In a bizarre and truly striking event, the sports clothing brand, Adidas announced that it has withdrawn the number 44 from the German Soccer Team jersey due to its relationship to an insignia related to the Nazi army.
The number 44 on the jersey had a very great similarity to the SS insignia (Schutzstaffel or “protection squads”), the German clothing brand clarified that it disabled the customization of the jersey for the moment.
According to the BBC, the person who reported this similarity and concern about the situation was the German historian Michael König.
About, Oliver Brüggen, Adidas spokesperson he flatly denied that the resemblance of the number of the uniform with the symbol of the SS was intentional.
This situation occurs in a context that was already controversial and complicated in Germany, because the soccer team will leave Adidas starting in 2027 after accepting a million-dollar offer from Nike. The brand with the three stripes has dressed the German team since 1950, Robert Habeck, Minister of Economy, described the fact as one lacking in patriotism.
What did the SS squad do?Schutzstaffel)?
According to the Holocaust Encyclopediathe SS or “protection squads”, were responsible for the Nazi state’s security, ethnic origin identification, demographic establishment policy, and intelligence collection and analysis.
This elite squad was in charge of the police forces in addition to administering the concentration and extermination camp system. But their duties were not only those, as they also designed plans to restructure the ethnic composition of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union when it was under their occupation.
Beginning in 1939, the SS assumed responsibility for “solving” the so-called Jewish problem, and after 1941, its leaders planned, coordinated, and directed the so-called “final solution.” This “solution” consisted of the annihilation of the European Jews, what we now know as the Holocaust.Holocaust Encyclopedia
According to the UNESCOthere is no official number of Jews killed after the genocide perpetrated by the Nazi army, however, according to academics it is estimated that there were up to 6 million.