Do you buy the reasoning that this guy didn't know who Hitler was when he named the store? I do. Many people in other countries use Western sounding words and names without knowing the meaning behind them..Still..an epic fail and facepalm for this guy. If he had an ounce of intelligence he'd find a way to change the name. of course there is the possibility that he purposely named the store for the instant publicity..but I don't think he thought it through that much. http://news.yahoo.com/hitler-clothing-store-stirs-anger-india-133743884.html The owner of an Indian clothing store said Wednesday that he would only change its name from "Hitler" if he was compensated for re-branding costs, amid a growing row over the new shop. The outlet, which sells Western men's wear, opened 10 days ago in Ahmedabad city in the western state of Gujarat with "Hitler" written in big letters over the front and with a Nazi swastika as the dot on the "i". "I will change it (the name) if people want to compensate me for the money we have spent -- the logo, the hoarding, the business cards, the brand," Rajesh Shah told AFP. He put the total costs at about 150,000 rupees ($2,700). Shah insisted that until the store opened he did not know who Adolf Hitler was and that Hitler was a nickname given to the grandfather of his store partner because "he was very strict". "I didn't know how much the name would disturb people," he told AFP by telephone from Ahmedabad. "It was only when the store opened I learnt Hitler had killed six million people." Members of the tiny Jewish community in Ahmedabad condemned the store's name, while a senior Israeli diplomat said the embassy would raise the matter "in the strongest possible way." "People use such names mostly out of ignorance," Israel's Mumbai Consul General Orna Sagiv told AFP. Esther David, a prominent Indian writer in Ahmedabad who is Jewish, said she was "disturbed and distressed" by the shop, but added that some Indians used the word "Hitler" casually to describe autocratic people. David said Jewish residents had sought to change Shah's mind about the store's name and told him about the Holocaust. The row evoked memories of a controversy six years ago when a Mumbai restaurant owner called his cafe "Hitler's Cross" and put a swastika on the hoarding, claiming Hitler was a "catchy" name. The restaurant owner eventually agreed to change the name after protests by the Israeli embassy, Germany and the US Anti-Defamation League. Hitler attracts an unusual degree of respect in some parts of India, with his book "Mein Kampf" a popular title in bookshops and on street stalls. Gujarat schoolbooks issued by the Hindu nationalist state government were criticised a few years ago for praising Hitler as someone who gave "dignity and prestige" to the German government.
No, it's bs. He knows exactly what he's doing. He now wants people to pay him $3k to rebrand it, and is way too proud of presenting it amidst the "controversy." There is no way he did not know exactly who he was, or what he'd done.
Wait - why would anyone else pay for his re-branding? It's not like the name is illegal - the problem with the name is that he's going to get no customers. If he wants to keep it, more power to him. He'll be bankrupt soon enough and then the name will go away that way.
trust me x100000 when i tell you i'm not defending the guy... but the swastika was actually a symbol used in Ancient India. it's a Hindu symbol relating to good luck.
Very negatively...and they don't like talking about it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xnNhzgcWTk&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Here is an anteresting snippet about the name Hitler I found. Adolf Hitler's only male heir to survive the war was William Patrick Hitler, the son of Adolf Hitler's half-brother Alois. Patrick Hitler, as he was known, was born in Liverpool where his father had moved with Patrick's Irish-born mother Bridget. Patrick Hitler emigrated to the US, joined the Navy, and fought on the American side in World War II. After the war, he returned to the US and changed his name to William Patrick Stuart-Houston. No other male member of Hitler's family survived. As to Hitlers from other families, its possible, especially if some sicko changed his name to Hitler out of admiration for the Fuehrer, but it's unlikely that it's anyone's real name. "Hitler" was just a corruption of the common German name "Heidler." Hitler's father, whose name was Schikelgruber, tried to change his Jewish-sounding last name to Heidler when he joined the Civil Service; when it came back printed on a form as "Hitler," he just kept it.
Hitler was always known as a fashion forward dictator. Just look at the colors and embroidery of the Nazi uniform. He had an exquisite taste and always stressed impeccable detail. Will check out the store next time I'm in the city.
Here's what I wanted to Embed..but my Iphone wouldn't let me. Basil Fawlty with a concussion waiting on a Group of Germans..classic scene (don't mention the war..they hate talking about it) <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7xnNhzgcWTk?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Hmm...The emphasis on the Holocaust isn't as intense in India as it is over here. I think we spend almost 6 years learning about the Holocaust over here. (9th Grade English till 2nd year of College) They learn Math and Science. EDIT: Speaking of Irony. I googled "Indian nerd" and this is one of the images that popped up
You could say the same about the lack of emphasis on tragedies besides the holocaust in the American Education System. We never learn about Zedong and his Chinese Genocide, or even Stalins massacres, and most people in the US are probably ignorant of any of these happening. Heck, the Bosnian Genocide/Darfur that happened in my lifetime is unheard of. Most people don't pick up history books and start reading about Genocides.
