Walk into any Goodwill store and you’ll likely find everything from jackets, shoes and shirts to suitcases, lamps and furniture.
But Vadim Kolosov found more than he bargained for when he stopped in at the Goodwill store at 340 S. Fair Oaks Ave. in Pasadena on Monday. The 29-year-old San Gabriel resident was browsing through the racks of clothing when he came across a pair of shorts with a Nazi eagle and swastika emblazoned above the front pocket. The Parteiadler emblem was made Germany’s national symbol under Hitler’s Nazi Party in 1935.
“At first I thought it was an English brand that has a similar eagle symbol but without the swastika,” he said. “But when I looked closer I saw what it really was. The shorts had a price tag so I figure someone must have sorted the clothes when they came in.”
“It seems like someone would have seen it,” he said.
Kolosov showed the shorts to the manager who immediately removed them from the store’s inventory.
The English company Kolosov was referring to is the UK-based Boy London brand of clothing. Its eagle design logo has been criticized because it bears a striking resemblance to the Nazi insignia.
Kolosov, who grew up in Russia, is part Jewish and is about to graduate from Los Angeles College of Music, which is adjacent to the Goodwill store.
“My mother was half Jewish and my father and grandfather were part Jewish,” he said. “When I first saw the Nazi symbol on those shorts I thought maybe people here didn’t know the history.”
Marla Eby, Goodwill Southern California’s director of marketing and community relations, said the company has a lot of donated merchandise moving through its stores at any given time.
“We receive about 7,000 items each day, so occasionally items slip through,” she said. “And we do employ individuals with disabilities in our stores who may not have recognized that symbol. When we are made aware of any issues we immediately remove items from our sales floor.”
Goodwill Southern California operates 81 stores and 46 attended donation centers throughout Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
