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Railway chiefs apologise over Nazis at wartime enactment
BOSSES of a preserved steam railway have apologised to a mixed-race family who complained about being confronted by men in SS uniform acting out a violent scene during a wartime nostalgia weekend.
Mike Seaman, from Hull, complained to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway about a reconstruction event at Levisham Station, near Pickering.
He said: "Spending 30 on a family ticket we got off at the first station to be confronted without any notification with a full regiment of Nazi SS with death camp scull cap badges who were allowed to control the full station at Levisham.
"They displayed beating non-uniformed person they dragged from a field by the rail track. My 13-year-old son interpreted this as representing Jewish people because of the rail track and SS uniforms."
He also objected that what happened had nothing to do with the theme of the weekend, which was supposed to show life on the Home Front.
Railway customer service chief Helen Webb said several years ago the railway was approached by a re-enactment group wanting to show life under occupation.
Hence, Levisham became Le Visham – a German occupied French village. She added: "The re-enactment group we work with develops carefully planned scenarios. This year it focused on partisan warfare.
"One reason for focusing such events at Levisham is that we can contain the German element of the event, and can ensure that those visitors not wishing to see or be involved, can move on to our other stations."
NYMR general manager Philip Benham said before the "German" presence at Levisham was permitted there had been problems with German uniformed re-enactors "gate crashing" the weekend.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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