Warning: This photo contains a swastika. If you find this offensive, please don't look at it. I condemn this practice.

On the streets of Egypt, you'll occasionally spot cars with Nazi symbols or little shops named after Hitler. Right here in 2025. It's not because Egyptians are big fans of fascism, but rather due to low levels of education and complicated relations with Israel.

For example, back in 2018, the owner of the "Hitler" clothing brand complained that he didn't understand why the name upset people so much, since "it's just a name." His business didn't last long, but that doesn't stop others from opening new shops under this questionable brand.

The second problem is more complicated. Sometimes this hatred doesn't stop at the state level but extends to all Jewish people in general. Who was their main enemy? That's where the swastikas on cars come from.

That said, during World War II, Egypt was actively flirting with the fascists. The Arabs were tired of being an English colony, and befriending the enemy of their enemy seemed like a great idea. But beyond collaboration with individual collaborators, things didn't go further.

However, after the war, one of the Third Reich's chief antisemitic propagandists, Johann von Leers, relocated to Cairo as an advisor to President Gamal Abdel Nasser, where he converted to Islam and engaged in antisemitic propaganda. German engineers also came to Egypt and worked on developing military rockets—right in the middle of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Israel had planned an entire operation to shut down production, but the engineers were successfully expelled through diplomacy. The propagandist died a natural death in 1965.

This isn't a widespread phenomenon—you don't see every other car sporting Nazi symbols around here. But when you wander through backstreets, you do spot it now and then. Common sense still prevails overall, and people generally understand that there's nothing good about the Nazis.