Roger Waters’ Nazi-Style Concert Uniform Is Investigated By Berlin Police

(CTN News) – During a recent Berlin concert, Roger Waters wore a Nazi-style uniform that prompted a criminal investigation by German police.

The costume displayed at the concerts on 17 and 18 May is the subject of an investigation, Berlin police spokesperson Martin Halweg told the Guardian.

Germany prohibits the display of Nazi symbols, including the swastika and SS insignia, except for educational and artistic purposes.

According to the legal concept of “incitement of the people”, which often applied to trials related to the denial of the Holocaust in Germany, it is unlawful to assault the dignity of individuals from national, racial, or religious groups.

In Halweg’s view, the clothing worn approves, glorifies or justifies the violent and arbitrary rule of the Nazi regime in a way that violates the dignity of the victims and disrupts public peace.

Roger Waters performed In the Flesh at Berlin’s Mercedes Benz Arena dressed as Pink from the rock opera The Wall, wearing a black leather trench coat and red armband with crossed hammers instead of the swastika.

The song depicts the protagonist’s descent into a drug-induced hallucination in which he imagines he is a fascist dictator addressing a neo-Nazi rally.

In 1990, Roger Waters wore a military uniform that looked more like Augusto Pinochet’s than Waters’ when he and the German band Scorpions performed In the Flesh in the no-man’s land near the recently toppled Berlin Wall.

During Roger Waters’ 2010-13 The Wall Live tour,

Which included nine concerts in Germany, he wore a similar costume to Bob Geldof’s performance in 1982’s film version of The Wall.

Police in Berlin would examine footage of his previous performances in Germany as part of their investigation, Halweg said.

Rather than criticizing Waters’ costumes, Israeli authorities have criticized her for a segment featuring names of activists killed by the authorities. In May 2022, an Israeli sniper is believed to have shot dead Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who is believed to have died in a Nazi concentration camp.

Earlier this week, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Daniel Danon, wrote on Twitter that Roger Waters compared Frank to “a journalist shot in an active combat zone”. He added: “Waters seeks to compare Israel to the Nazis.”

Approximately three months will pass before Berlin police hand over their evidence to the state prosecutor, who will determine whether Roger Waters act was incitement to hatred.

A Frankfurt city magistrate has attempted to cancel Waters’ concert on Sunday, accusing him of being “one of the most widely known antisemites in the world”.

In response to the decision, Waters sued, denying that it was antisemitic.

Despite acknowledging that aspects of the singer’s show were “tasteless,” Frankfurt’s administrative court last month granted the singer permission to proceed with his event. A response from Roger Waters has been requested by The Guardian.

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