Video shows high school athletes giving a Nazi salute, singing a Nazi song before banquet
Video showing at least 10 members of a Southern California high school water polo team giving a Nazi salute and singing a Nazi marching song appeared on Instagram last week, The Daily Beast reports.
The video featured students from Pacifica High School in Garden Grove, and was shot prior to a banquet last year, The Daily Beast reports. One of the athletes posted the video to his Instagram, as well as lyrics to the song, which was played for German troops right before and during World War II, The Daily Beast reports. The video has since expired from his Instagram account, and he did not return phone calls from The Daily Beast.
A Garden Grove Unified School District spokesperson said Pacifica administrators learned about the incident and video in March, and while "the district cannot comment on student discipline, the school did address this situation with all involved students and families. The district adheres to strong policies about harassment and cultural sensitivity, and we condemn all acts of anti-Semitism and hate in all forms." One current Pacifica student told The Daily Beast that administrators did not talk about the incident, and it's unclear if the participating students were ever suspended.
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Peter Simi, a professor on extremism studies at Chapman University, told The Daily Beast that the video is worrisome, as the song is "not something you'd expect somebody to accidentally know about. There's some means by which they acquired knowledge about the song and associated Nazi issues. Are they on websites or web forums or other social media platforms where they're engaging with others informed on these issues?"
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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