This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Nazi memorabilia was offered for sale and attendees reportedly wore Nazi uniforms at a “living history” event held on National Trust property.

For the past seven years Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire has hosted the Lacock at War event, organised by the West Wiltshire Military Vehicle Trust (WWMVT).

The event paid tribute to British military history with displays of real and replica vehicles used by the army in both world wars. There was also the promise of musical entertainment and “a selection of traders selling military and vintage civilian clothing and collectibles”.

However, people were shocked to see attendees dressed in Nazi uniforms and stalls where Nazi memorabilia was on sale.

Attendees said that they saw Third Reich emblem pins and Nazi uniform patches featuring the eagle and swastika insignia on sale.

They added that they saw a yellow Star of David patch, which Jews were made to wear under the Nazi regime. Organisers insisted that the armbands had been part of a historical display rather than for sale, and described the item as a “piece of history”.

The National Trust said that the displays were “unacceptable”.

Amanda, a descendant of eastern European Jews, who prefered to withhold her surname, told the Guardian: “There were people dressed as German soldiers, [with] swastikas and Third Reich emblems.”

She added that those dressed in Nazi uniform “were parading themselves unapologetically. There seemed to be no efforts made to consider Jewish people in this.

“I understand the interest in British world war two collectibles, but seeing somebody sell an SS beret like it belonged in a dressing-up box made me sick to my stomach.”

Another attendee said: “I saw Nazi badges and some pins, lots of things bearing the swastika and the eagle, were mixed in with other countries’ badges at a stall, and there were price tags on all of them. A hat with the skull [Totenkopf] from the SS uniforms was also for sale.”

She added: “Those items belong in museums, it’s wrong to profit from that stuff.”

John Edward Wardle, the Lacock at War organiser at WWMVT, denied allegations that any of the event’s attendees wearing Nazi uniform.

He said: “We are sorry that your complainant was offended and we have investigated and addressed your concerns. I have spoken to various people who attended the show, re-enactors, members of the public, and the show committee, and no one saw anybody dressed in Nazi uniform, or wearing swastika armbands.”

He added: “if someone was dressed in Nazi or SS uniform then they would be asked to remove it and escorted from the show.”

Two photographs on Facebook, taken this weekend at Lacock, show three men dressed in Nazi uniforms with eagle and swastika insignia. Over 10 photographs since found on social media show several attendees at Lacock dressed in Nazi uniform. In one image, posted on Instagram in 2017, the poster appears, in civilian clothes, next to two men dressed in uniforms bearing swastikas. In another image, posted in 2017 and captioned “#luftwaffe flak crew”, a man is seen in a white uniform wearing the iron cross and an eagle and swastika insignia.

Wardle insisted these images showed re-enactors in German uniforms, not Nazi uniforms, because “not all German soldiers were members of the Nazi party, those that were wore swastika armbands … not one of the re-enactors is wearing a swastika armband, therefore they are not Nazis”.

In a statement the National Trust said: “We are aware of concerns raised over a ‘living history’ event at Lacock over the weekend and have contacted the organisers for an urgent explanation.

“The event was organised by the Military Vehicle Trust and included uniforms and materials, which understandably caused distress and led to a complaint.

“We will make it very clear to the MVT that these displays were insensitive, unacceptable and should not be repeated.”