His mother must be turning in her grave.

all he needs is some TLC- send him my way, his brother too.

Well it looks like HRH Prince Charles has ordered Prince Harry to visit Auschwitz...


Father Orders UK's Harry to Visit Auschwitz --Report
http://channels.netscape.com/ns/cele...20050114LON102

He won't understand or give a shit. Walking through the camps and memorials is something he should choose to do on his own. Forcing him right after this incident is not going to mean anything in his mind...

What's said and done in the dark will always come to the light. Now there had to be some sort of pride instilled in him as a German descendant and his relationship to the Nazis in order for him to feel comfortable wearing that. (it's the same thing as those in the south who praise their confederate ancestors, to me) That's fine if that's your heritage, but don't be surprised when those on the other end of the matter react to your pride.

Now the perception, at least in my opinion will be that the only reason there is any interest in the Camp is because of the negative PR as a result of this incident. I mean come on, this "boy" is old enough to know right from wrong as well as what the Holocaust was. He DID attend, supposedly the best schools in Europe. You can't convince me that no one ever taught him about that horrific event and if someone did and he STILL went out wearing that, then I feel sorry for the English who have to have such high regard for their royal family as leaders (those who do).

I guess, as I always thought, people who aren't a part of the group who suffered just don't have much of a sense of seriousness of their experiences.

Very true. The cynic in me say that the whole trip is nothing more than a publicity gimmick.

Publicity gimmick? For whom? It was recommended by many prominent Jewish groups.

I don't think so. The camps, museums, movies, books all help to educate people and get them to sympathize and empathise. Many people that conduct themselves shamefully are often given sensitivity training or required to attend some sort of program - this is no different.

Does it surprise me that this happened? No. It never does. Things don't change.

-Rudey

For his profile. His future military career is now in question. This is probably a way for the pressure to ease off.

I have to disagree with the nay-sayers. I've been to the Holocaust Museum a few times, and came away deeply moved. A man who I know to be extremely unemotional broke down at Auschwitz. Frankly, I can't think of a better way of sending the message of what Prince Harry did home - especially since he will be going privately (read the article in full, please) and with either survivors or the children of survivors.

Well given these stats:
Almost half the adult population in Britain (45 percent) claimed to have never heard of Auschwitz. Among women and people younger than 35 the figure was even higher at 60%, and even among those who have heard of Auschwitz, 70% felt they did not know a great deal about the subject.

And it's good to know Fergie chimed in with this:

Jan. 14, 2005 11:40 | Updated Jan. 14, 2005 11:49
Duchess of York: Leave Prince Harry alone
By JPOST.COM STAFF

While reactions from across the globe to Prince Harry's Nazi costume condemn his actions, Harry's aunt, the Duchess of York, came to his defense, saying he is "a very good man."

Speaking on BBC Radio 4 Today program, Duchess Sarah Ferguson said: "I want someone to stand up for him and say he is a very good man, and I'm that person. Because I know what it is like to have a very bad press and to be continually criticized. It is very tiring and it is very unpleasant.

"He is a young man, and he does a lot of good when he is following his mother's work with AIDS in Africa and he is a very good young man and I just think it is time that the press backed off and stopped criticizing him. They have been criticizing him now for months and months.

"Somebody needs to stand up and say 'Leave him alone, he is a very good man'. Both William and Harry are very good men. I think that their mother was very proud of them.

"I am speaking in support of a great young man who needs more support and less criticism. He has apologized and people have accepted his apology, and let's move on."

-Rudey

While that might be one intention, I can't imagine a trip to the site of some of the greatest horrors in the history of humanity not having a far more profound impact that simply rectifying a military career. Even if he's part of a fast, loose, impervious set of wealthy kids - how do you think that sort of cycle is broken?

The thing with Fergie's comments is this: this wasn't a case of him going out and getting drunk, getting in a fight or anything like that. The guy wore a Nazi uniform; this goes beyond being criticized by paparazzi. He made an extremely insensitive and disturbing gesture and deserves any negative attention his act has brought.

I have to agree with Rudey... afterall I have German relatives too that were "forced" to see concentration camps after the war... the most hardcore one (a member of a Hilter-youth SS Regiment) according to the family literly snapped - emotionally overcome... since that day until his death he volunteered to teach about the Holocaust and aid in hunting down the camp personnel...

I've been there and it is extremely overwhelming... you can't grasp the scope of the atrocity until you see it first hand... I'm sure Prince Harry will come away changed, how much I don't know, but you can't visit the site and walk away the same.

Again Rudey points out a troubling trend... the forgetting of history because the cliche is true "If you don't learn from history you are doomed to repeat it" (or at least miss the warning signs of a repeat).

While most of you may think I'm a bleeding heart liberal, I do have issue with an educational system that takes the emphasis away from lessons history :(

I agree that visiting Auschwitz will have SOME sort of an impact. I've never known anybody to walk out of the Holocaust museum without being hit hard by the impact of what happened -- so I imagine that visiting one of the major sites where the atrocities occurred, along with people who were deeply affected by the Holocaust itself, will provide about 50 times the impact. This is a punishment that truly does fit the crime, and I'm pretty sure that he will walk away with a deeper understanding of what that uniform means.

And I would have agreed with Fergie that the press have been too hard on Harry -- up until this incident. Until now, most of the things he's been doing (drinking, partying, the occasional fight) were fairly understandable, and forgivable, given his background (hell, it's pretty normal for any kid his age, regardless of background). Wearing a Nazi costume to a party doesn't fit into that category -- it's under no circumstances forgivable.