Bristol artist's Nazi Trafalgar Square Fourth Plinth stunt makes impact

Liz Crow, a Bristol artist who wore a Nazi uniform while sitting in a wheelchair on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, is among the top ten people who have made an impact.

National newspaper The Guardian put Ms Crow in its 'Top 10 from Trafalgar' list, chosen from the 2,400 people who have each spent one hour alone on the empty plinth.

Ms Crow, 45, of Redland, chose the Nazi uniform to draw attention to the hidden history of the systematic murder of disabled people, which became the blueprint for the 'Final Solution' to wipe out Jews.

She said that what happened 70 years ago was relevant today, with pregnant women being offered terminations if they were carrying disabled children, and the move towards assisted suicide.

Ms Crow, who works for media production company Roaring Girl Productions, was lifted onto the plinth on a Saturday night in August. She lifted a flag, bearing the words 'First they came for the sick, the so-called incurables and I did not speak out – because I was not ill', taken from an early version of the anti-Nazi theologian Martin Niemoeller's much-quoted statement.

A huge crowd of people gathered, and at the base of the plinth supporters handed out leaflets explaining why she was dressed in a Nazi uniform.

Conceived by artist Antony Gormley, the aim of the One&Other project was to create a living monument that captures modern Britain.

The Guardian said how Ms Crow decided to use her hour on the plinth "deserves full marks for nerve".

Ms Crow said: "Seventy years ago, the Nazis instituted their first official programme of murder. It targeted disabled people and became the blueprint for the Final Solution to wipe out Jews, gay people, gypsies and other social groups.

"With a rise in hate crime, disabled children still excluded from mainstream schools, and over 340,000 disabled people – more than the population of Cardiff – living in institutions, disabled people still experience those historical values as a daily threat."

Writer Allan Sutherland said: "Many of the plinthers have used their hour to espouse favourite causes, be it children's charities, bee preservation or understanding of chess. But few, if any, have produced a piece of work as compelling as this, which will undoubtedly remain one of the most significant contributions to Gormley's project."