The owner of a costume shop in England refuses to stop selling a "Gestapo Officer" outfit, even after pushback from local Jewish leaders, Metro UK reported.
According to the report, Melvin Smedley, owner of Kids Korner in Kent, was contacted by Tim Spurrier, chairman of the Thanet and District Reform Synagogue, asking Smedley to remove the Nazi uniform costume from his store.
But Smedley has remained defiant, saying he cannot afford to discard of any stock after his business was hit by pandemic lockdown and calling the outfit “historical representation.”
Spurrier explained that seeing a Gestapo uniform in public would cause offense to Jews, as well as other minorities also murdered by the Nazis, including gay people and the disabled.
His argument has yet to convince Smedley, who reportedly described himself as "open-minded and not racist or sexist."