Zara removes Halloween costume likened to concentration camp uniform

JTA – Spanish fashion retailer Zara removed a children’s Halloween costume from its website on Wednesday after social media users noted that the grey-and-blue-striped outfit resembled prison garb worn by inmates in Nazi concentration camps. 

Zara described the ensemble as “Kids costume featuring vertical stripes with decorative topstitching, a lapel flower, and a distressed effect. Includes a cardigan and shorts. Grey / Blue.” 

The post was visible via a Google search that continued to display an indexed version of the Zara product page after the listing itself had been removed. 

The costume resembles the suit worn by Michael Keaton’s title character in the 1988 horror-comedy Beetlejuice and its 2024 sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Even so, social media users said the vertical stripes and shiny criss-crosses, which some media outlets described as “fake stitched scars,” resembled concentration camp uniforms and the barbed wire visible in many World War II photos. 

Priced at $59.90 (R992.90) in the US, according to another indexed version of the listing, the costume drew criticism online in Europe on Tuesday. It gained wider attention on Wednesday after Israeli journalist Dov Gil-Har, activist Hen Mazzig, and others shared images of it on X. 

The listing was no longer accessible by Wednesday afternoon. It was unclear exactly when Zara removed it. No reason was given for its removal, and Zara has not made any public statements regarding the controversy, nor has it responded to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) request for comment. 

One Instagram commenter wrote, “@zara how many levels of approval did this go though [sic]? Who is working for you?” A Facebook user said, “It’s supposed to be a groom costume. It does somewhat resemble a [sic] Auschwitz uniform. With all the antisemitism on the rise I am not surprised.” Another Instagram user asked, “What were they claiming it was meant to be?” 

Zara has in the past faced similar controversies over clothing that evoked Nazi or Holocaust imagery. In 2007, it withdrew a handbag from its stores after a customer discovered a swastika embroidered on it; Inditex, Zara’s parent company, said the symbol had not appeared on the design Zara had approved. 

In 2014 Zara apologised for selling a blue-and-white-striped shirt with six-pointed yellow-star badges on the chest. The Zara Israel website identified it as a “striped sheriff t-shirt” and the word “sheriff” was cut out in small letters on the star. The likeness to concentration camp uniforms and the yellow Star of David badges Jews were forced to wear under Nazi rule led Zara to stop selling the shirts and destroy the remaining inventory. 

When reached for comment, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which represents Holocaust survivors in compensation negotiations, said the repeated incidents underscore the need for Holocaust education. 

“This is not the first time this has happened and it once again makes abundantly clear: The glaring absence of Holocaust knowledge is pervasive,” Gideon Taylor, Claims Conference president, wrote in an email to JTA. “It shouldn’t take the risk of a Shoah survivor opening their door and seeing children that look like they are in concentration camp uniforms for us to see where we have to do better. This should serve as a message to us all of why Holocaust education is so important.”