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BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s Defense Ministry is apologizing for an Instagram post about fashion by the military’s social media team which featured a Nazi-era uniform, complete with swastika-embossed medals, under the heading “retro.”
Spokesman Christian Thiels told reporters Tuesday’s quickly-removed post was “an unacceptable mistake for which we offer many, many apologies.”
Germany’s Bundeswehr military has recently undertaken a social media push to try to drum up interest.
Thiels said Wednesday the uniform pictured was a Hollywood costume, used for the Tom Cruise movie “Valkyrie,” on display at Dresden’s Bundeswehr Military History Museum. It ended up posted as part of a story on the influence of uniforms on fashion.
He says it appears to be “an extremely irritating case of thoughtlessness” rather than a neo-Nazi message, and promised consequences after an investigation.
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