HUDSON, MASS. (WHDH) – A Hudson restaurant is apologizing to customers after several World War II reenactors enjoyed a meal indoors while dressed as German soldiers.

350 reenactors wore military uniforms and reenacted a battle at the American Heritage Museum on Saturday. Afterwards, eight of the reenactors, still in costume, went to dinner at the Kith and Kin restaurant.

Restaurant owners said some were dressed as German soldiers during World War II.

Gary Lewi, a trustee of the American Heritage Museum, said there are protocols in place about where and how the outfits should be displayed. He said they should be removed or covered after performances.

“The idea that they would wear it in a public place, be it a restaurant, a park or anywhere else, is inexcusable,” Lewi said.

“When you take the German World War II uniforms out of the context in which they are intended to be presented to tell a story and place them in a public setting like a restaurant, eyebrows are raised, and rightly so, said Lewis.

The restaurant owners acknowledged that the costumes may have offended other patrons and issued a statement.

“On a busy Saturday evening, our staff missed the SS letters on some of their collars,” the statement reads in part. “We deeply apologize for not recognizing the exact nature of the uniforms when they arrived, thereby causing discomfort to others.”

Lewi said costumes with swastikas or SS collars are prohibited on the museum grounds and explained that history is taught at the facility. The museum has a Holocaust exhibition and a memorial.

“This certainly wasn’t a hate crime, but it was a ridiculous misjudgment,” Lewi said.

Going forward, all reenactors will receive costume log documents that they must sign to show they understand the rules, museum officials said.

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