Gettysburg College trustee resigns over Nazi uniform yearbook photo

A member of the Gettysburg College board of trustees steeped down Tuesday after a yearbook photo resurfaced showing him dressed in a Nazi uniform.

Alumnus Bob Garthwait announced his resignation after a student found the photo in the Pennsylvania college’s 1980 yearbook and alerted school officials, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

{mosads}The photo shows Garthwait wearing a military-style uniform with a swastika on the armband. He is pictured next to four men who appear to be wearing similar uniforms.

Garthwait, a prominent donor to the liberal arts college, where a leadership center bears his name, said the photo was taken at a fraternity party. He said he was dressed as a German solider because the party’s theme was based on the TV show “Hogan’s Heroes.”

The show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during WWII and ran from 1965 to 1971.

“I understand how disturbing this image is to members of the Gettysburg College community, and especially those who are Jewish,” Garthwait said in a statement sent by the college announcing his resignation. “As a sophomore in 1980, I was not fully aware of the significance of those symbols. While this is no excuse, I am deeply embarrassed and regret participating in this event where Nazi symbols were used.”

The Gettysburgian, the student newspaper, published the photo in an article Tuesday.

This appears to be the photo in question. Garthwait is on the right. pic.twitter.com/Fl9JabPdJV

— The Gettysburgian (@GCgettysburgian) February 19, 2019

Offensive yearbook photos have sparked numerous controversies in recent weeks, most notably after a racist picture resurfaced from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s (D) medical school yearbook page that showed a man in blackface and another person in a Ku Klux Klan robe.

In his statement, Garthwait apologized to the campus community and asked for forgiveness.

“I extend my sincere apologies to the entire Gettysburg College community, and I humbly ask for your forgiveness,” he said.