Swastika removed from Nazi Bell in Germany

Pero_Bueno · 03-04-2018 09:45PM #1

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43633747

'Anti Nazis' removed it - how ironic.
They don't even see the irony, they are the neo fascists ..

03-04-2018 09:58PM

I thought displaying the swastika in public was illegal in Germany anyway, no? Though I'm not sure if a church bell tower exactly constitutes "public display", clearly someone knew it was there if they went to vandalise it. Personally I see it like throwing a bucket of p!ss over a statue of Cromwell or Hitler, I'm not bothered by the gesture and if it's a 20th century artefact then then it's not of such historical importance that we need to be bothered. After all, what the nazis did is still very much fresh in the memories of a lot of people still alive today.

03-04-2018 10:04PM

Next, people will be demanding that the Union Jack be removed because of its association with mass murder, genocide, gassing people to death, enforced 'famines', the deaths of tens of thousands of people in concentration camps and so very much else...

CalamariFritti · 03-04-2018 10:06PM

Pero_Bueno wrote: »

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43633747

'Anti Nazis' removed it - how ironic.
They don't even see the irony, they are the neo fascists ..

True. The savages. Pales gassing 6 million jews into insignificance really.

kneemos · 03-04-2018 10:09PM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Next, people will be demanding that the Union Jack be removed because of its association with mass murder, genocide, gassing people to death, enforced 'famines', the deaths of tens of thousands of people in concentration camps and so very much else...

The Germans still have their flag too.
The swastika is a symbol of the Nazi party and should be eliminated.

Manic Moran · 03-04-2018 10:10PM

Deleted User wrote: »

I thought displaying the swastika in public was illegal in Germany anyway, no?

It's a little more complicated than that.
There are a number of exceptions to the laws governing the prohibition of the Swastika in Germany, but one of them is historical. If it is being presented in a historical context, the prohibition does not apply. If this bell has been there since 1934, it seems reasonable that it's present in that context. Especially so given that the bell seems to be up inside the church tower, and thus is not exactly publicly displayed.

20Cent · 03-04-2018 10:13PM

Good work whoever did it.

pleas advice · 03-04-2018 10:18PM

First they came for the National Socialists..

03-04-2018 10:20PM

kneemos wrote: »

The Germans still have their flag too.
The swastika is a symbol of the Nazi party and should be eliminated.

The Union Jack is the symbol of the British Empire, which only in the minds of its jingoistic, war-glorifying, nostalgic/delusional apologists is something worthy of commemoration.

Edgarfrndly · 03-04-2018 10:21PM

Pero_Bueno wrote: »

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43633747

'Anti Nazis' removed it - how ironic.
They don't even see the irony, they are the neo fascists ..

I don't think you understand what the word irony means.

EPAndlee · 03-04-2018 10:22PM

The swastika should have stayed. Its part of history

Skylinehead · 03-04-2018 10:24PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Next, people will be demanding that the Union Jack be removed because of its association with mass murder, genocide, gassing people to death, enforced 'famines', the deaths of tens of thousands of people in concentration camps and so very much else...

Can you not soapbox every thread?

baylah17 · 03-04-2018 10:24PM

Deleted User wrote: »

The Union Jack is the symbol of the British Empire, which only in the minds of its jingoistic, war-glorifying, nostalgic/delusional apologists is something worthy of commemoration.

Would sir like salt and vinegar for the chip on his shoulder?:D:rolleyes:

JohnnyFlash · 03-04-2018 10:25PM

Deleted User wrote: »

The Union Jack is the symbol of the British Empire, which only in the minds of its jingoistic, war-glorifying, nostalgic/delusional apologists is something worthy of commemoration.

Do you have to wedge in your frankly bizarre hatred towards Britain into every discussion vaguely related to nationalism? Gets very tiresome for the causal reader of the website. Start a blog or something.

_Kaiser_ · 03-04-2018 10:26PM

As said above, this is a part of history at this stage and history which should indeed be remembered (lest we repeat the same mistakes again!)

Unfortunately though that doesn't fit with the more extreme liberal agenda who are seemingly intent on reviewing such events through "modern" eyes and white-washing the bits of history they don't like.

