New York, N.Y., August 11, 2003 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed outrage at reports of a Hong Kong-based fashion company, IZZUE, launching a line of clothing featuring Nazi symbols. IZZUE stores have also been decorated with symbols of the Third Reich "from the ceilings to the floors," with one store allegedly broadcasting Nazi propaganda films on a wall with a projector.

In a letter to Tung Chee Hwa, of the Office of the Chief Executive, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China, Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, said:

We were deeply troubled to learn that the Hong Kong fashion company, IZZUE, has launched a line of clothing featuring Nazi symbols and has hung symbols of the Third Reich from the ceilings to the floors of their 14 stores in Hong Kong to promote the clothing line.  According to news reports, one store even broadcast Nazi propaganda films on a wall with a projector.

Deborah Cheng, the company's marketing manager, issued a statement explaining that the designer did not realize that the Nazi symbols would be considered offensive.  It should be obvious that swastikas are a symbol of the Nazis and the Third Reich, who carried out the systematic murder of six million Jews and millions of others during World War II.

We respectfully urge you to condemn this deeply offensive clothing line and related displays in IZZUE's 14 stores, and to use this unfortunate episode as an opportunity to promote a deeper understanding of the Holocaust and greater sensitivity among the people of Hong Kong to the horrors of the Nazi regime.