After Roger Waters appeared at a concert in Berlin wearing a uniform reminiscent of the Nazi Party, Berlin police announced on Friday that they were looking into his possible involvement in inciting hatred. Social media images from last week’s Mercedes-Benz venue show Waters on stage in a long, black coat with red armbands. “We are investigating on suspicion of incitement to public hatred because the clothing worn on stage could be used to used to glorify or justify Nazi rule, thereby disturbing the public peace,” police spokesman Martin Halweg told AFP, confirming an earlier report by Jewish News. “The clothing resembles the clothing of an SS officer,” Halweg added.
A well-known pro-Palestinian activist named Waters has come under fire for allegedly having anti-Jewish beliefs
A well-known pro-Palestinian activist named Waters has come under fire for allegedly having anti-Jewish beliefs. At his shows, he has floated an inflatable pig covered in the Star of David. On his “This Is Not A Drill” tour, Waters has recently performed in a number of German towns. However, it has generated a great deal of controversy, and some city officials have even attempted—but failed—to forbid him from performing. The “Another Brick in the Wall” singer disputes the anti-Semitism charges, claiming that he was against Israeli policy rather than Jews in general. Anne Frank, a Jewish adolescent who perished in a Nazi concentration camp, was among the names that Waters projected on a huge screen while performing in Berlin.
Also named was slain Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, prompting criticism that Waters was relativizing the Holocaust. “Good morning to everyone but Roger Waters who spent the evening in Berlin (Yes Berlin) desecrating the memory of Anne Frank and the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust,” Israel’s foreign ministry tweeted earlier this week. On Sunday evening, Waters is scheduled to perform his final German concert in the western city of Frankfurt, and protesters intend to demonstrate in front of the venue. The Frankfurt city government attempted to stop the event, but a court rejected their request on the grounds of artistic freedom. Uwe Becker, the anti-Semitism commissioner for the German state of Hesse, allegedly promoted “hatred and incitement against Israel” through his performances, according to the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper.