A man pictured doing a Nazi salute says he has ‘cut all ties’ with a World War Two re-enactment group he once led.
Jim Keeling, 54, caused controversy last year when he dressed as a Waffen SS officer at a 1940s festival in Sheringham, Norfolk.
Photos also emerged of him doing the Nazi salute outside Hitler’s former home in Bavaria, Germany.
He denies being a Nazi symphatiser and said he has now been shunned by members of the Eastern Front Living History Society (EFLHS), also known as the 5 Wiking [Viking] SS Division re-enactment group, because ‘of a difference of views’.
The group has said that it does not subscribe to the idea of being Nazis and that it did not tolerate ‘any politics or any form of religious persecution’.
The 1940s festival has also banned the wearing of Axis uniforms following last year’s controversy.
Jim, from Bradwell, Norfolk, revealed: ‘I have fallen out with many old friends from the group who hold beliefs I do not agree with.
‘I shall not be attending the event, and I cannot speak for the rest of the group because I do not move in those circles anymore.’
The EFLHS were confronted by furious locals at the 1940s weekend in Sheringham, last September.
They caused uproar and upset from onlookers who said they were goose-stepping along the high street and performing straight-arm salutes.
Jim also shared an anti-Semitic cartoon on his Instagram, showing a stereotypical Jewish figure wearing a yarmulke skullcap, stuffing Africa into an EU-emblazoned funnel to squeeze it into Europe.
He claimed at the time that he had been mocking the Nazi dictator by saluting and did not share his views.
His interest in the Third Reich has estranged him from some of his family.
His eldest son, Jeremy, described the re-enactment’s actions as ‘disturbing’ and called on the organisers to ensure there was no repeat of the scenes this year.
The Eastern Front Living History Group has been contacted for comment.
The group previously claimed its appearance at the Sheringham 1940s weekend was misunderstood.
It said it had been to previous events without causing controversy and that it did not tolerate ‘any politics or any form of religious persecution’.
It said it was trying to educate people about history and that its presence had been appreciated by many in the town.
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