Owners of Ukraine cafe in former synagogue say Nazi SS logo a ‘font’ mistake

The owners of a Ukrainian cafe housed in a former synagogue said they worked two lightning rods into the logo to advertise the reenergizing qualities of the coffee there.

Instead they waded into a political minefield because they ended up reproducing the symbol of the SS, Nazi Germany’s murderous elite force.

Earlier this week, the owners said the whole thing “is a case of a font gone wrong” and apologized to “anyone whose feelings may have been hurt.” It was a trial that was never fully implemented, they said, and will drop the logo.

Cafe Escobar in Chervnitsi, near Lviv, introduced the logo on July 25 in a video that showed a filter holder emblazoned with the letters “Essco,” in which the S’s closely resemble the SS logo also designed to evoke two lightning rods.

The SS symbol is offensive to many throughout Europe, but especially in Ukraine. During World War II, local men from the country’s west were drafted into an SS unit, the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division, also known as the 1st Galician.

Reviled by some for the many murders perpetrated by its troops, the soldiers of the 1st Galician are also celebrated as heroes in Ukraine today, principally for fighting the Soviet Union. Ukraine’s ongoing conflict with Russia, which began in 2014, has mainstreamed the glorification of the 1st Galician and other Nazi collaborators while also launching a polarizing debate in society.

The cafe has preserved some of the Hebrew text on the walls from when it was the Great Synagogue of Chervnitsi, an eclectic building from 1853 combining baroque and Classicist elements. Its promotional material has featured the Hebrew-language writings.

In its post Tuesday, the cafe said the logo situation was a big misunderstanding.

“In fact, this is a case of a font gone wrong. It was a trial,” the owners said in the Facebook post. “In our imagination, we saw two lightning rods as a symbol for energy, but the font was chosen unsuccessfully.”

The logo and font, they said, have “nothing to do with SS. ”

“We didn’t make any Nazi references, we assure you! And sorry if this caused negative emotions. We apologize to anyone whose feelings may have been hurt.”

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