Company apologizes for its Anne Frank Halloween costume

This year’s competition for worst Halloween costume ideas picked up steam last month with “sexy border control agent” and “pregnant (but still sexy) reality TV star.” The latest ill-advised concept isn’t part of that risqué trend, but is otherwise pretty damn offensive. Until recently, HalloweenCostumes.com was selling a getup that was alternately marketed as “Anne Frank girls costume” and “child World War Two evacuee costume,” both of which are in bad taste, especially when the child model has been directed to hold a sassy pose and smile.

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Here’s a description of the outfit, which includes (ugh) a “felt destination tag” that some folks are pointing out would have been for a WWII evacuee, but again, this is a costume that has been marketed as being modeled after Anne Frank, who was one of six million Jews killed in the Holocaust.

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The company probably hoped that calling it a “historical” costume would clear the decency bar, but that didn’t really fly with social media users, who shared images of the costume until HalloweenCostumes.com removed it from its store. Later, a spokesman issued this statement, in which he talked up the historical accuracy of the offerings at a company called Halloween Costumes (or, is also the case, Fun Costumes).

The Miami Herald notes the costume is sold out at some online retailers, while others, like Walmart, are still looking into the matter.