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17 Apr, 2017 19:51

Moscow barbershop creates uproar by offering ‘Hitler Youth’ haircuts for toddlers

Moscow barbershop creates uproar by offering ‘Hitler Youth’ haircuts for toddlers

A kids’ barber shop in Moscow has offered parents to let their toddlers have a sharp-looking, Nazi-style haircut. The new trend has left social media users shocked and disturbed.

The hair salon at a shopping mall in southwest Moscow reportedly can make every little boy look like a Hitler Youth member, judging by the photos of the hairstyle catalogue made public by a concerned mother on Facebook on Sunday.

The post has been shared more than 400 times and sparked a heated debate on how inappropriate the name of the haircut was.

“This is Moscow. The Mega [mall] in [the] Tyoply Stan [neighborhood]. I made the photo with my own hands. With my own cell phone. Not a fake. These are the haircuts kids’ salon Voobrazhulya in the Mega suggests for boys. You could go there, have your boy’s haircut, tell him something about the name of the haircut. Maybe there is something I don’t understand,” said her post, which was initially accompanied by two photos.

Most commentators agreed that a haircut named for Adolf Hitler’s paramilitary youth organization was inappropriate, unethical and even alarming. However, this might have been an honest mistake made out of ignorance, they wrote in the comment section under the post.

Nevertheless, there were also others who believe the haircut has a historical background that can’t be neglected and as long as children like it in the salon, there is nothing wrong with the name.

"What's wrong? Are they bad at cutting hair? Or you don't like the name of the haircut?" one user wrote.

The haircut was subsequently removed from the barbershop’s catalogue, Anna Shitnikova, its owner, said, according to RIA Novosti.

“Following the reports about the haircut name in our salon’s catalogue emerged in the media, we would like to say that the use of this title was inappropriate. We offer our sincere apologies. All of the catalogues have been taken away and disposed of. An administrative review has been launched,” Shitnikova said.

READ MORE: Nazi symbolism in Christmas ad finds German retailer Edeka crying ‘coincidence’

The so-called “Hitler Youth” haircut is a variant of the well-known undercut with hair buzzed on the sides, longer on top and slicked back that gained popularity over the recent years, mostly thanks to pop-culture celebrities.

Under Russia’s Administrative Code, the display of Nazi or similar symbols is prohibited. A person breaking the law can be detained for up to 15 days or face a fine of about $35.

In Germany, the Hitler Youth is an “unconstitutional organization” and its symbols may be used only for educational or research purposes.

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