Flying the " Swastika " !

Late last year the residents of a home in the Victorian town of Beulah began to daily fly the old Nazi Swastika flag from a flag pole on their property.  That caused immense distress to other residents, but Australia does not have a law that bans this practice.

The Swastika became the national flag of Germany after Adolph Hitler came to power in 1933.  When Germany invaded and conquered most of Europe its Nazi government implemented a deliberate plan to exterminate its Jewish population.   Jews were rounded up and sent to concentration camps where they were systematically gassed and their bodies cremated.   Over six million men, women and children suffered this fate.

When the war ended, leaders responsible for this atrocity were tried and executed, and a remorseful German state imposes heavy penalties for displaying the Swastika.  Despite this, a new neo-Nazi political party has emerged in Germany and actually won several seats in the national parliament.  Across the world a movement to the political right is gaining confidence.  This manifests itself in attacks on Jewish cemeteries and hateful anti-Jewish propaganda directed at the Jewish state created by the United Nations in the Middle East.

Australia has many survivors of the Holocaust still alive in this country and their children are very aware of the immense death toll that took place under that Swastika.  That has caused the Australian Governor General to warn of the rising tide of anti -Semitism and call for the Swastika in any form to be banned in this country.

Where the Swastika is banned it usually results in a crudely drawn symbol with unmistakable  intent taking its place.  For many centuries the Jewish people and their religion have suffered pogroms and harsh treatment from the denizens of other races.  It was hoped that disgust at the excesses of the Nazi era had eradicated that bias, but memories fade and many countries are falling under the control of leaders with far right undemocratic policies.   The plight of Palestinians pushed aside by the creation of the Jewish state of Israel is a common reason to explain this anti-Semitism.

That Swastika being flown in Beulah does serve to deliver a public warning that people with Nazi sympathies live in that town.   If we ban the flag, we drive that movement underground.  When they fly the flag they announce their anti-Semitism clearly and that can be a good reason for many people to avoid the movement.  Banning the Swastika runs counter to the Australian tradition of  freedom to follow both the religion of choice and allegiance to a political party.

If National Socialism is stirring in Australia it is better out in the open than festering in dark places. We should remember that a plebiscite to ban the Communist party in Australia once failed.  That lack of Communist progress in Australia illustrates the wisdom of keeping political movements open for public viewing and discussion.   That Swastika would be an automatic turnoff for most people !