After the fall of the Third Reich in World War II, many former Nazis scattered across the globe, setting up shop in places like Argentina, Brazil.. And apparently the footwear design department at Conal International Trading Inc in City of Industry, California.
While such a crackpot theory (at least about the bootmakers) is obviously untrue, one fact that cannot be refuted is the poor tread pattern chosen by the company for their Polar Fox boots, which leave tiny Swastikas everywhere the wearer walks.
Noticed by a Reddit user, the fascist footprint drew both media attention and extensive ridicule from internet users, who left cheeky reviews of the boots on several websites.
“Good for marching into Poland but not so good for much else,” joked one reviewer.
“They weren’t the Reich size,” said another.
The company has since recalled the boot, claiming it wasn’t aware of the pattern until Redditors pointed it out.
“It’s something that we’re going to pull off the shelves obviously,” Conal e-commerce manager Anthony Nguyen told the Daily Mail. “It was obviously a design flaw.”
This isn’t the first time ill-designed black get a bad name- tactical outfitter powerhouse 5.11 caught flak for making boots that left Swastika prints in the soles.
While the 5.11 pattern was based on a grid and was likely unintentional, the Arctic Fox line (which coincidentally was the name for a German operation in World War II) bears a slightly more deliberate design, something Nguyen says will have to be addressed.
“Obviously that’s something we have ask the designers. That symbol existed before the swastika in Buddhism,” he said.