This attitude is arguably more fascist and dangerous than what they're trying to erase.

"Progress", eh? :rolleyes:

kneemos · 03-04-2018 10:28PM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

The Union Jack is the symbol of the British Empire, which only in the minds of its jingoistic, war-glorifying, nostalgic/delusional apologists is something worthy of commemoration.

You can change a national flag,but it's still gonna a symbol of that country.
Unless you think countries such as the UK,US,France,Germany etc shouldn't have a flag.

The swastika is a symbol of a particular party and more importantly an ideology.

Mutant z · 03-04-2018 10:31PM

Germany really needs to get over its past like seriously its being paralyzed by it.

_Kaiser_ · 03-04-2018 10:33PM

Mutant z wrote: »

Germany really needs to get over its past like seriously its being paralyzed by it.

You could say the same really about certain parts of Irish society as well though... as the recent resurgence of NI threads and gushing about possible unification would show.

kneemos · 03-04-2018 10:41PM

sugarman wrote: »

Moronic behavior.

As someone big into history, particularly WWI & II, I am fairly disgusted at how much of their history the Germans have tried to destroy over the last century. Particularly in recent years.

The Neo Nazi excuse always pops up, but its absolutely bull****.

A little over 20 years ago, they found Hitlers Fuhrerbunker almost perfectly intact in central Berlin while excavating building apartments. What did they do? Tried to blow it up, but the 6m thick walls were still too strong so they filled the whole thing in with cement and placed a car park over it.

The **** like?

Probably didn't want a shrine for brain dead racists.

Skylinehead · 03-04-2018 10:41PM

sugarman wrote: »

Moronic behavior.

As someone big into history, particularly WWI & II, I am fairly disgusted at how much of their history the Germans have tried to destroy over the last century. Particularly in recent years.

The Neo Nazi excuse always pops up, but its absolutely bull****.

A little over 20 years ago, they found Hitlers Fuhrerbunker almost perfectly intact in central Berlin while excavating building apartments. What did they do? Tried to blow it up, but the 6m thick walls were still too strong so they filled the whole thing in with cement and placed a car park over it.

The **** like?

Having been there, they're entirely up front about it. Massive Holocaust memorials, preserved concentration camps, the lot. You call that covering up?

And yes, the bunker was filled in to stop it being an inevitable breeding ground for Nazis. Being aware of your past is not the same as covering it up.

03-04-2018 11:19PM

Nazis, erased Jewish (and other undesirable) literature in book-burning ceremonies, modern Germans erase swastikas because it reminds them of their history.
The danger is that future Germans may not have these reminders to make them think about not recreating the Nazi party.

Skylinehead · 03-04-2018 11:49PM

sugarman wrote: »

How would it have been anymore a shrine than it currently is? It was and still is underground. Only difference now is, its filled in. Surely they could have kept it under the car park and preserved it with an unmarked entrance for historians and government officials and the likes. Its a massive piece of history lost.

...and I never once accused the Germans of covering anything up. They've done the opposite as you said, by building dozens of memorials to those who lost their lives at key sites around the country.

But they also dont like referencing anything Nazi or War related, otherwise there wouldnt have been any need to demolish/remove their history. The world gets it, the vast majority of the country (Neo Nazis aside) are ashamed of their history but you cant just erase it. It happened.

Germany had 2 dozen Concentration camps during the war, only 1 partially survives. Hitlers bunker wasnt even acknowledged by a plaque until a few years ago. Theres 2 or 3 dozen other examples and the only reason most sites still exist is because they were re-purposed after the war and only later turned into museums or memorials.

You're defeating your own argument...you say they're destroying history yet there's a plaque there now (why, if they're trying to hide/destroy it?), and "only later" made memorials....seems they're going the other way to what you're claiming.

Capt'n Midnight · 04-04-2018 12:04AM

another bell widely publicised earlier - but like most was hidden from public view
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43210993

A village in Germany has voted to keep a controversial church bell embossed with a swastika and the words "All for the Fatherland - Adolf Hitler".

The parish council of Herxheim argued that the Nazi-era bronze bell acted as a reminder for the nation's dark past.

