The shirt bears a large six-pointed star on the upper-left section, in the exact place where Nazis forced Jews to wear the Star of David," wrote Israeli newspaper Haaretz, calling the garment "hauntingly reminiscent of a darker era".

On its website, Haaretz displayed a photograph of part of a uniform worn by prisoners at Auschwitz, showing a jacket with vertical green and white stripes and a yellow star below the left shoulder bearing the word "Jude", the German word for Jew.

The Guardian reports that the shirt was available via Zara’s UK homepage as well as in a number of its international outlets, including Israel, France, Denmark, Albania and Sweden. Israeli journalist Dimi Reider was among the first to notice the resemblance.

Just days ago Zara, which has over 2,000 stores in 88 countries worldwide, withdrew a t-shirt bearing the slogan 'White is the new black'.

In 2012, Danish fashion company Wood Wood apologized for a T-shirt featuring a detailing that resembled the Star of David worn by Jews during the Holocaust. The star was removed from the T-shirt after the Anti-Defamation League slammed clothing retailer Urban Outfitters for advertising it on its retail website, reports Haaretz.

(Reporting by Sonya Dowsett; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

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