A day after we pointed out that an online fashion retailer, BuyDefinition, was selling a jacket named “Belsen was a gas,” the company is apologizing and saying they’ll pull the item.
Readers who complained to BuyDefinition have received the following apology:
The people here at BuyDefinition are deeply sorry for any controversy we raised or anybody who was offended by the piece in question carried by our store. The “Belsen Was A Gas Military Parka” by Australian label Evil Twin was not named by us. It was named by the designers, who we can only assume were referencing the Sex Pistols song, given the line’s punk appeal and style.
We regret our oversight with carrying the piece with such an inappropriate title. It was a mistake on our half for selling this piece without understanding the historical allusion. We hope to rectify the error our company has made by taking the piece off our site and discussing renaming with the designers at Evil Twin.
Please know that there was no ill-intent on our part and that this was simply a mistake. The piece was chosen for its style rather than its name. In the future, we will do more background research when buying. We hope that this unfortunate mistake does that deter you from supporting our company in the future. We have no anti-Semitic sentiments and are sympathetic to the Jewish and those who perished during the Holocaust.
Didn’t anybody at BuyDefinition have to read the Diary Of Anne Frank in high school? It has a lot of helpful information about the Jewish. In any case, as of this writing, the jacket hasn’t been removed; it’s just been renamed “military parka.”
Earlier: Pro Tip: Don’t Name Your Designer Clothing After A Concentration Camp
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