Swastikas will no longer be provided by a Mattel subsidiary, Monogram Models, Inc., for decoration of scale model reproductions of historic aircraft, ships and vehicles, it was announced by Harvey B. Schechter, director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Pacific Southwest Regional Office. This information was given to ADL by Mattel because of a complaint filed by the ADL.
More than a year ago, “We questioned the wisdom of providing children in Germany with swastika-adorned models,” said Schechter, “and we are pleased with the Mattel decision which is based an a recent decision of a West German Supreme Court forbidding the further use or display of the Nazi swastika with any consumer products, packaging or promotional material produced or marketed in West Germany.”
The Mattel decision not to provide optional swastikas applies also to its domestic and all its international markets, Schechter said.
NO HITLER PLATES
Schechter also reported that a HITLER California environmental license plate has been recalled by the Department of Motor Vehicles. This action by DM is the result of a complaint filed by ADL when the existence of the HITLER plate was brought to the League’s attention.
In a letter to ADL, DMV Director Doris V. Alexis admitted that the issuance of the HITLER plate was “a serious mistake” and steps were initiated immediately to have the plate recalled, he said.
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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.
