German police have started a criminal investigation into Roger Waters, co-founder of Pink Floyd, after he performed dressed in a costume resembling a Nazi uniform during two concerts in Berlin last week. The reason, according to the Berlin police; that they have received "information from the public including pictures and videos which according to the external appearance are suitable for fulfilling the offense of incitement to hatred." The satirical routine has been a part of Waters’ solo shows for over three decades, including a live performance of the album in Berlin in 1990. This week marks the first time the German government has launched a criminal investigation into his performance, however.
In his performance, Waters was wearing the costume while performing from Pink Floyd’s 1979 concept album “The Wall,” in which the album’s protagonist hallucinates that he is a fascist dictator. This act has been criticised by many, as it could potentially glorify or justify the Nazi regime in a manner that violates the dignity of the victims and disrupts public peace.
According to a statement by the Berlin police, "The context of the clothing worn is deemed capable of approving, glorifying, or justifying the violent and arbitrary rule of the Nazi regime in a manner that violates the dignity of the victims and thereby disrupts public peace." Following the conclusion of the investigation, the case will be sent to the Berlin Public Prosecutor’s Office for legal assessment.
The performances in Germany were the subject of profound controversy before Waters arrived, as he has consistently denied that he is antisemitic. He visited the graves of anti-Nazi activists Sophie and Hans Scholl while on tour in Munich last week, according to a statement he posted on Facebook, criticising the German Bundestag's 2019 vote to designate the pro-Palestinian "Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions" (BDS) movement as antisemitic.
City authorities in Frankfurt requested that the venue cancels his concert there, but a German court ruled last month that while his performance uses "symbolism manifestly based on that of the National Socialist regime," the musician's work "did not glorify or relativize the crimes of the Nazis or identify with Nazi racist ideology." Frankfurt's Jewish community has organised a protest against his performance, according to a report in The Guardian. According to Waters’ show schedule, he is also expected to perform in a series of concerts in the UK next week, including in Birmingham, Glasgow, London, and Manchester.
Waters spoke to podcaster Katie Halper, stating: "I can be allowed to do a show because it's theatre darling. The idea that no one can dress up in a f**king Nazi uniform ever, to do anything, in a theatre or a film, is ludicrous, obviously." His comments came shortly after he won a legal battle to revoke Frankfurt city council's ban on his upcoming concert. Halper stated, "It's a scathing critique, you are playing a villainous character," to which Waters replied, "It's a parody."