Wouldn't take a genius to figure out that there's a good chance that other churches that got new bells in that era might have similar logos.

Skylinehead · 04-04-2018 12:46AM

sugarman wrote: »

Memorials and plaques are not preserving history. They just acknowledge to an extent what happened in that place. The physical historical remains are what have been / being destroyed and lost.

Put it this way, would the Irish public be happy if we had of knocked Kilmainham Gaol after Independence? Because that was the plan after it was decommissioned. It too was seen as a place that represented oppression and suffering. Imagine it now, leveled, a field... with little more than a plaque in its place. Instead it was fully restored and attracts 500k visitors a year and represents a massive piece of our history.

Or the GPO ...or Parliament house (BOI college green)? or even the removal of all British statues and monuments erected during their occupation?

But the Germans haven't done that either. Sachsenhausen, the Olympiastadion, Nazi creations.

Comparing it to Ireland is a fallacy. The British were here for hundreds of years, they built everything we have, pretty much. Can't tear that down, or you don't have a city. The Nazis? 12 years. And for half that time they weren't building much in the way of grand buildings. Also remember that most German cities were wrecked by bombing, and I mean utterly destroyed.

wakka12 · 04-04-2018 12:47AM

Seems pointless vandalism to me. Its very interesting historical artefact..dont need to support it to appreciate historical significance

wakka12 · 04-04-2018 12:49AM

Deleted User wrote: »

Nazis, erased Jewish (and other undesirable) literature in book-burning ceremonies, modern Germans erase swastikas because it reminds them of their history.
The danger is that future Germans may not have these reminders to make them think about not recreating the Nazi party.

Id hope their moral compass and common sense would prevent rather than old bells with swastikas engraved on them lying around

wakka12 · 04-04-2018 12:52AM

sugarman wrote: »

Moronic behavior.

As someone big into history, particularly WWI & II, I am fairly disgusted at how much of their history the Germans have tried to destroy over the last century. Particularly in recent years.

The Neo Nazi excuse always pops up, but its absolutely bull****.

A little over 20 years ago, they found Hitlers Fuhrerbunker almost perfectly intact in central Berlin while excavating building apartments. What did they do? Tried to blow it up, but the 6m thick walls were still too strong so they filled the whole thing in with cement and placed a car park over it.

The **** like?

Yes there was a plan to demolish hitlers childhood home just last year wasnt there? Pretty crazy alright.

wingsof daun · 04-04-2018 03:06AM

Skylinehead

History is written by the winners. What about the Eisenhower death camps? How many Germans were genocided extremely cruelly in those?? That's post 1945 (WWII ended in 1945) I might add. We are all supposed to be never forget the holocaust of Jews but the genocide of Germans and other peoples are quickly swept under the rug. A Holocaust in which some of the so-called facts and figures and survivors are somewhat dubious or even, might I dare to call... - fantasy!

Zebra3 · 04-04-2018 06:31AM

I take it the swastikas in the Hofbräuhaus are ok?

spurious · 04-04-2018 06:48AM

Deleted User wrote:

if it's a 20th century artefact then then it's not of such historical importance that we need to be bothered.

What would your cut off date for 'historical importance' be?

Anne1982h · 04-04-2018 07:09AM

sugarman wrote: »

Moronic behavior.

As someone big into history, particularly WWI & II, I am fairly disgusted at how much of their history the Germans have tried to destroy over the last century. Particularly in recent years.

The Neo Nazi excuse always pops up, but its absolutely bull****.

A little over 20 years ago, they found Hitlers Fuhrerbunker almost perfectly intact in central Berlin while excavating building apartments. What did they do? Tried to blow it up, but the 6m thick walls were still too strong so they filled the whole thing in with cement and placed a car park over it.

The **** like?

Yes isn’t it awful the Germans didn’t leave it as a tourist attraction so someone big into history such as yourself could go visit it.

Having lived in Germany previously and visited again recently they are in no way covering up the of past or destroying it. There are memorials and concentration camp memorials all preserved. We were told secondary school children visit two concentration camps before they leave school and are taught about what happened. Lest we forget etc.

Swastika removed from Nazi Bell in Germany

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