The White Rose & The Swastika

My earliest recollection of the symbol swastika is in the form of a cube soap bar used by my aunt to wash dirty laundry over a wooden jagged washing board. (Incidentally there was another brand of washing soap called “Tank Brand” ). As I grew up and learned some history in school I came to realize that this common geometrical shape is actually a symbol associated with one Adolf Hitler. Of course it was a matter of time for me to eventually know who Hitler was and his Nazi Germany or the Third Reich.
For many of us, we would remember him and his campaingns as someone else’s history – the initiation of the World War II, the remapping of political Europe, the genocide knowns as the Holocaust and many other evil acts.
Under Hitler, the swastika flag became the German national flag and later the flag of territories and nations it conquered.
This is an excerpt from the book, The White Rose & The Swastika as Jutta Marshall, the author of the book, who was born in Vienna and spent her wartime childhood under the Nazi doctrination had her first taste of school:

A middle-aged stout lady with glasses rose from her desk at the front of the classroom.
“Heil Hitler. Frau Schweighofer!” she said in a piercing voice. “And you must be Jutta. Come, I’ll show you to your seat.”
I had to let go of Mama’s hand and suddenly felt scared and very much alone among the thirty-odd boys and girls around me, all older and bigger than myself. Starting with the pupils at the back of the class the teacher then read out all our names and you had to jump and shout: ‘Present. Frau Hartmann!’
Then followed a song called Deutschland, Deutschland, Uber Alles, which seemed to go for a long time. The tune was familiar but I didn’t know the words, so I just copied the other children as they stood looking ahead with right arms outstretched.
“Stand up to me and look at the Fuhrer’s picture!” the teacher barked at the girl next to me. Then:
“Eric, tell the new ones the name of our Fuhrer!”
“Adolf Hitler, Frau Hartmann!” like the shot of a bullet came the reply from the back of the class.
“Now give me the Fuhrer’s salute!” commanded Fau Hartmann.
“Heil Hitler! Chanted the class, all jumping up with right hands raised.

There are so many ways one can remember Hitler. Good ways. Bad ways. For those who play the piano (by ear or via musical notations), some images from the Roman Polanski’s film would probably emerge as Szpilman (Adrien Brody) played Chopin’s Nocturne in C sharp minor.

Vielen dank (for reading this piece).

Note: The water colour painting is by Adolf Hilter: “Shelter in Fournes”