In Germany, neo-Nazi t-shirts change messages in the wash

Visitors to an ultra-right nationalist concert in the eastern German town of Gera received t-shirts they thought contained neo-Nazi messages – until they washed them. Reuters reports the t-shirts display anti-Nazi messages after the first wash.

Before washing, the t-shirts display a skull, nationalist symbols, and the motto “hardcore rebels”. After washing, however, the motto changes into a message from the EXIT organization, which helps people leave the extreme-right environment: “If your t-shirt can do it, so can you – we can help you escape right-wing extremism.”

Around 250 shirts were distributed at the Rock for Germany concert in Gera. Bernd Wagner, founder of EXIT, said the shirts were intended to appeal to the organization’s main target group, people considering leaving the extreme right.

Concert organizer Gordon Richter, who is a member of the ultra-right “Nationally Democratic Party” of Germany (NDP), said whoever invested in the t-shirts wasted their money. “It’s a bit sad someone spent money on something like that,” Richter told Reuters.