HELSINKI — Finland’s Air Force Command has discreetly dropped a swastika from its unit emblem — after a century — and replaced it with a neutral insignia featuring a golden eagle.
The change, made to avoid false and uncomfortable associations with Nazi Germany’s notorious symbol, took place in January 2017 but wasn’t announced publicly by the Nordic nation’s military at the time.
University of Helsinki world politics professor Teivo Teivainen, who is researching the use of swastikas in Finland during the 1920s and 1930s, noted the unit emblem issue in a Twitter post this week that brought the modification to public attention.
Brig. Gen. Jari Mikkonen at Air Force Command Finland acknowledged Thursday to The Associated Press that the historical swastika emblem had caused confusion among international colleagues over the years.
“Undeniably, we’ve had to explain from time to time the history of the [Finnish Air Force] swastika that dates back to 1918,” Mikkonen said. “It caused misunderstandings with our foreign partners, so continuing to use it was considered inappropriate and unnecessary.”
The swastika is an ancient symbol and a religious icon in many cultures dating back thousands of years. Most people associate it with Nazi Germany’s notorious swastika flag, which was modeled after the flag the German Nazi Party used starting in 1920 and throughout Adolf Hitler’s years as leader of the party and the country.
The Finnish Air Command swastika emblem dated back to March 1918, when the Finnish Air Force was created. Finland declared its independence from Russia a few months before, on Dec. 6, 1917.