The group was the 15th Waffen SS. That says a lot about the person. In Latvia they were associated with ethnic cleaning, more than a few mass murders, and were responsble for the elimination of the jewish and gypsy population in a large part of the country. That is a very different situation than if the guy wanted to play the part of an NCO in the 112th Bavarian Infantry.
On Sun, Oct 10, 2010 at 11:08 PM, Eric Roberts <[email protected]> wrote: > > I think I would have to agree with this guy (Iott) on this one. No one > would say shit if he was doing civil war reenactments and played a > confederate soldier. Someone has to play the other side... I think this is > making hay out of nothing. Now if he was a member of the Nazi party or the > KKK as well...then they would have something to stand on. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Larry C. Lyons [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Sunday, October 10, 2010 9:11 PM > To: cf-community > Subject: Candidate responds to charge he dressed_as Nazi - CNN Political > Ticker - CNN.com Blog > > > not only as a nazi but a member of the Waffen SS? For a republican > candidate? Why am I not surprised? I think I'm going to have a heat > attack and die from not surprised. > > http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/09/candidate-responds-to-charge > -he-dressed-as-nazi/?iref=obnetwork > > Candidate responds to charge he dressed as Nazi > By: > CNN's Gabriella Schwarz > (CNN) - The Ohio Congressional candidate who has received national > attention for a photo where he appears in a Nazi uniform, responded to > the reports Saturday in a statement on his website. > Rich Iott, a Republican who is running in Ohio's 9th district, said in > the statement that he has participated in military re-enactments since > college and it is a "hobby" he enjoys with his son. > > "Never, in any of my re-enacting of military history, have I meant any > disrespect to anyone who served in our military or anyone who has been > affected by the tragedy of war," the statement said. "I have immense > respect for veterans who served our country valiantly, particularly > those who fought to rid the world of tyranny and aggression by > relegating Nazism to the trash heap of history." > According to the news magazine "The Atlantic," Iott is a member of > Wiking, a group whose members re-enact the actions of the 5th SS > Panzer Division Wiking that fought in World War II. But Iott's > campaign would neither confirm nor deny his membership to CNN. > "The Atlantic" also posted a picture of Iott in which he appears to be > dressed in a Nazi SS uniform along with an article with the headline > "Why's a GOP Candidate Dressed as a Nazi?" > According to Wiking's website, it is a nonprofit group with a "common > interest in the German side of the war and want to tell the story of > the average combat soldier of the German military." > "Racism or any type of embracement of Nazi ideology of any kind is > strictly prohibited by this re-enactment unit," the website reads. > But his political opponents were quick to condemn him as a "Nazi > enthusiast." > "It's an unbelievably disturbing story here about this Nazi > enthusiast," Ryan Rudominer, National Press Secretary for the > Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said. "It's extremely > telling that the NRCC (National Republican Campaign Committee) is > recruiting and embracing candidates like this." > Iott was previously listed as one of the National Republican > Congressional Committee's young gun contenders - a list of up and > coming Republicans candidates - but the website no longer includes > Iott. > The NRCC did not immediately return a request for comment. > FULL STATEMENT from Rich Iott: > "Anyone who knows me would tell you that I am a proud American who > loves this country and loves Freedom and those who have died fighting > to preserve it. The despicable accusations and distortions of the > truth that have been leveled at me, sadly exemplify why people have > lost faith in the political process and with the media as well. > "Never, in any of my re-enacting of military history, have I meant any > disrespect to anyone who served in our military or anyone who has been > affected by the tragedy of war. I have immense respect for veterans > who served our country valiantly, particularly those who fought to rid > the world of tyranny and aggression by relegating Nazism to the trash > heap of history. In fact, my respect for the military and our veterans > is one of the reasons I have actively studied military history > throughout my life. > "Historical re-enacting is a hobby enjoyed by millions of men - and > women - around the world. I have been involved in historical > re-enacting from many different eras since I was in college. When my > son was old enough to participate, it became a hobby that the two of > us could do together and I'm grateful for the father-son bonding we > shared as we participated in the events." > "This election needs to be about issues, not false character attacks. > Middle class families are struggling and honest people are out of > work, which is why I hope my opponent will join me in condemning these > blatant distortions and attacks and pledge to focus on the issues that > Ohioans so desperately want Washington to address > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Order the Adobe Coldfusion Anthology now! http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Coldfusion-Anthology-Michael-Dinowitz/dp/1430272155/?tag=houseoffusion Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:328973 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/unsubscribe.cfm
