On Wednesday, Inditex, a Spain-based fashion retailer, apologized for a Zara brand children's shirt after receiving complaints that it looked like the clothing Nazis made Jewish people wear during the Holocaust.

The shirt features black-and-white horizontal stripes and a large, yellow six-pointed star on the left chest. According to Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, the location of the star is "the exact place where Nazis forced Jews to wear the Star of David," so they could be easily identified.

The shirt caused a commotion on social media.

"The new #ZARA Sheriff T-Shirt is somewhat #Holcocaust ish in its design don't you agree?" an Israel-based Twitter user with the handle @shulman_k said on Wednesday according to the newspaper.

Haaretz called the piece "Holocaust garb" that is "hauntingly reminiscent of a darker era."

On Wednesday, Inditex removed the shirt from Zara's online store because of the backlash, The Associated Press reports.

"It was only on sale for a few hours, only online, it didn't hit the stores," an anonymous Inditex spokeswoman said in an interview with AP. "It was withdrawn this morning."

According to the spokeswoman, the shirt was meant to be part of a Wild West-themed line, and the star was supposed to look like a sheriff's badge. She said the shirt had "nothing to do with the second world war."

"But obviously we're aware of the sensitiveness of the issue and that's why we have withdrawn it," she continued.

Another unnamed Inditex spokesperson said that the shirt "was inspired by the classic Western films," and apologized "sincerely for any offence caused to our customers," according to Haaretz.

Inditex did not disclose how many patrons already ordered the shirt, or if their order would still be filled.

According to AP, those held in concentration camps during WWII were forced to wear clothing reminiscent of pajamas with dark vertical stripes.

---

Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

Related