The American Jewish Congress has called on American toy makers to halt the production and sale of war toys bearing Nazi insignia. The ban would include replicas of guns, shells, military vehicles, aircraft, warships and miniatures of Nazi officers and soldiers.
The request to the toy industry, voiced by Julius Schatz, consultant on Jewish affairs to the AJCongress and chairman of the committee on community education of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, called the marketing of toys bearing the Nazi insignia “a foul reminder of one of history’s most bestial episodes.”
Schatz charged such toys lead to psychological damage in children who play with them. He cited a statement by Dr. Mortimer Blumenthal, Chief of Pediatric Psychiatry at New York’s Mount Sinai Medical Center, who said such toys have a “corrosive mental influence” on children.
Blumenthal declared that the “specific use of toy military models which are artfully marked with Nazi insignia must raise serious questions about the permanent influence which such Nazi insignia exert on the child’s mind.”
NOT CALLING FOR LEGAL BAN
Schatz pointed out that the AJCongress is not calling for a legal ban on such toys. “This organization has fought long and hard to protect constitutional freedoms,” he said. “We don’t want to infringe on the right of toy makers to make toys of their choosing. But we do ask them to show a degree of sensitivity to the memory of the millions who died at the hands of the Nazis.”
He said one toy manufacturer, Lindberg Products, Inc. of Skokie, Illinois, has already agreed to give up its line of swastika-marked model war toys. “We hope others will follow this company’s lead,” he added.
Schatz also noted that in West Germany, legislation has been in effect for several years prohibiting the manufacture or sales of toys bearing Nazi insignia.
The AJCongress initiated its campaign against swastika-marked toys two years ago. Its current request for a self-imposed ban by toy makers comes at a time when the manufacturers are holding their 79th Annual American Toy Fair in New York City.
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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.
