Former Pink Floyd singer Roger Waters rejects criticism of Nazi uniforms

Former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters vehemently denies he intended to incite hatred when he appeared on stage at a concert in Berlin wearing an outfit that closely resembled a black leather Nazi uniform. He sees his performance, where he also pointed a gun at the audience, as a clear stand against fascism.

The artist has written this on Twitter, a few hours after the police in Berlin announced that they are investigating. According to police, Waters’ uniform could be used to glorify or justify the Nazi regime, which is banned in Germany. “The clothes resemble the clothes of an SS officer,” a police spokesman said earlier.

Photos show Waters wearing a long leather jumpsuit and red Nazi-style headscarf for her performance at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Where Nazi’s bracelet featured a swastika, Waters’ bracelet featured two crossed hammers, the symbol that Pink Floyd has used since the release of the Pink Floyd film. wall in 1982. There was also a pig-shaped balloon with a Star of David on it.

During the show, pictures were also shown with the names of Anne Frank and Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot dead last year. It is precisely this combination of names that has gone awry in Israel – Waters is a prominent supporter of the anti-Israel boycott.

“Good morning to everyone except Roger Waters, who spent the evening in Berlin (yes Berlin) desecrating the memory of Anne Frank and the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry tweeted on Wednesday.

Waters doesn’t want to hear all the criticism about his appearance in Berlin last week. He believes his critics are acting in bad faith, trying to silence him and smear his name because they disagree with his political views. “The aspects of my work that are now being questioned are clearly the stance against fascism, oppression and discrimination of all kinds.”

Strong effect on Waters’ This Is Not a Drilltours in Germany are not new. Frankfurt even tried to ban his show, because he would be against the Jews on his previous tour by showing an inflatable pig with the Star of David, but according to the judge that was within the artistic freedom of Waters. There are expected to be protests tomorrow in Frankfurt, at Waters’ last German show of the tour.

So the artist does not appear to be a big fan of Germany, which “those in power” accuses in part of working “on behalf of the Israeli influence” when they accuse him of anti-Semitism. “I went through Munich yesterday afternoon, I couldn’t help feeling like I was being watched by Big Brother. That leaves a bad taste,” he said earlier.

He has also been criticized for some time because of Waters’ comments about the war in Ukraine. For example, he said in his speech at the United Nations that the invasion of Russia was provoked and he wrote an open letter to President Zelensky’s wife Olena Zelenska warning about “Ukrainian patriots” who have “put the country on the path of a terrible war” to keep. His performances were later canceled in Poland.

All the violence surrounding Waters, his comments and his performances does not cause a great stir in the Netherlands. The Israel Information and Documentation Center (CIDI) has asked the organizer of the festival, Mojo, to closely monitor the concerts, but did not call for a boycott. CIDI director Naomi Mestrum called him “a disgusting person who shouts very crazy things about Jews and about Israel”.