Fifteen years ago I ran an antiques and collectables shop where amongst the many eclectic items I had for sale were NAZI era coins and stamps which bore the image of Hitler and his swastika. They sold well, but one day a woman came in and abused me vociferously for selling such items and said they should be destroyed and that I should be ashamed of myself and prosecuted for selling them. I pointed out that they were historical artefacts, that many people collect them, and as legitimate history, they should not be destroyed, and besides, it was legal to do so. She stormed out of my shop in a huff.
Well, it’s looks as if along with everything else, the times are a changing. This article has been prepared in a hurry, as very soon the images it portrays will be illegal; however, we might just sneak in under the proposed ‘journalistic exemption’, but we cannot be sure.
I was horrified to see on the news on June 8th that the Federal Government is to ban not only the display, but also the sale and trade for profit of any item containing the Hakenkreuz (the NAZI Swastika) and the Siegrune (the NAZI SS runes). There appear to be no exemptions for genuine collectors, traders or dealers. Is the Labor Government aware that the militaria trade is a multi-million dollar worldwide business, or just don’t they care, or is there another agenda at play?
Talk about ‘collateral damage’ and ‘unintended consequences’, or are they deliberately intended? The Federal Labor Government will overnight destroy the entire multi-million dollar militaria collecting industry. And all this is in the name of stopping ‘far right’ groups, who won’t actually care; they will continue with their activities anyway. Meanwhile, militaria dealers and collectors are now criminalised and out of business.
Many of their collections and stock worth many thousands, if not millions of dollars are now overnight made unsaleable and valueless as they cannot be traded or ‘sold for profit’. Private collectors can keep what they have (Oh, thanks very much!) but cannot put their items on public display, or trade or sell their items to anyone else ‘for profit’ or purchase any new items. This effectively means that the whole trade is now frozen. Does this mean that an entire once-legitimate industry will now be driven underground? It looks that way. Will this put and end to the large import and export industry and trade in militaria? It looks as if it will.
The new Dreyfus Bill does not yet seem to be publicly available; however, it is worth noting that the May 2023 Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee Criminal Code Amendment (Prohibition of Nazi Symbols) Bill 2023 Report1 did NOT consider the issue of the sale and trade for profit of any NAZI memorabilia at all. That subject does not even seem to be in the Committee’s Terms of Reference. So how did this ban even come about?
Further, Liberal Senator Michaelia Cash introduced a Private Members Bill in the Senate in March 2023 which, at a national level, would have criminalised the public display of an array of NAZI symbols, with Senator Cash’s ‘Explanatory Memorandum’2 noting:
“The term ‘Nazi symbol’ is not a defined term in the Bill, and is instead given its ordinary meaning. This is intended to ensure that the full range of symbols associated with Nazi ideology and the Nazi party are captured by the prohibition in section 81.1, and would include, for example, symbols routinely identified in publications like the annual reports on Antisemitism in Australia published by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. Examples of symbols included in the scope of term in the Bill include: (NB: Pictures inserted by the author.)
- the Hakenkreuz – the Nazi swastika or hooked cross3:
- the SchutzStaffel Siegrune:
- the Totenkopf (death’s head) used by the SS from 1934 to 1945:
Unfortunately, some military forces continue to use this symbol to this very day. Until recently some soldiers in the Australian Army were still using this symbol until it was prohibited in 2018.
- the Sonnenrad (black sun wheel):
- the Broken Sun Cross, or Sun Cross Swastika:
This symbol belonged to the SS-Panzerdivision ‘Wiking’ or SS Division ‘Wiking’ which was an infantry and later an armoured division among the thirty-eight Waffen-SS divisions of Nazi Germany. This symbol is found on many photographs of their uniforms and vehicles. In addition, this symbol is found on many plastic model kits of ‘Wiking’ vehicles. Are the photographs and plastic model kits now also to be banned?
- the unstylised Celtic Cross; Odin’s Cross, Sun Cross or Wheel Cross:
- the Algiz rune;
- the Tyr rune:
This rune is essentially, in its many forms, simply an arrow.
- the Othala or Odal rune:
Unless you’re a World War II history buff, it’s fair to say that, with the exception of the first two, most people would never have even seen or heard of most of these symbols. And what a pity for Viking enthusiasts who also like to display their Nordic runes, which coincidentally, were adopted by the NAZIS for their various military units.
Missing from Cash’s specific list, yet no doubt included in the “full range of symbols associated with Nazi ideology and the Nazi party” and “examples of symbols included” in the Bill would also be the Elf rune, the Ger rune, the Hagal rune, the Opfer rune, the Tod rune, the Wolfsangel rune and the Heilszeichen rune4, along with likely many, many others. This really is a case of ‘let’s just ban the lot’!
Whilst these references are to Senator Cash’s Bill, which was fair and reasonable but did not progress, it is likely that the as yet unseen Dreyfus Bill will be much the same, but has now in effect taken that to a whole new level by shutting down and eliminating an entire industry.
One would have to assume from the wording that the legislation is in fact designed to capture every single rune, device or icon that was ever used by the NAZIS, the SS and the Waffen-SS. This will of course outlaw the public display of many WWII photographs, or at least cause them to be disfigured with erasures.
Further, does this mean that a German WWII KAR-98 rifle or any other piece of German equipment with a Waffenamt5 stamp on it cannot now be displayed or bought and sold? It sure looks that way.
The German WWII eagle and swastika Waffenamt stamp.
There are many similarities here with what Australia has done with its firearms laws. Rather than address the actual real problem, (ie: aggressive far rights groups or illegal gun crime) government instead addresses the symbolic (ie: legitimate militaria collectors or legitimate gun owners). It seems that there has been no mention of exemptions for legitimate militaria collectors, and this is deliberate.
Attorney-General Dreyfus has stated “The legislation will also prohibit the display and trade in Nazi memorabilia, making it an offence to seek to profit from such material in stores or online. It will not ban private ownership or transfers of artefacts that are not-for-profit.” 6
“There is no place in Australia for symbols that glorify the horrors of the Holocaust,” Dreyfus said. “And we will no longer allow people to profit from the display and sale of items which celebrate the Nazis and their evil ideology.” 6
“The Albanese government is sending the clearest possible signal to those who seek to spread hatred, violence and antisemitism (sic) that we find these actions repugnant and they will not be tolerated.” 6
It is clear that this ban is about so much more than just so-called ‘neo-fascists’. Dreyfus has been, unsurprisingly, misleading and deceitful in his claims, and indeed very offensive to the hundreds, if not thousands, of militaria collectors in Australia. Militaria retailers and collectors have never ‘glorified the horrors of the Holocaust’ and never ‘celebrated’ NAZI ideology, and certainly, have never sought to “spread hatred, violence and antisemitism (sic)”, but who cares about that. Never let the truth get in the way of demonising a minority sector of the community.
So-called ‘far right’ groups do not even figure in the militaria collecting scene, and if on the odd occasion they do show their faces, they are very quickly given short-shrift – there is no place for them, and there never has been any place for them in the militaria collector’s world! So why is it that the militaria collecting fraternity must bear the brunt of this legislation? Because it is directly aimed at them!
Unfortunately, it would appear that there is more behind this latest legislation than meets the eye. It’s clear that the Jewish community has long sought to have all elements and reminders of the NAZI era eliminated. Indeed, Dvir Abramovich, the chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission, said the ban was “history in the making” and a “joyful and profound moment that represents the culmination of a six-year personal campaign to defeat homegrown neo-Nazis who seek to keep Hitler’s legacy alive” 6. In this statement, Abramovich is no doubt also referring to retailers and collectors of NAZI memorabilia, who are NOT and never have been ‘homegrown neo-NAZIS’!
Indeed, Seven News reported on September 24th, 2019 that “Jewish community says online trade in Nazi memorabilia is an ‘affront’ to Holocaust victims. A senior member of Australia’s Jewish community has taken aim at the online trade in Nazi memorabilia, calling it ‘a trade in the instruments of death’ and warning that such items ‘keep the evil ideology alive’. Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dr Dvir Abramovich – whose organisation campaigns against racism and bigotry – wants to see an end to the booming market in Third Reich relics. ‘It’s a lucrative trade and it has been surging over the years – we are seeing it more and more’.” 7. In fact, there is no evidence at all that militaria collecting ‘keeps the evil ideology alive’ any more than collecting American Civil War memorabilia keeps the slave trade alive.
The movement to see the ban in display, sales and trade of NAZI memorabilia has been a long time coming. In January 2019, John Christie wrote of his revulsion at seeing NAZI memorabilia being displayed and for sale.8 In November 2022, The Australian ran the article “Nazi sale outrages Jewish leaders – A major auction of Nazi memorabilia has sparked outrage among the country’s Jewish leaders who are calling for a nationally consistent approach to outlawing Nazi symbols.”9 And in December 2021 the European Jewish Association sought to ban the sale of NAZI memorabilia in Israel. 10
Clearly, the lack of any inclusion in the legislation of exemptions for genuine militaria collectors is very deliberate. They have in fact been very specifically targeted to shut them down, despite the fact that these generally very conservative people have no links whatsoever to any ‘far right’ groups.
It would appear that the rise of the in-your-face ‘far right’ neo-fascist groups has simply become conflated with an opportunity for the Jewish lobby to achieve their long-standing goal of taking down the militaria industry by using a compliant Parliament. This is now about to be achieved by another piece of sneaky, deceptive legislation based upon a yet another lie by the socialist Albanese Labor Government simply pandering to the whims of a powerful and influential lobby group. And will this Labor destruction of yet another small business industry receive bi-partisan support? I certainly hope not.
Preventing another holocaust will never be achieved by preventing the collection and trade of its historic artefacts. It is difficult to see how the Jewish lobby can advance their cause by shutting down and putting offside an entire sector of the Australian community who were previously very supportive of them.
At least the firearm owners already know how the militaria collectors now feel.
References:
Pages 3-4.
3 Sources: Pictures of runic symbols from Wikipedia and the Internet generally.
4 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esoteric_insignia_of_the_Schutzstaffel
5 Waffenamt code (WaA) is the German inspection proof mark and can be found on firearms and equipment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffenamt
8 https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2019/01/30/nazi-memorabilia-for-sale-john-christie
10 https://ejassociation.eu/eja/jewish-group-seeks-to-ban-israeli-auction-of-nazi-memorabilia/
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