Forerunners 1950s–1970s The American
Hells Angels motorcycle club wore
Nazi memorabilia as early as the 1950s, member
Sonny Barger stated that the group's obsession with Nazi paraphernalia was "not political" and partially originated from one early member who got hold of a "Nazi belt" that was brought back from the
Second World War by his father. Barger stated "The
Nazi flag was hung outside their clubhouse merely "to piss people off". Additionally, a patch worn by select club members consists of two Nazi-style
SS lightning bolts below the words "Filthy Few". Some law enforcement officials claim that the "Filthy Few" patch is awarded only to those who have committed or are prepared to commit murder on the club's behalf. During the 1960s,
territorial surfers formed loose
gangs that surfed in a certain break or beach and fiercely protected their "territory" from outsiders. These surfers were known as "surf punks" or "
surf nazis". The term "surf nazi" initially arose to describe a territorial, aggressive, and obsessive surfer. Some surf clubs in the 1960s, particularly at
Windansea in La Jolla, embraced the term by performing
Nazi salutes, wearing swastikas and
Stahlhelm helmets, and painting swastikas on their surfboards and on the Windansea pump house. Additionally, musicians such as
Keith Moon of
the Who,
Brian Jones of
the Rolling Stones, and
Vivian Stanshall of
Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band would wear
nazi uniforms in publicity photoshoots. Guitarist
Ron Asheton of
the Stooges collected Nazi memorabilia and wore a swastika armband along with an
Iron Cross on stage during live performances with the band. In the early 1970s,
glam rock acts incorporated
Nazi symbolism into their works, often for the
shock value and outrageousness, or for comedic effect.
Ron Mael of the American band
Sparks adopted a signature
toothbrush moustache which was compared to that of
Adolf Hitler.
Steve Priest, of the glam rock band
the Sweet, wore a Nazi uniform and fake toothbrush moustache in a December 1973 live performance of "
Block Buster!", on
Top of the Pops.
David Bowie would also later appropriate Nazi iconography with his persona "
The Thin White Duke" as well as during his
Berlin Trilogy. Between 1973–75,
Cleveland proto-punk band the
Electric Eels drew swastikas on their concert posters, with the early Cleveland punk scene's live events being nicknamed "Extermination Nights". English heavy metal musician
Lemmy of the band
Motörhead collected Nazi memorabilia and had an Iron Cross on his bass guitar, but stated that he collected these memorabilia for aesthetics, historical purposes, and interests only. He considered himself "an
atheist and an
anarchist" and that he was "anti-communism, fascism,
any extreme".
Origins Late 1970s–1990s By the late 1970s, as part of the early
punk subculture, several items of clothing designed to shock and offend
the Establishment became popular. Among these
punk fashion items was a
T-shirt displaying a
swastika, an
upside-down crucifix and the word
DESTROY– which was worn by
Johnny Rotten of the
Sex Pistols, seen in the video for "
Pretty Vacant". The Rolling Stones'
Mick Jagger would later briefly wear the shirt in concert. Rotten wore the swastika another time with a gesture that looked like a
Nazi salute. Additionally, a swastika shirt would also be worn by
Sid Vicious. In 1976,
Siouxsie Sioux of
Siouxsie and the Banshees was also known to wear a swastika armband with fetish
S and M clothing, including
fishnets and a whip. These musicians are commonly thought to have worn such clothing for shock value directed towards the
WWII Generation. Additionally,
industrial music associated artists such as
Throbbing Gristle,
Psychic TV,
Death in June and
Boyd Rice made use of Nazi symbolism. In 1984, two T-shirt designs featuring
Adolf Hitler were produced in
West Germany. The more famous of the two was the "Adolf Hitler European Tour" design, which featured a picture of Hitler against the backdrop of a map of
Europe, with conquered territories shaded; a less popular T-shirt featured Hitler giving the
Roman salute, and a
yo-yo hanging from his hand. The text read "European yo-yo champion 1939–1945". Sale of the apparel led to a legal case in Germany, in an attempt to have it banned as "glorifying genocide". In 1988,
Ralph Engelstad was criticized for a party he held at his
Imperial Palace hotel-casino in Las Vegas featuring bartenders wearing the "European Tour" shirts. In 1990, the
ACLU represented a high school student on
Long Island who was told to remove the shirt or face suspension by school officials who claimed the shirt was
anti-Semitic.
2000s–2020s wearing Nazi-inspired fashion at
IgroMir in Russia, 2008 In early 2005, a designer using the pseudonym "
Helmut Doork" began marketing a parody souvenir T-shirt with the slogans "My grandparents went to Auschwitz and all I got was this lousy t-shirt!" and "
Arbeit Macht Frei." In response to a complaint from the
Anti-Defamation League, the design was removed from
CafePress' website in late 2006. The creator later uploaded it to Printfection. After Printfection removed it without explanation, the creator then released it into the public domain, giving anyone permission to print and/or commercialize the design. Nazi chic fashion can be seen in the music videos for
Madonna's "
Justify My Love" (1990),
Marilyn Manson's "
The Fight Song" (2001), and
Lady Gaga's "
LoveGame" (2009). == Other examples ==