Roger Waters: German Police Investigate Former Pink Floyd Star For Wearing Nazi-Style Outfit At Concert

His act could be considered hate speech and is now under investigation.

German police conduct investigation against former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters after he used what appeared to be a nazi uniform during a concert at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin.

At the show, held on May 17, Waters was seen wearing a long black coat with a red armband. The performer also pointed an imitation machine gun at the audience.

In Germany it is forbidden to display Nazi symbols, flags and uniforms. However, their laws allow exceptions for artistic or educational reasons.

“We are investigating on suspicion of incitement to public hatred, because the clothing worn on stage could be used to glorify or justify the Nazi government, thus disturbing the public peace,” police spokesman Martin Halweg said.

“The clothing resembles that of an SS officer,” he added.

Waters’ jacket included a red armband with two crossed black hammers on a white circle, an outfit he has worn to previous shows going back several years.

The symbols are similar to those that appear on the costumes in the 1982 film, The Wallbased on the Pink Floyd album of the same name and starring fellow musician-turned-activist Bob Geldof.

In one scene, Geldof plays a hallucinating rock star leading a fascist demonstration.

Police authorities have said that once the complaints have been reviewed, the matter will go to the Public Ministry, who will decide how to proceed.

During the performance in Berlin, the names of several deceased people also appeared on a big screen.

The names included Anne Frank, the Jewish teenager who died in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry later criticized the musician on social media.

“Good morning to all except Roger Waters, who spent the night in Berlin (yes, Berlin) desecrating the memory of Anne Frank and the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust,” the ministry tweeted.

Waters has also floated an inflatable pig marked with the Star of David at his concerts.

In recent weeks, the musician has been traveling through cities in Germany as part of his tour This Is Not A Drill.

However, the performances have been controversial. The cities of Munich and Cologne they tried to cancel shows after Jewish organizations such as the Central Council of Jews accused him of anti-Semitism.

For his part, Waters denies the accusations, and in a Facebook post this week he thanked those who attended his shows in the European country.

He also paid tribute to the movement White Rosea resistance group during the Nazi period.

“The fact that some in power in Germany and some at the behest of the Israel lobby have attacked me, wrongly accusing me of being an anti-Semite, and have tried to cancel my shows, saddens me,” Waters said.

Waters is still scheduled to play his last concert in Germany on Sunday night in Frankfurt. Demonstrations outside the venue are planned, however, after a legal attempt by the city to stop the performance failed.

A British MP has also called for Waters’ Manchester concert to be canceled in June.

The artist has made several controversial comments in the past.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022, he wrote an open letter to the country’s first lady, Olena Zelenska.

In it, he said that “extremist nationalists” in Ukraine “have put your country on the path of this disastrous war.”

In February, during a speech to the United Nations, he repeated his controversial claim that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was “provoked.”

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