Modern use of Nazi flags - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

See Nazi flag for a brief overview of the flags of Nazi Germany, and how such flags fit into the chronology of German vexillological history

The modern use of flags from the German Third Reich (1933-1945) is subject to legal restrictions in a number of countries.

Whilst legal in the overwhelming majority of countries, the display of flags associated with the Nazi regime (see: Nazi flags) is subject to restriction or an outright ban in others, particularly those with a direct involvement in the Second World War, and Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

itself.

Many Nazi flags make use of swastika

Swastika

The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...

symbols; however, the swastika is not inherently associated with the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei movement or of the German Third Reich or German military of 1933-1945. Use of swastikas pre-dates the German Third Reich by some 3000 years. It is possible to display certain non-Nazi swastikas even in areas where Nazi swastikas are prohibited.

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

has no legislation specifically restricting the ownership, display, purchase, import or export of Nazi flags. However sections 318-320 of the Criminal Code, adopted by Canada's parliament

Parliament of Canada

The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...

in 1970 and based in large part on the 1965 Cohen Committee recommendations, provide law enforcement agencies with broad scope to intervene if such flags are used to communicate hatred in a public place (particularly sections 319(1), 319(2), and 319(7).

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

has no legislation designed to restrict the ownership, display, purchase, import or export of Nazi flags, nor does the Criminal Code of Cyprus expressly allow for racist or other bias motives to be taken into account when sentencing.

However, use of Nazi flags in a manner likely to cause discrimination, hatred, or violence may be dealt with under Cyprus' ratification of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is a United Nations convention. A second-generation human rights instrument, the Convention commits its members to the elimination of racial discrimination and the promotion of understanding among all races...

. This allows for the prosecution of anyone who expresses an idea (in public, using almost any medium including flags) which insults another person's race, religion or ethnicity.

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

has no legislation restricting ownership, display, purchase, import or export of Nazi flags; indeed Czech legislation makes even the banning of protests involving such flags very difficult.

The police may cancel such events only once it becomes clear that protesters are inciting hate, which is deemed illegal in the Czech Republic. Legal regulation of hate crimes in the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

is contained in Act 140/1961 The Criminal Act (amended by Act 175/1990).

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

has no specific legislation aimed at controlling ownership, display, purchase, import or export of Nazi flags, however the Criminal Code

Criminal Code of Finland

The Criminal Code of Finland is the codification of the central legal source concerning criminal law in Finland.-References:*Note: English not being official language in Finland, the English translations of Finnish legislation at finlex.fi are unofficial, though used by the Finnish Ministry of...

(39/1889) (especially Chapter 11 'War crimes and offences against humanity' Section 8) may be applied where an offence has been directed at a person belonging to a national, racial, ethnic or other population group due to his/her membership in such a group.

France

In France, it is illegal to display Nazi flags, uniforms and insignia in public, unless for the purpose of a historical film, show or spectacle.
In April 2000 the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism

International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism

The International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism – or Ligue Internationale Contre le Racisme et l'Antisémitisme in French— was established in 1926, and is opposed to intolerance, xenophobia and exclusion....

and Union des étudiants juifs de France

Union des étudiants juifs de France

The Union des étudiants juifs de France is a French organization whose aim is to assist French Jewish students....

(the Union of French Jewish Students) brought a case against Yahoo!

Yahoo!

Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...

which objected to the auctioning of Nazi memorabilia, in France, via Yahoo!'s website on the basis that it contravened Article R645-1. Though a French judge did initially order Yahoo! to take measures to make it impossible for users in France to reach any Nazi memorabilia through the Yahoo! site, in December 2001 the US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that Yahoo! would be shielded from the judgement of the French court.

Hungary

Poland

Portugal

United States of America

The public display of Nazi flags in the U.S. is protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution

First Amendment to the United States Constitution

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...

. The U.S. State Department acknowledges restrictions imposed under the laws of other countries, however.

Canada

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Finland

France

Hungary

Poland

Portugal

United States of America

See also