Roger Waters Criticized For Wearing Nazi-Like Uniform During Berlin Show and ‘Desecrating’ Memory of Anne Frank

Roger Waters has provoked nan ire of Israeli authorities aft a brace of concerts past week successful Berlin during which nan erstwhile Pink Floyd leader displayed Nazi-like symbolism and made what is described arsenic violative comments astir Holocaust unfortunate Anne Frank. “Good greeting to each 1 but Roger Waters who spent nan evening successful Berlin (Yes Berlin) desecrating nan representation of Anne Frank and nan 6 cardinal Jews murdered successful nan Holocaust,” publication a tweet from nan State of Israel’s charismatic relationship connected Wednesday (May 24).

During a two-night (May 17-18) guidelines astatine Mercedes-Benz Arena successful Berlin, nan vocalist reportedly took to nan shape pinch a connection that read, “The show will commencement successful 10 minutes and a tribunal successful Frankfurt has ruled that I americium not an antisemite… conscionable to beryllium clear, I condemn antisemitism unreservedly.” In April, a tribunal successful Frankfurt ruled that nan metropolis could not cancel a planned May 28 show by Waters aft metropolis officials dubbed nan vocalist “one of nan most wide known antisemites successful nan world.”

Waters, whose lyrics and performance imagery person agelong trafficked successful transgressive and provocative imagery, reportedly offended immoderate pinch nan contented of his Berlin shows, which nan Jerusalem Post reported many times employed images of “humanoid pigs and shady businessmen… pulling nan strings” that activists condemned arsenic “antisemitic dogwhistle[s].”

Perhaps astir violative was a conception of nan show featuring nan names of activists killed by authorities, including anti-Nazi activistic Sophie Scholl, Mahsa Amini, who was killed by Iranian morality police, George Floyd and Anne Frank, nan Jewish teen murdered by nan Nazi authorities astatine nan Bergen-Belsen attraction camp.

The latter’s sanction was listed conscionable earlier Shireen Abu Akleh, a seasoned Palestinian-American journalist who is thought to person been killed past May by shots from Israeli soldiers during a shootout pinch Palestinian militants. The insubstantial reported that nan juxtaposition sparked “outrage from Israeli and Jewish activists and officials astir nan world.”

After an intermission, Waters reportedly returned to nan shape wearing a costume akin to a Nazi SS soldier’s azygous pinch a reddish armband while pointing a clone firearm astatine nan crowd. The group portion besides included a elephantine inflatable pig pinch a assortment of symbols and words connected it — including a salient Jewish prima — that floated complete nan crowd arsenic “banners successful nan style of nan Third Reich but pinch crossed hammers alternatively of swastika” hung from nan ceiling.

The show took spot successful nan metropolis wherever much than 60,000 Jews were deported to their deaths during WWII and which was nan tract of nan Nov. 1938 “Kristallnacht” purge, successful which astir of Berlin’s synagogues were burned down and Jewish-owned stores and homes were vandalized and robbed. It is against nan rule successful Germany to show Nazi symbols aliases memorabilia.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center condemned nan performance successful a tweet, writing, “Shame connected Frankfurt authorities and Mercedes Benz arena successful Berlin — a spot from wherever Jews were deported by nan Nazis — for providing anti-Semite #RogerWaters this venue for his performance pinch nary concern/care for nan Jewish community.” In a follow-up tweet nan starring Jewish quality authorities statement asked, “Will Germany prosecute #RogerWaters for Holocaust distortion aliases will promoters unreserved to book nan anti-Semite for much lurid  3-D anti-Israel + #Antisemitic hatefests masquerading arsenic concerts?”

At property clip a spokesperson for Waters had not returned Billboard‘s petition for comment. Waters has many times been condemned for making what galore see to beryllium anti-semitic comments connected nan authorities of Israel, including comparing nan actions of nan Israeli authorities to that of South Africa nether nan apartheid authorities and Nazi Germany, arsenic good arsenic questioning Israel’s correct to exist.

See nan tweets below.