This Swastika belonged to my Grandpa Selman. He was an wireless operator in the Canadian Air force during WWII. The story he told us Grand kids is that he stole it off of a dead German Soldier. Isn't that the coolest?
Lydia and I brought it to rehearsal the other night to show it to the Nazi guards/soldiers in the show who wear similar armbands. The cast and our costume designer were excited to see it. During the show Brigitta (one of the VonTrapp sisters) refers to this flag as "the flag with the black spider on it." Then she gets scolded for saying such a comment.
I just recently re-read his story. My Grandpa was a Prisoner of War for 3 years. His story is amazing and he is definitely my hero!
I gave Lydia the shortened 5 year old version of Grandpa's story. She really paid attention and asked lots of questions too. His story means more to me as I continue grow older and I know the same will be her.
Fact: Until the Nazis used this symbol, the swastika was used by many cultures throughout the past 3,000 years to represent life, sun, power, strength, and good luck. Because of the Nazis' flag, the swastika soon became a symbol of hate, antisemitism, violence, death, and murder.
Tid bit of Grandpa's story:
On his way to the Prisoner Camp he said he passed Cologne Cathedral. He said it hadn't been damaged but the rest of the city around it had.
Stalag Luft III: One of the POW camps that he stayed in.
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