WWII Era German Iron Cross

Published On: June 3, 2020|Categories: MRFF's Inbox|3 Comments|

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You might want to look up what the Iron Cross that was rewarded during WWII to German officers looked like.

EXACTLY THE SAME AS IS ON THOSE HEADSTONES.

It is an accurate, historically documented military reward, equivalent of our Congressional Medal of Honor.  You would be the first to complain if a US service member has a head stone overseas has that engraved and some politically correct organization demanded it be removed.

They died for their beliefs, whether they were right or wrong.  The same as our soldiers.  Your organization demanding their removal is an affront to THIS veteran and I know why I have never heard of this organization.

Removing those headstones is OFFENSIVE to me.  Leave them as they are historically accurate and correct.  Give it a rest.

(name withheld)


Response from MRFF Founder and President Mikey Weinstein

sorry, (name withheld)….not gonna happen….it’s great that these swastikas and the written German homages to Hitler and his Third Reich and the German people that adored both do not bother you…but they are clearly unimaginably offensive to multiple millions of others….and the VA agreed to our MRFF demands….so that filthy Nazi iconography will be removed which is the right thing to have done!!….bur don’t fear, (name withheld), for you can go ogle all the swastikas you wish at many museums around the the world….but they are BANNED for public disclosure even in Germany….we will NOT “give it u rest”….we WON and those swatikas and that language will soon be history……so long, Mikey W./MRFF


Response from MRFF Board Member John Compere

On Jun 2, 2020, at 9:53 PM, John Compere  wrote:
Thank you for your past military service.
 
For your information, the Prussians originated the iron cross. The Nazis only co-opted & desecrated it with their swastika.
 
No intelligent American adult should be surprised that patriotic Americans of all races, religions & regions find the Nazi grave headstone inscriptions offensive, anti-Semitic & anti-American. They have no place in American military cemeteries with Americans who fought in World War II (over 400,000 sacrificed their lives) to defeat the evil Third Reich whose leader was the Fuhrer, symbol the swastika & criminal ideology to exterminate all Jewish human beings. Germany even bans public displays of swastikas & you will not find them on German graves. The Department of Veteran Affairs official list of authorized emblems for military cemetery graves does not include the Prussian iron cross with Nazi swastika.
 
The Nazi headstones will be removed & replaced with more appropriate identifications of the deceased. They will be placed in a Holocaust museum that accurately preserves the history & horror of the Nazis’ gruesome genocide of 6 million innocent children, women & men because they were born of Jewish mothers (like Jesus).
 
Brigadier General John Compere, US Army (Retired)
Disabled American Veteran (Vietnam Era)
Board Member, Military Religious Freedom Foundation

Over the years, has anyone discussed returning their remains to Germany to be buried with their fellow countrymen, just like how we’re slowly getting our PoW/MIA remains returned from Vietnam?
(name withheld)

Response from MRFF Board Member John Compere
On Jun 3, 2020, at 6:53 AM, John Compere  wrote:
A reasonable resolution, but you will have to direct that inquiry to the Department of Veteran Affairs.

On Jun 3, 2020, at 8:30 AM, Martin France  wrote:


(name withheld), we’re not objecting to the Iron Crosses–it’s the swastikas.  They aren’t allowed in German cemeteries for WWII dead, nor are they on the gravestones of former Nazi soldiers in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, or anywhere else in the world (that we know of).  And, BTW, you’ve lost your ill-informed fight here, anyway.
As for this nearly-legible comment “You would be the first to complain if a US service member has a head stone overseas has that engraved and some politically correct organization demanded it be removed.”  Wow.  Really?  Why would we have ANY jurisdiction or say in what is inscribed on a headstone for ANY American outside of the US?  Unless it’s on one of our embassy compounds, we’d have no say whatsoever–even on Omaha Beach–because it’s not our territory.
Sincerely,
M France
Brig Gen (USAF, Retired)
MRFF Advisory Board Member

Response from MRFF Advisory Board Member Mike Farrell
On Jun 3, 2020, at 12:41 PM, Mike  wrote:


You missed the point, Jeff, which was swastikas and dedications to Hitler.
 
Like you, the head of the VA was blind to the inappropriateness of those markings on the headstones
in a U.S. Government facility. (You and he both might be interested to learn that the German Government
would not allow them in their cemeteries.) As it happens, the VA leader was overruled. The headstones
are being moved to a museum, a more appropriate place, and new and appropriate ones will replace them.
 
If the original headstones are important to you, you are welcome to visit them at the museum.
 
Mike Farrell
(MRFF Board of Advisors)

 

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3 Comments

  1. Watchman for Zion June 3, 2020 at 8:22 pm

    So, is MRFF now demand that owners of the German WWIJ fighter Bf109 who have the original markings on them, including the swastika on the tail not be allowed to fly them in air shows or must remove the swastika?

  2. Sage on the Hudson June 3, 2020 at 10:24 pm

    “Removing those headstones is OFFENSIVE to me. Leave them as they are historically accurate and correct. Give it a rest.

    (name withheld)”

    Dear Name Withheld:

    When the day comes when you’re laid in the earth, should the inscription on your gravestone say anything other than “He was was an apologist for Nazi genocide,” it will be offensive to ME and the memory of every U.S. serviceman or -woman who was laid in his or her grave as a consequence of having fought to end the tyranny of the Nazi regime these German soldiers served.

  3. Old_ColdWar_MP June 4, 2020 at 5:06 am

    @Gen. France, Thank you for the clarification that differentiates the “iron cross” from the swastika. This was a point I tried to relate relatively early in these discussions (https://mrff2.local/2020/05/lawmakers-want-the-va-to-remove-swastikas-from-gravestones-at-two-veterans-cemeteries/).

    As for repatriation, that seems more likely to be an act that should require initiation from Germany. If they want their nazi POW’s returned, then the German nation should be prepared to ask and pay for the action. They haven’t. In fact, they had opportunities to do so but they don’t want any nazis in their country, alive or dead. I wouldn’t expect most U.S. citizens to object to repatriation, but for a handful on the fringes of society who nefariously demand that wretched symbol remain on our soil.

    And @Mikey, thank you & MRFF so much for continuing to take a such an honorable stand of reason and empathy. The impact that MRFF has made is enormous compared to the era in which I served where there was nobody, nor any agency, nor leader in my command chain, that I could turn to for support. Keep strong. Keep on keeping on! MRFF Does Make a Positive Difference!

    Respectfully,

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