Fury as eight diners in shockingly-offensive outfits descend on upscale Massachusetts restaurant

A Massachusetts restaurant apologized to offended customers this weekend after a group of World War II reenactors sat down to dine in full Nazi uniforms.

Kith and Kin, a brunch and dinner restaurant in Hudson, said a group of eight showed up Saturday in their period costumes.

There was no problem with the four dressed as American soldiers and another donning a military nurse outfit.

The problem arose when customers noticed a couple wearing German SS uniforms – the uniforms once worn by Adolf Hitler’s secret police Schutzstaffel. The SS was responsible for setting up and running the concentration camps where six million Jews were murdered in the 1940s.

The restaurant owners wrote: ‘As a small family business, we strive to do our best every day and continue to learn and grow. We fell short last night and we sincerely apologize.”

Participants dressed as Allied and Nazi soldiers are pictured during this weekend’s reenactment event hosted by the American Heritage Museum. It is unclear if any of the actors pictured above were involved in the incident at the restaurant

“We would never intentionally do anything to offend or hurt anyone in the community,” the post continued. “If we really thought these individuals had anti-Semitic beliefs, we would never have let them set foot in the restaurant.”

“In retrospect, they should have been asked to change before sitting down.”

The restaurant explained that these visitors were living historians from the nearby American Heritage Museum, where a ‘Battle for the airport‘World War II reenactment event this weekend.

“Even though we knew they were living historians at a time when anti-Semitic violence continues to rise, we should have realized that other guests may not have been aware of the local reenactment of World War II,” the restaurant wrote.

The museum also responded to the incident at Kith and Kin and shared a statement The Boston Sphere.

‘At a time when anti-Semitic violence continues to rise, when neo-Nazis take to the streets and the horrors of the Holocaust are still denied, wearing German uniforms in public spaces is beyond thoughtless and abhorrent.

“These uniforms were intended to be used in the context of a historical reenactment intended to educate a new generation about what American soldiers faced and defeated some 80 years ago,” the museum said.

The restaurant’s full explanation and apology, which was posted to Facebook on Sunday, the day after the incident

An example of what a reenacted Nazi uniform might look like

SS officers are pictured in front of a building during an SS retreat outside Auschwitz in 1944. From left to right; Josef Mengele, Josef Kramer, Rudolph Hess and Karl Hoecker

The museum will “conduct a thorough review of how our strict presentation protocols are understood and followed by the living historians who participate in our programs, and the consequences if they are ignored.”

The residents were also outraged that something like this could happen.

“As someone who happened to be dining there, I noticed it and thought it was strange that the reenactors mistakenly didn’t think it was necessary to take off the costumes…I can’t imagine they actually thought it was acceptable to wear those costumes while dining in public,” one woman wrote in response to the restaurant’s post.

Another commented, “It doesn’t matter if there was a reenactment event or if the guests were aware of the event. No one should be exposed to seeing people dressed as Nazis without their consent.”

Many others came out publicly in support of the restaurant, assuring the owners and staff that what happened was not their fault.

Kith and Kin announced on Tuesday that it would close due to ‘increased harassment and threats’ (Photo: The restaurant’s patio)

One customer described Kith and Kin as “a great part of the community” and said she was “proud” of the owners for issuing an apology that she thinks should have come from the reenactors.

Another customer wrote, “I don’t believe you should be judged for taking any customer that walks through the door. It was obviously a costume and people like to sit in front of a computer or phone and bash whoever they want to make themselves feel better.”

Kith and Kin announced it would be closed on Tuesday, citing increased threats following the wave of news coverage of the incident.

“Following last night’s news broadcasts, our restaurant has been the target of increased harassment and threats,” the message said. ‘For the safety of our staff, we are therefore unfortunately closed today, Tuesday October 15.’