• NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io
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    3 days ago

    There are plenty of interesting things about the world wars—hell about the Nazis themselves, but the symbolism just isn’t one of them. If anything it’s so utterly uninteresting that short of being shoved into one’s face (the way the swastika is) there’s no reason for anyone who doesn’t study Nazism for a living to know about SS-style skull and crossbones.

    • amniotic druid@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      It’s worth knowing also that the Death’s Head was no more of an original Nazi design than the swastika. The skull and crossbones design has been used for millenia, but even the modern design began in the mid-19th century. The British used it in WW1. The reason for this is that skulls are pretty cool and the exact type of thing a drunk Marine on his first tour would get tattooed on himself.

      Also worth knowing that the symbol was pretty well neutralized in the US by 2007. It was the equivalent of wearing a Hugo Boss suit, nowhere close to being a swastika. It was a Call of Duty emblem. The ADL didnt even consider it a hate symbol until 2020.

      • edible_funk@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Bullshit. The totenkopf is not a generalized skull and crossbones. It’s very distinctive and was used exclusively by Nazis. It was a Nazi tattoo.