Finland is finally removing the swastika from the flags of its air force, after the new commander admitted the symbol caused “awkward situations” with NATO allies.
“We could have continued with this flag, but sometimes awkward situations can arise with foreign guests,” Col. Tomi Böhm, the new commander of the unit, the Karelian Air Wing, told Finnish publication YLE,
He added the flag had caused particular friction during joint maneuvers with US forces.
Finland is finally removing the swastika from the flags of its Air Force. APThe Finnish air force’s use of the the symbol dates back to 1918 and the civil war between the Soviet-backed Red Guards and the anti-communist Whites.
That’s before it was used by Nazi Germany and the rise of Adolph Hitler.
However, its use does still have a dubious history. Finland’s use of the swastika originates from Swedish aristocrat Count Eric Von Rosen, who gave the Fins their first military aircraft, emblazoned with his personal symbol, a blue hooked cross on a white background.
The National Socialist German Workers Party or Nazi Party, is believed to have adopted the swastika, an ancient symbol found in Hindu and Nordic iconography, when Hitler’s leading ally, Hermann Göring, spotted it at von Rosen’s castle, after he flew the count back to his home in his private plane.
Von Rosen also later became a leader in Sweden’s Nazi party in the 1930s.
Von Rosen’s symbol was used as the national emblem on Finnish aircraft until 1945, before it was added to some air force flags in the 1950s.
The symbol was already removed from air force command in 2020, Col. Böhm said, adding that there had been no external pressure on him to axe the swastika.
The symbol was no longer used on Finnish aircraft, but remained in use on flags. NurPhoto via Getty Images“The world has changed, and we live with the times. There has been no political pressure for this,” he said.
Although Finland briefly allied with Nazi Germany during the Second World War to fight its hated enemy, the Soviet Union, the Nordic nation has always insisted its use of the swastika has “nothing to do with” the Third Reich, wrote historian Teivo Teivainen from Helsinki University, author of the recent book, “History of the Swastika.”
Despite that history, Finland’s Air Force insignia proved incompatible with the country’s new status as a NATO member, Teivainen said.
The new Finnish Air Force commander, Col. Tomi Böhm, said the change was to avoid “awkward situations.” Finnish Air Force / Facebook“There’s now a need to get more integrated with the forces of countries like Germany, the Netherlands, and France – countries where the swastika is clearly a negative symbol,” he said.
Finland joined NATO in 2023 after decades of non-alignment in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In 2021, German Air Force units refused to take part in a ceremony at a military base in Finland’s Lapland region after learning that swastikas would be on display.
Displaying the swastika is a criminal offense in many nations, including Australia, Austria, Belarus, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine.
