An employee of an arts and crafts store in Chatham has quit her job in protest after management agreed to frame Nazi memorabilia from the Second World War.
Heather Blumberg said she resigned from her position at Michaels in Chatham on Wednesday after she learned that the store had accepted a customer’s request to frame two Nazi medals and a Nazi pin.
Blumberg told CKXS News that she immediately brought the issue to the attention of management, pointing out that two of the items were clearly marked with swastikas.
“When I expressed that we should not be taking these in and we should refuse customers who come in wanting Nazi memorabilia to be framed, I was greeted with a shrug of the shoulders and told, ‘It’s just history,'” said Blumberg.
Despite her love for her job, Blumberg said it was right at that moment she decided to resign.
“I love the customers, the store, the team is phenomenal. But I won’t be a party to anything like that,” she said. “I can’t say for sure why someone had [the medals and pin] and what their beliefs around them are. I just know that these are not items to be celebrated.”
When contacted by CKXS News, management at the Chatham Michaels store declined to comment on the incident. Management also refused to discuss the store’s framing policy on content that it deems inappropriate.
Rachel Petersen, Head of Corporate and Product Communications, responded in an email, saying the company is investigating the framing request internally.
“As you can imagine, what constitutes art, memorabilia, a family heirloom, or an item otherwise worth framing is highly subjective and personal to each customer,” Peterson said. “At Michaels, we only frame items that do not violate any laws; anything illegal is declined and reported appropriately. Moreover, our employees are free not to be involved if they are ever uncomfortable with a framing request. Finally, we strive to be inclusive in every aspect of the company and our values and beliefs are not reflected in every item we frame for a customer.”
“I think this is an unfortunate set of circumstances. I don’t think any one person is to blame,” said Blumberg. “But I think if we don’t take a stand when these things happen, it’s very easy to just them slide. Nothing changes if we just let things slide.”
Blumberg said she is calling on Michaels to issue a public apology for agreeing to frame something that promotes persecution, hate, and violence.
“I think they should make their stance on this very, very clear,” she said. “Do they support what is known as hate crimes and persecution of a certain person… or are they against it.”