The Hitler youth hairstyle

23Nov11

I read this in the israelnationalnews:

‘Hitler Youth Hairdo’ -Silly Fashion Statement or anti-Semitism?

Is it a sign of a burgeoning anti-Semitic movement – or a silly fashion statement? Some Jewish community officials, who did not wish to be named in order not to “fan any flames,” as one put it in an interview, have expressed concern over the latest style in haircuts – the “Jugend,” or the “Hitler Youth” hairdo that has begun gracing an increasing number of heads in the more “hip” areas of Manhattan.

The New York Times “outed” the hairdo in a weekend story, interviewing a Greenwich Village barber who says he has been getting many requests for the haircut from young men frequenting his shop. Although he prefers not to refer to it as such, says the barber, Sam Buffa, that’s what the customers are asking for – “buzzed on the sides, longer on top and slicked back with a dab of pomade,” as theTimes describes it.

The haircut seems to be inspired, the Times said, by retro TV shows and movies depicting the 1920s and 1930s that have achieve popularity recently. The Times piece quoted a photographer as saying that he himself had sported the haircut, and that he had been unaware of any Hitler connections. In “any photography book of Paris in the ’30s, almost all the guys had that cut,” said the photographer, Scott Schuman.

But several activists in the Jewish community are not so sure that the “Jugend” is just another silly fashion statement. “Not that these are members of Hitler youth, but the fact that the term is thrown around so cavalierly is of concern,” said one activist in the New York Jewish community. “I am far from being someone who sees anti-Semitism in every little thing, but we have in recent weeks witnessed numerous attacks on Jews. Anti-Semitism seems to be in the air right now,” the activist said.

I was skeptical, and thought this was yet more zionist hyteria. So, I googled the hair do, and I have to say I was disturbed at the casualness with which the do is described as “Hitler Youth”.

Here’s style and celeb website Frisky.com:

The New York Times alerts us to the new hair trend for quirky (read: hipster) boys, which has many names: the “synth,” the “undercut” and the “Youth” — short for the Hitler Youth. Yes indeedy, the look of pure evil itself — hair shaved severely on both sides with a flop of gelled bangs across the top — is back in vogue. The cut and its variations are widespread in popularity across Europe, and its been worn by everyone from Joe Jonas to Win Butler of Arcade Fire and photographer Hedi Slimane. I have to say, I really like it! It looks modern and edgy, and I don’t believe guys wear it as a walking billboard for fascism. In Europe, and especially Germany, people are careful not to refer to the cut with names that hint of totalitarianism, the Times says.

Here’s the NYT fashion pages:

CLEAN-CUT young men have been going to F.S.C. Barber in the West Village and asking for the same haircut: buzzed on the sides, longer on top and slicked back with a dab of pomade. You could call it a modified McSqueeb, a J. Edgar Hoover or maybe a Jimmy Darmody, after the character in “Boardwalk Empire.” But a lot of them just ask for a Hitler Youth, said Sam Buffa, a founding partner of the barbershop. “I was trying to not use that” term, he added.

The old-school coif has become a go-to haircut not just for Web designers in heritage-brand clothing, but for fashion designers and D.J.’s in the style capitals of Europe….

In Berlin, where National Socialist connotations are more troubling, variations on the hairstyle have become common in fashionable quarters of Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg, said Annika von Taube, the editor in chief of Sleek, an art and fashion magazine there. But no one associates it with fascism, ironically or not.

“We usually refer to this cut as the ‘undercut,’ and there are gazillions of variations, for boys and girls,” Ms. von Taube said. “We are aware that non-Germans refer to it as the ‘jugend’ ” — German for “youth” — “or the ‘Hitler’ even. Maybe it’s a case of selective perception.”

Here’s some examples. This is from a blog about haircuts:

Hitler youth will never die

This is my friend Josh. We usually keep his hair neat and classic but today we went with a slightly edgier look. High and tight. I think it rules. Feast your eyes on this!!!

From Flickr, entitled “a boy’s attempt at hitler youth”

From a hipster blog, way back in ’09 (the Jewish press and NYT are so 2009):

The Hitler Youth Haircut

Now I know what’s it called! It’s the Hitler Youth haircut! I’ve always wanted to have a hairstyle same as Cole Mohr I just dont know if I can pull it off..

From a fashion forum, also back in ’09

hitler youth it.

hitler youths are superior, nein?

And, finally, a sensible voice from Jezebel:

But the Hitler Youth? Even if only one single barber in the West Village of New York has ever heard a customer use the term, that is still just not an acceptable thing to call a haircut. Nazi is not a trend! Not for fall or for anytime! How does that even work? How does any self-respecting man who’s read The Diary of Anne Frank, who’s ever gone on a school field-trip to a World War II memorial, find himself settling into a barber chair and saying the words, “Gimme the Hitler Youth, Sam.” NO SERIOUSLY. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN. Are these men all ironic Facebook friends with David Irving, too? And what does Sam say in response? Does he ever just start humming “Karma Police”? I need someone to re-enact the whole exchange for me because I do not understand how this actually takes place. In the 21st Century. Outside of some fringe David Duke survivalist commune in Montana. This is not okay. Please, men. Can’t we stop the madness?

We say: DOWN WITH HIPSTER CULTURE! ENOUGH ALREADY WITH IRONY!

Previous style tips from Anti-National Translation: Keffiyehs are out! Nikes are out! T-shirts are in!

Related articles

• ‘Hitler Youth’ Hairdo So Hot Right Now [Fashion] (gawker.com)
• Some Hipster Idiots Are Asking For A Haircut Called The ‘Hitler Youth’ (thegloss.com)
• Nazi youth slur creates a furore (theage.com.au)
• Senator apologises to Jews for slur (theage.com.au)

Filed under: psuedo-alternative culture   |  21 Comments
Tags: hair, hipsters, Hitler Youth, new york