So... Yea.

#Headdesk: Guy Names Store ‘Hitler,’ Pleads Ignorance to Nazi Leader’s Identity

What’s almost as bad as being named Adolf Hitler? Naming your shop Hitler — with a swastika dotting the i.

That’s what Indian boutique owner, Rajesh Shah did with his venue. Shah, who said he had no clue that he was naming his store after the monstrous Nazi leader who orchestrated the deaths of millions of Jews, didn’t know how to respond to criticism over the business:

“Hitler was a nickname given to my business partner Manish Chandani’s grandfather because of his strict nature,” Shaw said of the name selection. “Frankly, till the time we applied for the trademark permission, I had only heard that Hitler was a strict man. It was only recently that we read about Hitler on the Internet.”

I had only heard Hitler was a strict man. Lord, take me now!

That said, it’s quite possible that he was telling the truth. As noted by educational researcher Jaat Aafreedi, many people in India don’t know much about Jewish culture or history:

“Most of the Indians do not even know about the Jews, let alone the Holocaust. Among the section of the Indian population that is aware of the Holocaust, there are many who have fallen into the trap of the Holocaust deniers and have started either doubting it as a whole or just its scale.”

That may very well be applicable to Shah, but that doesn’t make the store name any less creepy or vomit-inducing.

[The Frisky]

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