The Swastika, emblem of German barbarism, was not permitted to fly side by side with the American flag at the 250th anniversary celebration Saturday of the settling of the first German pilgrims in this country at a suburb of Philadelphia known to this day as Germantown. The Friends of New Germany, an out and out Hitler organization, was refused permission to join in the celebration because of its Nazi sympathies.
The threat of Hans Luther, German Ambassador, that he would not deliver the address he prepared for the occasion unless the Swastika banner was unfurled proved of no avail. His presence at several preliminary functions and later on the reviewing stand, where he watched a parade in which more than fifteen thousand German Americans participated, did not alter the situation. The program was carried out as planned — without the Swastika. When it was Hans Luther’s turn to speak and he still insisted on a display of the Hitler emblem, another speaker—a local pinch hitter—was put in his place.
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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.
