Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Coca cola and the Swastika

Alright, I checked it out, and in 1925 Coca cola did a campaign using the Swastika emblem.
An explanation behind this dates much further back. The origins of the Swastika go back 3000 years to Troy (www.manwomen.net/swastika/swastika2.html). The original meanings of the symbol were meant for luck and prosperity. So in the 1920s and 1930s the swastika could be found in various american ads (check out www.dpjs.co.uk/sawsticross.html for some really interesting pictures). The Boy Scouts used the symbol as did the American 45th Air Division during WWI.

The second site that I have listed is also interesting because it presents the argument that the swastika, with its originally positive connotations, is no less offensive and evil than the christian cross, with its historically bleak beginnings.

I imagine some urban legends surfaced on the net about Coca cola being linked to Nazism because of the 1925 emblem; however, due to the use of the symbol preWWII, it is clear that none of those rumors hold up.

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