Over the years, I’ve played quite a few games set during World War 2. Some of the games I’ve played included Day of Defeat: Source (along with the previous mod version, as well as the first commercial release), Hidden and Dangerous 2, Red Orchestra Ostfront, Company of Heroes… Suffice to say, a lot. 
These games all share something beyond being set during World War 2, however. What’s that? None of them had swastikas in them.
In most of the games, the standard way to deal with the swastika was to replace it with an iron cross, in one form or another. The well known Nazi flag…
… was typically replaced with something like this:
Why? There are a variety of different reasons. Believe it or not, one of the major reasons is simply an economic one. The swastika and other Nazi symbols are banned in Germany, and displaying them can net you with a nasty fine or jail time. Video games that have Nazi symbols in it are thus illegal in Germany; include the swastika in your game, and you’ve just cut Germany out as one of your distribution points. Of course, if a German gamer wants to get their hands on Return to Castle Wolfenstein, a game that had Nazi swastikas all over the place, they can; but that will have to be saved for another entry.
The economic issue, however, is obviously not the only reason that the symbol is swapped out. Probably the bigger issue here is that much of the world sees the swastika now as a bad symbol, a politically incorrect symbol. It’s something you don’t go waving around, because doing so sends some bad messages. I think most of the internet saw about Prince Harry going to a party with a swastika armband on, and I think the internet mostly agreed that it was a stupid move.
The sentiment that the swastika evokes bad feelings, etc. is one that I agree with - to an extent. While the Nazis did indeed use the swastika, it’s a generally well known fact that it’s been used by many other groups throughout history. Indeed, Hindus still use it regularly, and it’s been a symbol of peace for nearly 5,000 years - up until Hitler and company got their hands on it. Here’s an interesting quote from this article, about Hindus opposing a German proposal to ban the display of swastikas throughout the European Union:
“The swastika has been around for 5,000 years as a symbol of peace,” he said. “This is exactly the opposite of how it was used by Hitler.”
He said that while the Nazi implications of the symbol should be condemned, people should respect the Hindu use of the swastika.
“Just because Hitler misused the symbol, abused it and used it to propagate a reign of terror and racism and discrimination, it does not mean that its peaceful use should be banned.”
The group said banning the swastika was equivalent to banning the cross simply because the Ku Klux Klan had used burning crosses.
However, what I’m talking about here is of course not Hindu swastikas being depicted in a videogame. I’m talking about Nazi swastikas, and things get a bit trickier with them. I certainly have no desire to see the Nazi swastika being flown on flags today; generally speaking, if someone does that, they are trying to convey the message that they agree with the ideological stance of the Nazis, which is a major no-no in my book.
But I do question the removal of the symbol from games set during the World War 2 era. To me, this is sort of a bizarre revision of history, a historical distortion, if you will. Certainly, Nazi Germany used the iron cross as one of their emblems, but they also used the swastika, and heavily. I suppose one could argue that if you were to let someone who was unaware of this fact play one of the above games, they might come away from it thinking that Nazi Germany’s dominant symbol was the black and red iron cross, and that’s just wrong.
Over the years, I’ve had discussions about this with various people - some privately, some on public gaming forums. I’ve heard various lines of thought about it. One is that the swastika is, due to the Nazis, an offensive symbol, and that it conjures up violent memories, horrible feelings, and imagery that many people don’t want to think about. I can buy that - but we’re talking about videogames that are extremely violent, set during World War 2. To take the swastika out of the game doesn’t change the fact that people are being shot, blown up, and dismembered. All it does is portray the German army incorrectly. Even if the swastika isn’t in the games, the fact remains: there are two sides generally portrayed. The Allied side, and the Axis side, and generally, in WW2 games, the “Axis” side boils down to the Germans. If you have the German army during WW2 portrayed in a game, you are portraying the army of Nazi Germany. Pulling the swastika won’t change that.
Another stance I’ve seen is that of saying that the Wehrmacht didn’t use the swastika, and that it was only the SS that used it. This is blatantly wrong. I make no claims that every member of the Wehrmacht was a card-carrying Nazi (they weren’t); but that doesn’t change the fact that the Wehrmacht, as a whole, was the army of the Nazi regime. And yes, they did use the swastika - a lot. There are countless sites online with photographs of authentic Wehrmacht uniforms (not the SS, not the Waffen SS); and they’re plastered with swastikas.
