New ‘Pokemon Go’ Pikachu Draws Nazi Symbol Comparisons

Pokemon Go‘s new Pikachu variant is drawing backlash for its similarity to a symbol used by the Nazi’s SS division.

Last night, Pokemon Go released a new costume-wearing Pikachu to promote a line of streetwear produced by the Japanese company Fragment. The Pikachu is sporting one of the line’s new baseball caps and features two thunderbolts in a distinctive pattern inside a circle.

However, the symbol on the new hat is drawing comparisons to the logo used by the Schutzstaffel (more commonly known as the SS), one of the most powerful military organizations in Nazi Germany. The SS was in charge of running Germany’s concentration camps, enforcing Nazi Germany’s racial policy, and identifying and eliminating any potential enemies to the Nazi party. The organization’s symbol was two white Armenian runes resembling thunderbolts or a stylized version of the letter “s” on a black background and surrounded by a thin white circle.

Most notoriously, the SS was responsible for carrying out the Holocaust, the systematic murder of millions of Jews and other racial and social groups that didn’t conform to Nazi Germany’s racial policies.

Many white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups still use the SS symbol today. Needless to say, the SS were an evil organization and their symbology elicits understandably strong reactions by many, even today.

Shortly after the hat came out, people started speaking out against the symbol on Twitter.

It’s unlikely that either Fragment or Niantic intended for the symbol to resemble the SS symbol, although it should be noted that Nazi uniforms and symbols don’t always have the same taboo status in Japan and other parts of Asia as it does in the United States and Europe. Still, this is almost definitely an unlikely coincidence.

Do you think that Niantic should have double-checked before adding the hat to the game? Or do you feel the controversy is a bit overblown? Let us know in the comment section below.