Figure skating union: ‘Nyet’ to Auschwitz costumes

The International Skating Union has yanked a Holocaust-themed costume from a contest for best performance outfit and apologized for its “mistake,” saying it inadvertently nominated attire from the wrong category.

The costume worn by Russian figure skater Anton Shulepov featured a yellow Star of David, much like the ones Jews were forced to wear under Adolf Hitler. Uniform-like garb reminiscent of the clothing that prisoners and guards wore at Auschwitz, the infamous Nazi concentration camp in which more than a million perished during World War II, completed what many felt was a ghastly look.

Shulepov skated to the theme from Schindler’s List, the movie depicting one man’s quest to save Jews during the Holocaust.

“The ISU regrets that by error the wrong costume (Free Skating instead of Short Program costume) of Mr. Shulepov has been presented for voting,” the organization said in a tweet. “This error has been corrected, and the ISU sincerely apologizes for this mistake and the bad sentiments it has caused.”

Shulepov’s Free Skate outfit was initially listed Sunday among the nominees for the inaugural costume award, one of 52 chosen.

The “half Nazi-concentration camp guard and half-Jewish prisoner” theme, as The Forward described it, caused an immediate outcry even before the ISU nominated it for Costume of the Year.

Blowback was immediate, and thanks to Twitter, addressed directly to the ISU.

“Take some responsibility for your actions,” commented one person on the ISU’s tweet. “‘We’re sorry that you reacted badly’ is not an apology. You should acknowledge why the outfit made people angry, and explain why that was not recognized and addressed before the nomination was announced.”

Others pointed out the history, noting that “the Russians faced the horror of the Nazi dehumanization while in the middle of Stalin’s genocide so knowing not to use something this blatantly wrong should have been ingrained.”

Shulepov debuted the costume in his November performance at the Internationaux de France and then wore it again in Japan, according to NBC News.

Now, Shulepov is still in the running, but for a different costume, according to The Guardian.

(New York Daily News/TNS)