I can certainly understand Germany’s stance on this. The country as a whole is afraid of something like the Nazi regime existing again, and so they’ve taken steps to help crush the Neo-Nazi movement. However, the other side of the coin is this: Germans are (as I understand it) rigorously educated about World War 2 and the Holocaust during their school years. The goal of this is that the people won’t let the memories of World War 2 and the atrocities that took place during it fade into oblivion. The problem is that these two stances, at least when they’re merged within a video game, don’t really work well. “We don’t want people to forget what happened during the Nazi regime, but we don’t want the Nazi swastika used in video games where the Nazi army is portrayed; use something else.” The result is a peculiar mix of historical preservation and historical distortion.
I’m not really sure what a good solution would be. While I don’t agree with altering historical symbols in a game based during World War 2, I understand why the German law is what it is. If they simply revoked the ban on swastikas, the Neo-Nazi movement in Germany would have a blast flying their Nazi flags everywhere.
What’s your take on it? Should games set in a historical setting use the symbols from that time period, whether they’re politically correct or not? Or should some historical distortion be allowed in “special cases,” such as this?
Please note: While I hope I’ve not said anything that would give this impression, I’d feel more comfortable if I stated this clearly: I’m not a Neo-Nazi. I’m not a Nazi apologist, nor do I agree with Nazi ideology. I’m not clamoring to see the Nazi swastika in video games so I can pretend to salute it with a “Sieg Heil!” My concern over the swapping out of the swastika with other similar symbols is simply one based on my interest in history. I’d find it just as odd if the Soviet Communist flag was routinely chopped out of video games (which, by the way, it isn’t.)
Tags: Games, History, World War II
25 comments
Comments feed for this article
Trackback link
http://system13.org/2007/06/09/the-nazi-swastika-in-video-games/trackback/
June 10, 2007 at 2:38 pm
Zeitlos
Hi Josh!
I don’t think that a swastika would make these games more historically correct, because the games themselves are historically incorrect. People don’t reenact WWII in the games (which would of course include the defeat of the German troops), they use the historical setting to fight new battles.
In a videogame you cannot play historically correct: What about the hunger and thurst you experienced if you found yourself in a siege? Or can you click on “homosexual” in your gamers profile and find yourself tied down in a KZ-laboratory so that doctors can use you as a guniea pig? Just two examples but a lot more come to my mind…
I once wanted to do an internschip in a tiny games developer company. This was in the days when Internet was still young so they developed board-games. When I came to their office, which was in a private house, it turned out it was a two-people-sitting-in-a-crowded-former-childrens-room-company. The post box was decorated with a Bundesadler and in the “office” hung the framed Bundeswehr-certificates of the guy.
Very carefully they tried to tell me what kind of games they were developing: “You know, well, we make games for people who are interested in history. Our current game is about the battles in Africa of WWII. The player can choose the side he wants to play…This means…uhm…the Germans can also win…” Their target group seemed pretty clear to me. I told them not thanks, I’m no longer interested, however professional my internship report would look like, and no thanks, I don’t want to learn anything else about the Wüstenfuchs…
After this episode I was very…suprised…when some years later the game market filled with PC games about WWII and everyone thought it was completely normal…But OK, that’s the way it is. I just wanted to say that one sign more or less won’t make the difference between historically correct or incorrect.
Sorry for the long post and liebe Grüße,
Zeitlos
June 10, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Josh
Hi Zeitlos,
First, no need to apologize for the long comment. I actually like long comments. Second, I’m glad you commented; it’s nice to have an opinion from a native German.
You’re right that the games aren’t historically correct, in that things like hunger, thirst, etc. are not portrayed. You’re also right that WW2 games typically skirt around the issue of the Holocaust. Indeed, it’s rarely if EVER mentioned in any of the games I’ve played.
I guess what I’m saying that, what IS represented in the games - battles between two factions, that of the Allies and of Nazi Germany - is portrayed incorrectly by removing the swastika. I know, of course, that adding it back in wouldn’t make the games completely historically accurate, but it would make what is presented more correct.
