University of Warwick condemns students’ Nazi song video as ‘reprehensible’ – Firstpost

The University of Warwick has condemned the behaviour of its students as “reprehensible” after a video emerged allegedly showing some of them singing a Nazi marching song at an event organised by the university’s Conservative Association.

The university described the footage as “extremely disturbing” and said it had been alerted to the incident through its reporting service. It has informed the Student Union and plans to meet with the Jewish Society to help investigate the incident.

According to a BBC report in the Sunday Times, the “leaked video” shared on social media shows events at a University of Warwick Conservative Association (UWCA) dinner held off campus in May.

The group condemned the scenes and apologized.

The song in question, entitled “Erika,” was written around 1930 and became popular as a marching song for German soldiers during the Nazi era in World War II.

In the video, the dinner attendees can be seen dancing as the music plays, while shouts of “very good” can be heard in the background.

Representatives of the Union of Jewish Students described the assembly’s “obvious and unchallenged support of National Socialism” as “absolutely abhorrent.”

“The glorification of the Nazis has no place in our society,” they said, adding: “It is in no way acceptable and must be condemned in its entirety.”

They called for a swift and decisive response, saying: “Actions must have consequences.”

UWCA told the BBC that the song had been requested by an individual member and was not part of the planned music selection for the event.

They stated that the member who requested the song, as well as another person who was not a member of the group, would be banned from future events.

UWCA clarified that most participants did not know the origin or meaning of the song.

In a statement, the UWCA rejected accusations that their group was normalising racism and reiterated their ongoing efforts to combat anti-Semitism on campus, highlighting their work to ensure the student union appropriately commemorates Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The UWCA vowed to take action against anyone who knowingly used the song and stressed its intention to fully cooperate with any university investigation.

A university spokesman acknowledged that the matter was serious, described the behavior as “reprehensible” and expressed disappointment at the involvement of its students.

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