Piers Morgan defends Great British Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood’s Nazi costume on Good Morning Britain
PIERS Morgan has defended Paul Hollywood after it was revealed the Great British Bake Off judge dressed as a Nazi 14 years ago.
The controversial telly host spoke up after Hollywood was blasted for wearing full Nazi uniform in his local pub in pictures published by The Sun at the weekend.
Piers said on Good Morning Britain: "He went to his local pub but he was on his way to a fancy dress party.
"TV comedy shows were the theme and 'Allo 'Allo! and Dads Army - obviously lots of people in those programmes wore Nazi uniforms.
"I remember going to fancy dress parties as a kid when they were the biggest shows on television and people wouldn't have thought twice about wearing Nazi uniforms.
"It didn't mean they supported the Nazis."
After it was pointed out the Nazis carried out the mass murder of six million Jewish people before they were stopped, Piers insisted he still felt sorry for Paul.
"The reason I feel sorry for him in a way is apart from the timescale here and the mood was a bit different even then, not about supporting Nazis but about shows like 'Allo 'Allo! being hugely popular is that really if you have a heroes and villains party, it didn't mean they supported what they did.
"It's fancy dress and in a way you're lampooning them."
Paul, 51, has now spoken out to say he is "devastated" to have caused any offence after The Sun on Sunday published the photos over the weekend.
But he insisted he was on his way to an 'Allo 'Allo! party with pals dressed as characters from the TV series.
The baker was wearing a grey uniform matching that worn by General Von Klinkerhoffen in the programme - although he did not usually wear the Swastika armband.
Hollywood was also wearing a grey jacket adorned with an eagle emblem, which was the standard of the Third Reich, and a replica Iron Cross medal.
In a statement, he said: "I am absolutely devastated if this caused offence to anyone, the picture was taken 14 years ago en route to a Comedy TV Shows Themed New Year's Eve Party and a group of us dressed up as characters from the classic TV show 'Allo 'Allo!
"Everyone who knows me, knows I am incredibly proud of the efforts of those, including my own grandfather, who fought against the Nazis during the war."
The TV chef smiled as he posed for a snap with a pal, who was also in full German military uniform.
A source said: “Paul and his mate popped in for a drink and their wives joined them later.
“To them it was a great big joke to be wearing a Nazi uniform, and they were laughing about it and happily posed for a picture at the bar.
“But some found it offensive — especially the fact they thought it was really funny.
“Paul had insignia on the uniform and a whacking great swastika for heaven’s sake.
“They may have been going to a fancy dress party — but what sort of person goes into a pub in German military uniform with a swastika on their sleeve?”
Paul completed his look with a peaked cap, an Iron Cross dangling from a pocket and a badge featuring a white Nazi eagle.
The picture was taken before he joined The Great British Bake Off in 2010, when he was a rising celebrity chef.
The housewives’ favourite was joined in the pub by wife Alexandra, 53, and his pal’s partner — both wearing 'Allo 'Allo!-style French Resistance outfits, including berets.
They all later left to go to a party.
German military historian Robin Schafer said the baker’s swastika cuff band “takes the whole thing on to a different level”.
Mr Schafer — author of Fritz and Tommy: Across the Barbed Wire — said: “It’s tasteless and immoral as well as utterly stupid. It would have been worn by a functionary of the Nazi Party. That makes it a lot worse as it’s a political symbol rather than an army uniform.”
In Germany it is a criminal offence to use and wear symbols of the Nazis, including uniforms with swastikas.
Offenders face up to three years in jail or a large fine.
It falls under section 86 of the German Strafgesetzbuch (Criminal Code) and Dissemination of Means of Propaganda of Unconstitutional Organizations laws.
It was brought in after World War Two ended.
The shock snap was taken in the White Stag in the village of Monkton, Kent.
Paul was well-known after launching his TV career in 2002 and publishing best-selling book 100 Great Breads in 2005.
During an episode of BBC genealogy show Who Do You Think You Are? in 2015 it emerged that his grandfather Norman Harman served as a Royal Artillery anti-aircraft gunner in World War Two.
Our source added: “That’s another reason he should have known better.”
There is no suggestion that Paul or anyone else in these pictures has any sympathy with the Nazi Party.
It's not a joke. It's an evil we must never forget
MORE than 60 million people were killed in the Second World War. Many millions died in battle, others died as civilians.
Six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis in concentration camps — shot, beaten, starved or gassed to death to fulfil Hitler’s plan for a “Final Solution”.
All of which explains why it is so offensive to dress as a Nazi.
Paul Hollywood may have thought it was a harmless joke for a New Year’s party. But it is never funny — no matter the circumstances.
He showed a complete ignorance of the horrors of the Second World War. But he isn’t alone in that.
Remember ex-MP Aidan Burley? Other than his one claim to infamy, there is no reason why anyone should. In 2011 he was exposed for hiring a Nazi uniform for a friend to wear at a stag party — at which there was a toast to the Third Reich and cheers for Hitler.
In 2005 The Sun revealed that Prince Harry, who obviously should have known better, went to a fancy dress party in a swastika armband.
There is a key difference between Harry and Paul Hollywood. The prince was just 21 when he wore his swastika. His age didn’t excuse it, but he was young and foolish.
Paul Hollywood was anything but young. As the picture shows, he was a grown-up, greying man with a burgeoning career as a TV baker which was to bring great riches.
He was not the well-known figure he is today, but his celebrity is not the point. There are certain things that are simply wrong, whoever you are. One of them, surely, is wearing a Nazi uniform.
The Nazis are not some blot on history from centuries ago. It is only 72 years since the horrors of the Third Reich were brought to an end. Many of their concentration camp victims, known as Survivors, are alive today. They know that the evil and depravity of the Nazis is something we should never forget.
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