PEOPLE dressed in Nazi death squad uniforms and insignia will not be welcome at a wartime nostalgia weekend.

Organisers of Meltham Memories Weekend, which is expected to attract thousands to the village next weekend , have warned guests not to turn up dressed in SS uniforms.

SS soldiers, who wore the ‘Death’s Head’ skull and crossbones insignia, ran the Nazi concentration and death camps during the Second World War.

They played a leading part in the Holocaust, massacring millions of Jews, as well as gypsies, homosexuals and political enemies.

Festival treasurer Pam Cox has urged visitors not to wear insignia or other clothing that could cause offence.

The festival committee’s warning comes after some visitors to the Haworth 1940s Weekend last month defied a ban on wearing SS uniforms.

But Ms Cox asked visitors not to mistake people dressed in ordinary German army uniforms for those worn by the Nazi death squads.

Ms Cox said: “We’re making this stance because it’s not what we want. We don’t want to glorify it.

“The SS was a really nasty part of it but I can’t stand at every entrance to the village to stop people coming in so we’ll be putting something on Facebook and Twitter.

“Please respect the war years. There are still a lot of veterans and people who may take offence so we respectfully ask people not to turn up dressed inappropriately.”

Ms Cox added: “Unfortunately we’ve seen a couple of people dressed like that in the past and we’ve heard about what happened in Haworth.”

The festival will include the recreation of battles where some re-enactors will be wearing regular German army uniforms.

But festival organisers have urged visitors to recognise the difference between the regular German army and the SS.

A spokesman for the festival added: “The Committee of Meltham Memories request that SS uniforms are not to be worn at the event and anyone who does choose to wear the uniform will not be welcome in the processions or displays across the village.

“As many already know, there is a marked difference between German uniforms, which are welcomed, and SS uniforms which are not”.