Nazi Slogans; Still Too Soon to Use Them

You may not know this about Germans, but they’re still very sensitive about the holocaust. For example, you won’t see a German flag flying in country. That’s why when German coffee maker Tchibo and gas station chain Esso used a slogan similar to one that hung over the entrance to a concentration camp, it didn’t go so well.

“Jedem das Seine” is the line people read when they entered a happy little camp called Buchenwald, where an estimated 56,000 people lost their lives. The slogan used by Tchibo and Esso, “Jedem den Seinen” can be translated “to each his own” or “to each what he deserves”, and is apparently very close to the Buchenwald line. Oopsies!

The slogan was pulled from Esso stations Wednesday, and company reps promise that they didn’t know about the whole Buchenwald thing.

But seriously, that flag thing, look into it. “German pride” is all about renewal and equality and advancement, and pretty much anything that resembles anything from those Hitler days is outright socially unacceptable. Even the national emblem.

Read the full article, here.

More: “MadMan Boards Offend Jewish Community”

Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. The online event and workshop will feature speakers including The Onion‘s Baratunde Thurston (left), Facebook’s Morin Oluwole, and bitly’s Tim Devane. Register now.