GOP's Iott: Nothing Wrong With Wearing Nazi Uniform

Re-enactment was for educational purposes
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 11, 2010 4:38 PM CDT
GOP's Iott: Nothing Wrong With Wearing Nazi Uniform
Candidate Rich Iott, a former World War II re-enactor.   (Rich Iott for Congress)

Other people might be looking for a new costume, but Ohio House candidate Rich Iott says there's nothing wrong with his having dressed up as a Nazi soldier while participating in historical re-enactments, the AP reports. "I don't see anything wrong about educating the public about events that happened," Iott says. "And that's the whole purpose of historical re-enacting." Iott says his involvement in Wiking stems purely from an interest in history, and notes that he has also worn US uniforms in re-enactments.

Wiking, for its part, states on its website that while it aims to re-create "the daily life" of an average German soldier, Neo-Nazis and other racists are not welcome in the group. But GOP leaders aren't sticking around to debate the nuances, with Eric Cantor saying yesterday that he could not support someone who had worn a Nazi uniform.
(More German stories.)

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