Magdeburg, Germany (dpa) – Fans of colourful Austrian architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser demonstrated in Germany against the opening Friday of a boutique likely to be patronized by neo-Nazis.
The outlet for the Thor Steinar range of clothing rented space in the Hundertwasser Building, a landmark completed in 2005 in the city of Magdeburg, south-west of Berlin. The building is the last work of Hundertwasser (1928-2000).
Thor Steinar’s offerings of camouflage-pattern shirts, trousers and jackets are fashionable among neo-Nazi youths who want to look tough, but the German manufacturer denies any political message.
The company logo, which resembled the symbol of the Nazi Party army, the SS, was altered after being challenged in the courts.
Joining demonstrators near the shop, Angela Kolb, justice minister of Saxony-Anhalt state, said, “I can’t think of a worse tenant for our finest building.” She said she was appalled to see the brand-name “Narvik” plastered across a window.
Nazi Germany won a victory over British forces in 1940 at Narvik, Norway.
Hundertwasser, noted for fantastic buildings that resemble water- colours or children’s toys, designed the outlandish pink building with a golden dome before his death. Magdeburg is in eastern Germany, where neo-Nazi groups are most active.
The Catholic bishop of Magdeburg, Gerhard Feige, instructed a Catholic building society, which owns the shop, to terminate the lease. He said Friday the society had not realized what the tenant stood for.