Having said that, I now have to look back on my initial stance. If the swastika should be added in for historical accuracy, should Auschwitz be added in to Company of Heroes as well? Of course not. I think at that point, no one would play the games (myself included). While I enjoy WW2 games, I think I (and many, many others) sort of “suspend” our knowledge of the war while we’re playing. If we really sat back and thought about it analytically, we’d stop playing, I’m sure.
Also, that’s a good point in that the actual BATTLES that are fought in the games are not historically accurate. While there are no cutscenes after a round showing the Germans conquering Russia, the Germans CAN win in Red Orchesta Ostfront. A good example of this is the fact that the Axis side can win on a map where they’re defending the Reichstag from the Russian advance. Obviously, the Russians DID ultimately surround the Reichstag. So, I suppose the battles themselves in all of these games could be considered “revisionist” in nature.
Thanks a bunch for your view! It’s certainly made me think some more and shift my stance a bit. I’m not really sure what the solution is at all now.
June 10, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Nils
I do agree with you Josh. It’s strange not to have it in there. I guess one could easily come up with a dozen reasons why you shouldn’t, and a dozen why you should. But have you ever seen a film in which the swastika was replaced with some other symbol? That iron cross-like thing you show here doesn’t look very convincing and no movie would be taken seriously if it used that.
And as for the swastika being banned, I know that’s true, but surely not in video games? I should check, but were recent American films banned from Germany because they showed the Nazi symbol? Come to think of it, were there no swastikas in Der Untergang, a German film?
The more I think of it, it seems a strangely prudish thing to do. Next we’ll be banning all kinds of unpleasantness out of our fiction/popular culture just because we feel it’s not right. Happy Romans settling in Gaul with their families? Columbus playing checkers with the Carribean tribes instead of slaughtering them, carrying the symbol not of the cross but of Krusty the Clown?
Anyway, you know what I mean. Again, great article, Josh. Man, you’ve got me looking out for that new post in my feed reader every time now!
Off to catch some BSG now
Cheerio!
June 11, 2007 at 1:54 am
Joshua J. Slone
There’s always Final Fantasy’s swastika: http://www.squarehybrid.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/01/cactuar.jpg
June 11, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Josh
Nils: No, I’ve never seen a serious film about the war replace the swastika with some other symbol.
In regards to the swastika being banned in video games.. yep, it is.
That’s a good question about Der Untergang. I’m pretty sure there WERE swastikas in it, and considering it was MADE in Germany, it obviously was showed there. I’ll have to look into that now. I can’t remember exactly if there were swastikas in it or not, but I’m leaning more towards yes.
What you said about banning other things is part of where I’m coming from. Yes, the swastika conjures up some really bad memories, but that doesn’t mean suppressing the symbol is a good idea.
Boo on you, for having new episodes of BSG to watch. Boo, I say.
Slone: Haha. Not QUITE what I was talking about, but I appreciate your comedic interlude, as always.
June 12, 2007 at 4:44 pm
Gophur
My take has always been that I could care less if we used a swastika or not. the board members who want a return on investment tend to think otherwise, and technically they are correct. As you opint out it IS mostly an economic issue. Oh sure, we’d all like to think we’re altruistic but the bottom line is money. It’s business.
The bonus is that the game actually gains nothing by having an historical reenactment aspect. The germans win then they loose, go watch Band of Brothers, no need to play this game…unless you like to reenact in which case you should go strap on a wool outfit and head to Sherman Texas in the Spring and hang out in a pup tent for a weekend with other reenactors, again, pass on playing the game.
A game just isn’t a reenactment and as you guys clearly point out, it generally doesn’t want to be. Sure there are the FPS shooters that walk you through the war in a series of mini stories and in a way that is a reenactment but even less so than a TV series would be. Brothers in Arms is less like actually being in the war than reading A Bridge to Far. Again its just a game, and as a game, doesn’t benefit much in gameplay or immersion from the symbolism. The Iron Cross is good enough.
