Adolf Hitler Promotion At German Salon Ruled Illegal, ‘Waxing Against The Right’ Campaign Forced To End And Remove All Promo Material

A Bavarian salon has been ordered to remove an advertisement campaign from its location because it uses it uses the image of Adolf Hitler to protest against the Far Right. “Waxing Against the Right” was deemed to be not only illegal but also irrelevant to the salon’s practices.

Boderwerk Salon in Cham, Bavaria, used the image of Adolf Hitler in the campaign to bring awareness to government political issues while providing discounted services to its customers. Individuals were able to pick up a flier and remove a fake mustache from Hitler’s top lip, revealing a discount, according to Metro. In most instances, the discount was equal to “1 x waxing = 1€ donation against the Right.”

Salon owner Ursula Gresser saw nothing wrong with the campaign and felt it was the perfect way to draw awareness to the right wing government in a peaceful and non-violent manner.

“The main thought was simply to nail my colors to the mast, at a time when refugee homes are being set on fire.”

She continued to explain that what she was doing with the Adolf Hitler promotion was far less of an issue than what the government is doing.

“If [the far-right] can do that, why can’t I hang a picture of Hitler on my door?”

Despite her views on the advertisement campaign, Gresser was forced to remove the images of Adolf Hitler from her salon. In Germany, the image of Adolf Hitler may only be used legally if it is to represent historical events. Any other use is deemed to be illegal.

Chief prosecutor Theo Ziegler spoke about the Adolf Hitler mustache waxing campaign, revealing that the issue was approached because of the irrelevant nature of the use of Hitler’s image, according to the BBC News.

“The deciding factor about this offense: the perpetrator’s political beliefs are completely irrelevant. After the owner of the salon saw reason and removed the picture, we stopped the investigation because of the minor nature of the offense.”

The act of removing Adolf Hitler’s iconic mustache was a perfect representation of how the right-wing government should have power removed and kept in check. However, prosecutors felt that the protest could have been enacted in a much better way that did not involve the image of Adolf Hitler. Instead, using his image made the campaign illegal, and the authorities had no choice but to intervene and stop the campaign at the Boderwerk Salon.

Despite the removal of the campaign from Boderwerk’s premises, the media it has received allowed the campaign to move beyond the front window of the small shop. Gresser believes that her message was sent out to the public in a perfect manner and considers the short-lived campaign a complete success.

“I think we’ve been quite successful in provoking a debate, to make people talk about it with their friends.”

In countries where free speech is not openly allowed, such as it is in the United States, campaigns such as the one used at the Boderwerk Salon have the ability to transgress beyond the area they are enacted and reach many individuals and groups. When such a protest is enacted in the United States, it rarely reaches the local news. When it does, the coverage is minimal at best.

Although Boderwerk could have used a different method of conveying their message against the right-wing government, few would have had the impact of Adolf Hitler’s image, especially when making the protest interactive by allowing individuals to remove his mustache, an iconic sign of his previous power.

What are your thoughts on the campaign, did it go too far?

[Image via Anton_Ivanov/Shutterstock]