‘Hitler wanted my kind alive’ t-shirt pictured at student event

A student union has launched an investigation into an image circulated online of a t-shirt marked “Hitler wanted my kind alive” worn to a social.

The picture, reportedly shared by a student on Snapchat last week, appears to have been taken at an unauthorised “white t-shirt social” – an event that involves scribbling messages on blank tops.

In a statement, the university of Leicester’s student union revealed it was investigating the incident, describing it as “wholly unacceptable and completely against our core values.”

The statement read: “The Students’ Union requires all those associated with the Students’ Union to respect the diverse lived experiences in our community.

“It is not acceptable to act in an offensive, inflammatory or discriminatory way and we continue to develop extensive training, support and guidance available to clubs, societies and associations on our values and expected behaviour.

“The entire Executive Team would like to sincerely apologise for the incident and take accountability for the student’s behaviour. We will ensure we tackle any antisemitism and make it wholly clear that white t-shirt socials are not allowable by the Union.”

Another picture allegedly taken at another student event over recent weeks shows someone wearing a high vis with the words “I’m a Nazi” scribbled on the back.

A student who posted images to Facebook wrote: “We’ve seen how white t-shirt socials at Exeter, Cardiff, Newcastle and other universities all made national news for antisemitism and general bigotry.

“Each of these socials ended up with anti-Semitic slurs and horrific Holocaust-related content. Now, sadly, it looks like Leicester is following suit.”

The university’s acting vice-chancellor Professor Edmund Burke said: “Action has been taken under the university student disciplinary regulations.

“We will not tolerate any race or religious hate incident and are working hard to maintain a safe and welcoming community at the university.

“We are committed to working with our community to address any incidents involving unacceptable and offensive behaviour and explore what more we can do to put an end to them.”