Friends of the Rail Forum

Railway chiefs apologise over Nazis at wartime enactment

Published Date: 03 December 2009
Yorkshire Post
By Mark Branagan

BOSSES of a preserved steam railway have apologised to a mixed-race family who complained about being confronted by men in SS uniform acting out a violent scene during a wartime nostalgia weekend.

Mike Seaman, from Hull, complained to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway about a reconstruction event at Levisham Station, near Pickering.

He said: "Spending £30 on a family ticket we got off at the first station to be confronted without any notification with a full regiment of Nazi SS with death camp scull cap badges who were allowed to control the full station at Levisham.

"They displayed beating non-uniformed person they dragged from a field by the rail track. My 13-year-old son interpreted this as representing Jewish people because of the rail track and SS uniforms."

He also objected that what happened had nothing to do with the theme of the weekend, which was supposed to show life on the Home Front.

Railway customer service chief Helen Webb said several years ago the railway was approached by a re-enactment group wanting to show life under occupation.

Hence, Levisham became Le Visham – a German occupied French village. She added: "The re-enactment group we work with develops carefully planned scenarios. This year it focused on partisan warfare.

"One reason for focusing such events at Levisham is that we can contain the German element of the event, and can ensure that those visitors not wishing to see or be involved, can move on to our other stations."

NYMR general manager Philip Benham said before the "German" presence at Levisham was permitted there had been problems with German uniformed re-enactors "gate crashing" the weekend.

Much ado about nothing - or has "Allo Allo" been banned as well now?

I don't get it? What is the problem?

UK preserved railways make a lot of money out of World War II re-enactment weekends. Locos, rolling stock, road vehicles, staff, other people, etc are dressed up in period costume. Often it's "Home Front" re-enactments, where not a German is to be seen, although there would be plenty of British uniforms and military vehicles in evidence. Sometimes it includes uniformed German soldiers, and sometimes battle re-enactments. There seems to be little controversy about all of that.

The issue of swastikas and SS (as opposed to Wehrmacht) uniforms does seem to have caused some controversy. From what I can understand, this is partly due to modern European politics rather than history. There are some fairly obnoxious right-wing political parties across Europe who use Nazi paraphernalia. There are also groups of right-wing youths who seem to enjoy dressing up as Nazis, not for historical re-enactment, but to abuse and sometimes terrorise immigrant communities. Jewish communities are also very sensitive to Nazi symbols, and there have been cases of Jewish buildings and graves being desecrated with swastikas. I think these are the sort of reasons why there is often concern at any public display of Nazi paraphernalia.

I don't think it's a question of banning 'Allo 'Allo!

Kevin Wilson-Smith wrote:Much ado about nothing - or has "Allo Allo" been banned as well now?

Only in France