The West Berlin Public Prosecutor has stopped a law suit brought by the German Humanist Union against a toy importer distributing models of German wartime aircraft decorated with the swastika. The Humanist Union based its case on paragraph 86A of the penal code which forbids on pain of penalty the dissemination of Nazi symbols. The Public Prosecutor’s office declared that the swastika was not only a symbol of the National Socialist Party, but also the national emblem of a State. It was there fore doubtful, the Prosecutor’s office stated, that the swastika, when obviously used as a national emblem, was being used as a Nazi symbol.
In addition, the Prosecutor’s office contended that the model aircraft are of historical value and the use of the swastika as a national emblem was, therefore, not anti-social and insulting to the public. The Humanist Union has demanded that the Berlin Senate dismiss the two public prosecutors involved.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
