BNK48 girl group 'educating on Holocaust'

Members of the BNK48 girl group take notes from history at an exhibition at the International Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony in Bangkok on Thursday. (Photo from embassy of Israel)

BNK48, the super group which triggered outrage after a member wore a T-shirt emblazoned with a Nazi swastika, has been taking part in Holocaust education programmes.

Pichaya "Namsai" Natha wore the swastika T-shirt shortly before International Holocaust Remembrance Day in January.

At a reception marking Israel's 71st Independence Day on Tuesday evening, the band said they have also spent time reading and watching Holocaust films, including The Pianist, in order to become more informed about the issue.

Band members said they had discussed the Holocaust in grade-school classes, but the education did not go into enough detail.

Their fans have also learned more about Holocaust history since the outcry because of their efforts to increase awareness of the issue and the Nazis' use of the swastika, they said.

Six members of the 51-person band -- Namsai, Jennis, Stang, Kheng, Jib and Myyu -- performed at the reception. Clad in matching white dresses, they sang the Israeli national anthem, Hatikvah, and the Hava Nagila, a popular folk song.

Israeli ambassador, Meir Shlomo, attributed the use of the swastika to a lack of knowledge.

"I would hesitate to say that there's anti-Semitism in Thailand," said Dr Shlomo. "There's a lot of ignorance about things that have to do with the Holocaust and the Nazi era generally."

"Having said that, ignorance is always dangerous.... That's why it's important that this group helped us increase the awareness not to use Nazi symbols."

Besides cooperating with BNK48 on awareness activities, the embassy hosts Holocaust education programmes at Thai schools and universities. The Thai government lends support. "I met the previous education minister and he was very supportive of the idea to increase awareness, especially in high schools, but we will have to see with the coming government what will happen," Dr Shlomo said.