German clothing brand favoured by neo-Nazis sparks anger by opening shop yards from office of UK's Chief Rabbi

Thor Steinar, which is notoriously worn by right-wing thugs

Banned in German football stadiums for its links to neo-Nazism

First British store opened in North Finchley, the heart of Jewish community

Jewish and Muslim residents fears it will attract racist thugs to the area

Store owner Zsolt Mogyorodi insisted he was not racist



A German clothing brand favoured by neo-Nazis has caused horror by opening a branch yards from the office of the UK’s Chief Rabbi.



Thor Steinar, which is notoriously worn by right-wing thugs, has been banned in the German Bundestag and many of the country’s football stadiums for its links to neo-Nazism.



But in a move described as ‘deliberately provocative,’ the first British store opened a fortnight ago in North Finchley, in the heart of the Jewish community.



Thor Steinar, a German clothing brand favoured by neo-Nazis has caused horror by opening a branch yards from the office of the UK's Chief Rabbi

Jewish and Muslim residents, charities and community leaders yesterday called for the shop to be boycotted amid fears it will attract racist thugs to the area

The Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis is based a few doors away, as is the Islamic Association of North London, a mosque which serves the large local Muslim population.

Jewish and Muslim residents, charities and community leaders yesterday called for the shop to be boycotted amid fears it will attract racist thugs to the area.



Residents walking past said the store, manned by a heavily tattooed Slovakian man, was ‘scary,’ ‘confrontational’ and ‘offensive’, while charities described its opening as a ‘disgrace’.



Thor Steinar, which is notoriously worn by right-wing thugs, has been banned in the German Bundestag and many of the country¿s football stadiums for its links to neo-Nazism

Store owner Zsolt Mogyorodi insisted: 'I'm really upset about this. I have lots of black people friends. I've got lots of Indian friends. I'm not Nazi. I'm not racist'

Thor Steinar has attracted huge amounts of controversy since it was launched in Germany in 2002.



Its original logo featured runes placed together to look like the insignia of the SS under Adolf Hitler.



In 2012, it named a new German store Brevik, which critics claimed was in honour of right-wing Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik.



While it uses the Norwegian flag and other Nordic symbols on its products, Norway has long sought to distance itself from the German brand.



Wearing its products is banned in the German parliament and state assemblies in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saxony.



The nearby local mosque on the High Road in North Finchley which is just down the road from the Viking Thor Shop

The office of the UK¿s Chief Rabbi just a few yards away from the new shop

Many of the country’s football clubs have also barred fans from wearing the clothing to games and online retailer Amazon refuses to sell its products.



In North Finchley, the brand is being sold exclusively in a store called Viking ThorShop, which opened two weeks ago.



The office of the Chief Rabbi is a few doors down on the same road and the Islamic Association mosque is about 100 metres away.



A war memorial, dedicated to local men who lost their lives fighting in the Second World War, is also moments away.



The store, which is surrounded by Asian-owned shops and Afghan and Persian restaurants, has been discussed on British neo-Nazi websites, with one person writing: ‘I hate north London. It’s full of Jews.’



A man wears a t-shirt of the label Thor Steinar, during a demonstration of several hundred neo-Nazis in Germany

Mother-of-two Danielle Benson, 51, an interior designer who has lived in the area for 23 years, visited the store on Sunday.



‘I found it quite scary. The shop was manned by a heavy-accented guy with a shaved head and lots of tattoos.



‘I find it extremely confrontational and offensive that they have opened in an area where so many cultures and ethnic minorities intermix.’



Surveyor Ben Glickman, 43, from North Finchley, said: ‘it is disgraceful that this store has opened in a such a prominent Jewish area of London, and with so many other ethnic minorities that make up the area. It is a deliberately provocative act.’



‘As a result of the store being advertised on a neo-Nazi website, it is likely also that it would attract far-right hooligans to the area. This is extremely worrying.’



Masood Afzali, who owns a Persian food shop across the road, said: ‘It is very worrying for all of us. These people are hating the Jews and anyone different. This is an area with all different people living together. We don’t need this here.’



‘I’m really upset about this. I have lots of black people friends. I’ve got lots of Indian friends. I’m not Nazi. I’m not racist' Store owner Zsolt Mogyorodi



Chief Rabbi Mirvis was yesterday travelling abroad ahead of the Jewish festival of Passover, which started on Monday night.



A spokesman for the Community Security Trust, which provides security for Jewish people and public figures in Britain, said: ‘This is a multi-cultural area with very few problems from racism and neo-Nazism and the like.



‘This shop is not welcome here and the sooner it moves on the better.’



Yad Vashem-UK Foundation was established to ensure the horrors of the Holocaust are never forgotten.



Trustee Ashley Rogoff said: ‘One of the tasks we set ourselves is to monitor and act when we identify an event that glorifies and supports the far right or neo-Nazism.



The firm did have a store called Brevik, named after the Norwegian town, in Hamburg but it shut in 2008

‘Such an issue has now arisen with the opening of the Thor Steiner shop in North Finchley.



‘Its original logo is linked to the insignia of the Schutzstaffel, which perhaps says it all. This is a very worrying development.’



Alan Aziz, ceo of the UK Zionist Federation added: ‘It is a disgrace that someone is allowed to sell these items in the UK that glorify the worst atrocity in our history. This is banned in Germany so why is it legal here?’



Store owner Zsolt Mogyorodi insisted he was not racist.



He said he chose to open the store in North Finchley because there are lots of Eastern European people living nearby who like the brand.



‘I’m really upset about this. I have lots of black people friends. I’ve got lots of Indian friends. I’m not Nazi. I’m not racist.

