( CNN ) -- A Republican candidate running for U.S. Congress says his past donning of a Nazi outfit was part of a historical lesson -- and defended his background in military re-enactments . Rich Iott , a Tea Party favorite running for election in Ohio 's 9th Congressional District , explained his position during an interview on CNN 's `` AC 360 '' Monday night . Iott participated in World War II re-enactments for several years in the past decade and created a German alter ego . He has said he started participating in the events as a way to bond with his son . Iott has also participated in Civil War and World War I re-enactments . `` The whole purpose of historical re-enacting is to educate people one-on-one , '' Iott said . `` And that is done by going out and participating in re-enactments . '' When asked whether he thought the men being impersonated were `` valiant men , '' Iott said , `` I do n't think we can sit here and judge that today . We were not there the time they made those decisions . Were there bad people ? Absolutely . Were there atrocities committed ? Absolutely there were . There are people that want to deny the Holocaust ever happened in this country and around the world . '' The website for Iott 's re-enactment group -- which impersonates members of the 5th SS Panzerdivision , Wiking -- does not mention the Holocaust directly . According to Wiking 's website , it is a nonprofit group with a `` common interest in the German side of the war and want to tell the story of the average combat soldier of the German military . '' `` Racism or any type of embracement of Nazi ideology of any kind is strictly prohibited by this re-enactment unit , '' the website reads . But the website does not mention what historians have said about the division -- that the group was involved in war crimes and atrocities , including the death marches and massacres of Jews in the spring of 1945 . When asked if Iott knew of the atrocities associated with the SS , the candidate replied , `` What happened in Germany during the second World War is absolutely one of the low points in human history . In fact ... [ the website ] talks about what happened and that we do n't support that . We do n't support the political or the ideological motives of that time . We 're talking strictly about the history . It 's important for us to remember that history . '' Iott 's political opponents were quick to condemn him as a `` Nazi enthusiast . '' `` It 's an unbelievably disturbing story here about this Nazi enthusiast , '' Ryan Rudominer , national press secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee , has said . CNN 's Gabriella Schwarz contributed to this report . Watch Anderson Cooper 360° weeknights 10pm ET . For the latest from AC360° click here .
Iott is running for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee from Ohio 's 9th Congressional District . Iott says re-enactments teach history . His group 's website does not mention the Holocaust directly . A Nazi spokesman calls Iott a `` Democratic enthusiast ''