The Nazis are still widely condemned and despised to this day, and yet their influence can still be seen over seventy years after Hitler bit that big schnitzel in the sky.
There are Neo-Nazi hate groups, political organizations preaching Nazi ideology, and dumb racist parents who name their kid Adolf Hitler. And then there's the strange world of Nazi inspired Asian underground fashion, which tends to send mixed messages.
Asian Nazi Chic is possibly tongue-in-cheek, possibly retro militarism, possibly a strange form of cosplay, maybe all three or none of the above.
It's moderately offensive to Westerners, extremely offensive to the world’s Jewish population, but most Asian people don't seem to be offended by Hitler Chic.
In fact swastikas and images of Der Fuhrer are seen as a novelty in many Asian countries, which could lead to misunderstandings when tourists see people doing the Nazi salute on the sidewalk.
I am ashamed to admit it, but even I am not too hung up about the shoah. I am but a product of my time. I have read the atrocities committed to a sizeable portion of humanity by the evil nazis, and it troubles me. But, you know, much like the Crusades, it happened a long, long time ago in a place far, far away. Heck, even the thousands of my countrymen who were butchered by the Americans to pacify our islands in the late 19th century, and thousands more killed by the Japanese during WW2 (including some of my maternal grand uncles), these are just factoids that I learn in history class.
But even I was taken aback when a "Good Burger" hamburger joint opened near my office about ten years ago. For some unfathomable reason, their flyers included a black and white picture of Hitler looking over approvingly to a Good Burger sandwich. Wow!
Going by our implied guilt you'd think we collaborated with the Nazis instead of fought against them. Japan and America should trade attitudes.