THE Jewish community in Dublin has said it understands why a Southside museum decided to include controversial swastika flags as part of an ongoing exhibition.
The National Maritime Museum in Dun Laoghaire is displaying a number of flags depicting the swastika as part of Bratacha, an international exhibition that is running until the end of June.
Organisers of the exhibition said one of the flags, which had once flown at the German ambassador’s residence in Dun Laoghaire until the end of the Second World War, was included for educational purposes.
It was pointed out that there were numerous flags and emblems also on display from areas of conflict around the world that could be viewed in a historical context as symbols of aggression.
Breasal O Caollai, a member of the board of directors at the museum, said the flags that feature the swastika, which became a reviled symbol after it was adopted by Adolf Hitler for his Third Reich, had received some comments, particularly from older people.
The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland said they accepted that the decision by the organisers to display the emblem was taken without any deliberate offence intended towards their community or any other group.
“While it is generally offensive and insensitive to display the flag, we accept that the organisers have put the matter in context,
? said its chairman, Maurice Cohen.
“However, it must be remembered that the display of any Nazi insignia is generally in the context of educating people about the terror of Nazi ideology and its effects on millions across Europe.
“We would always be apprehensive that the swastika and the Nazi flag would become an accepted emblem alongside the flags of other states that opposed racial and other forms of intolerance against minority communities.
?
He added:
“These symbols should evoke in people’s minds only feelings of revulsion and remembrances of the myriad and outrageous atrocities against the Jewish people and humanity in general. Displaying it alongside the emblems of other states may unwittingly create an equivalence between what it stood for and what the rest of the civilized world fought against.
?
Last week, organisers of the exhibition said they had received just one complaint from a visitor in relation to their display of the Nazi flags.
They added that they received several adverse comments on their display of some other flags, including the Union Jack, the flag of Israel and that of the USA.
“Virtually everyone visiting realised that this was an educational exhibition that traces the history of the world through the display of flags, which at the end of the day are simply pieces of material stitched together,
? a spokesman said.
“It is most interesting that many national flags have their origins in the maritime world so it is fitting that this exhibition is being staged in Ireland’s National Maritime Museum in Dun Laoghaire.
?
The exhibition continues until the end of June and is open daily, including weekends, from 11am until 5pm.