Rammstein
are not Nazis
New
Music Express reports that despite Nazi imagery in one of their video they
are not Nazis.
The
offending video was for their contribution to the Depeche Mode tribute
disc with the song “Stripped”. They incorporated footage of the 1936 Berlin
Olympics into the video which led to controversy.
The
band had this to say: "We are not Nazis, Neo-Nazis, any other kind of Nazi.
We are against racism, bigotry or any other type of discrimination."
And
the record company put their two cents worth in: "The band are humanists...
They eschew any connection to the Neo-Nazi movement or the philosophy of
the Third Reich. "Furthermore, Rammstein believe that good art knows
no political allegiances, thus, the Leni Riefenstahl footage they
used for 'Stripped' is an expression of good art rather than an endorsement
of Nazism. By using these images outside of their original context and
in combination with other media (the newsreel footage, the music of Depeche
Mode sung in English) the band hopes to create a collage that conveys a
broad range of emotions."
Rammstein
continues to capture an international audience despite the controversy.
