A Massachusetts restaurant apologized to offended customers this weekend after a group of World War II reenactors sat down to dinner in full Nazi uniforms.
Kith and Kin, a brunch and dinner establishment in Hudson, said a group of eight showed up in their historical costumes on Saturday.
There was no problem with the four who were dressed as American soldiers and another in a military nurse’s outfit.
The problem arose when customers noticed a couple wearing German SS uniforms, the uniforms once worn by Adolf Hitler’s Schutzstaffel secret police. The SS was responsible for establishing and managing the concentration camps where six million Jews were murdered in the 1940s.
The restaurant owners wrote: ‘As a small family business, we strive every day to do the best we can and continue to learn and grow. “We fell short last night and we deeply apologize.”
In the photo: Kith and Kin, the restaurant where two diners dressed as Nazi soldiers appeared.
Participants dressed as Allied and Nazi soldiers are photographed during this weekend’s reenactment event hosted by the American Heritage Museum. It is unclear if any of the actors pictured above were involved in the incident at the restaurant.
“We would never intentionally do anything to offend or hurt anyone in the community,” the post continued. “If we truly thought these people had anti-Semitic beliefs, we would never have allowed them to set foot in the restaurant.”
“In retrospect, they should have been asked to change before sitting down.”
The restaurant explained that these customers were living historians from the nearby American Heritage Museum, which hosted a ‘Battle for the airfield‘World War II reenactment event this weekend.
“While we knew they were living historians at a time when acts of anti-Semitic violence continue to rise, we should have realized that other diners may not have been aware of the local World War II reenactment,” the restaurant wrote.
The museum also responded to the incident at Kith and Kin and shared a statement with The Boston Globe.
“At a time when acts of anti-Semitic violence continue to rise, when neo-Nazis have taken to the streets and the horrors of the Holocaust continue to be denied, wearing German uniforms in a public space is more than thoughtless: it is repugnant.
“These uniforms were intended to be used in the context of a historical reenactment designed to educate a new generation about what American soldiers faced and defeated some 80 years ago,” the museum said.
The restaurant’s full explanation and apology, which was posted on Facebook on Sunday, the day after the incident.
An example of what a recreation of the Nazi uniform could look like
SS officers are photographed in front of a building at an SS retreat outside Auschwitz in 1944. From left to right; Josef Mengele, Josef Kramer, Rudolph Hess and Karl Hoecker
The museum “will conduct a comprehensive review of how our strict presentation protocols are understood and followed by the living historians who participate in our programs and the consequences when they are ignored.”
Residents were also outraged that something like this could be allowed to happen.
“As someone who was there dining, I noticed and thought it was strange that the reenactors mistakenly felt it was unnecessary to change out of their costumes…I can’t imagine they actually thought it was acceptable to wear those costumes to dinner in public,” he wrote. a woman in response to the restaurant’s post.
Another commented: ‘It doesn’t matter that there was a recreation event or if the diners knew about the event. No one should be forced to see people dressed as Nazis without their consent.’
Many others came out to publicly support the restaurant, assuring the owners and staff that what happened was not their fault.
Kith and Kin announced Tuesday that they were closing due to “increased harassment and threats” (Pictured: The restaurant’s outdoor patio)
One customer described Kith and Kin as “a big part of the community” and said she was “proud” of the owners for issuing an apology that she felt really should have come from the reenactors.
Another customer wrote: ‘I don’t think you should be judged for accepting any customer that walks through the door. It was clearly a disguise and people like to sit behind a computer or a phone and hit whoever they can (sic) to make themselves feel better.’
Kith and Kin announced it would close on Tuesday citing increased threats following the avalanche of news coverage of the incident.
“After last night’s news, our restaurant has been the subject of increased harassment and threats,” the post said. “Therefore, for the safety of our staff, we will unfortunately be closed today, Tuesday 15 October.”
