Indian Shop Owner Under Fire for ‘Hitler’ Store Name
Published at(NEW YORK) — Jewish residents of India’s Gujarat province are decrying the name of a men’s clothing retailer — all because the shop’s owner called his store “Hitler.”
According to the Times of India, proprietor Rajesh Shah claims he didn’t know what was offensive about the store’s name — or the swastika on the “i” in the “Hitler” on his storefront.
“Frankly, until the time we applied for the trademark permission, I had only heard that Hitler was a strict man,” Shah told the paper. “It was only recently that we read about Hitler on the Internet.”
Shah claims the store’s name came from a nickname his business partner’s grandfather had because of his strict nature.
Jewish groups aren’t convinced, and are calling for Shah to change the name of the store — something he says he won’t do unless someone compensates him for re-branding the establishment from his storefront’s logo to his Hitler’s business cards.
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