What’s interesting to me in all of this is how many people actually want to play the Germans. Would you believe that more than half (slightly) as a general rule? Even in Europe? I wonder what that ratio would look like if you actually did put the swastika in. Who would then flock to the black booted bad guys? Probably just about the same number if you ask me. Outside of the hallowed halls of altruistic society, most gamers realize its just a game. The Iron Cross is just there so the media, the politicians and the altruistic overseers of everyone else’s lives don’t get in the way of playing a good game.
Disclaimer: I make one of those WW2 games with lots of “Germans” running around shooting our boys in blue 24/7/365.
June 16, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Tyrannosaurus Reich
bah just lost my few paragraphs of pro-swastika placement but looks like i need my email!!…sigh whatever nice to see some RO:OSTFRONT fans who i know are sticklers on realism otherwise they would be spamming nades on DOD…
June 18, 2007 at 6:48 am
BashkimK
Hi, to all
I think having Swastika in WWII Games makes it more realistic for both parties, allies that will fight as they did against the Nazi Regime and terror, also for Germany that was indeed a Nazi Germany those days.
But i have a suggestion for all WWII game makers, why not put it in settings options where gamers can choose if Swastika is to wave in their game.
and another thing, banning symbols, free opinion, likes and dislikes looks more like Nazi Germany, USSR and Communist China etc. so i guess that everyone should express their opinion even symbols.
you cant prevent a Neo-nazi from becoming one neither you can encourage one to become,
I have to say that it is not proper to salute with a “Sieg Heil” but i dont think symbols should be banned .
June 18, 2007 at 6:56 am
BashkimK
Oh i forgot,
One more thing…
please game makers, let players decide who wins, it would be more challenging than when you know that whatever you do and no matter how hard you try you will loose anyway ( when playing Axis side). it is illogic and absurd that you can do nothing to change the out come of the war even if you win every single battle.
June 26, 2007 at 10:00 pm
David M
I am working on a game with them in it. It is a bit disturbing. I think it is a fiscal decision, that the company investing in the game must make. They must decide on their target market, and what damage they might do to their share of it.
D
June 27, 2007 at 6:15 am
Josh
To everyone who has added their opinions: Thanks! I’ve not been ignoring you; I just don’t really have much to add at this point. I do appreciate your thoughts and feedback though, so if you have more (or are a newcomer to System 13), please drop ‘em in the box.
July 18, 2007 at 7:27 pm
Sepp Dietrich
I play Battlefield 1942 online, which also has no swastikas, and I always play the German side, because I want to play the bad guy - so for me, having a swastika in the game would enhance that experience.
I’m sure the Allied players experience would also be enhanced at making a kill against clearly defined bad guys.
As an addendum to the above, when playing Battlefield 1942 online there are occasions when you are “Kicked” by a glitch in the game on to the opposing side, then having to fight for your former enemies. This happened to me the other night, when I found myself on the Allied side. At first, I sat there, despondent that I’d been torn away from my team, who were set to win, watching the action via the game camera with apathy. The Allied flags were dropping, but when they were down to one, something inside siezed me, and I spawned into the game with a determined attitude. It wasn’t long before I’d taken several flags, the Allies were bouyed up this, they began acting as a team - good enough to turn the game and win against the odds.
So please don’t stereotype all Axis players, maybe they just enjoy playing the underdog.
August 12, 2007 at 9:23 pm
Johnny Relentless
I think that if you want historical accuracy, you should read a book. If you want escapism, play a video game. After 911, they deleted scenes from Spiderman, because they knew that a film like that was escapist - people didn’t want harsh reality to intrude on their fun. It’s the same with video games. I find the swastika extremely disturbing, and I would not be able to enjoy a game where I had to see it constantly. In fact, I’d rather play Duke Nukem than a WWII game anyway, because I don’t much like the reality of war. But as a Jew, I find the swastika extremly offensive, and I don’t much like when it is exploited purely for commercial gain. If one is going to see a serious movie about WWII (or any serious subject involving nazis), then I would expect to see swastikas, but to be using them for a little frivolous fun - no, I wouldn’t feel right about it.
August 13, 2007 at 4:00 pm
Josh
Johnny: Fair enough, about reading a history book for accuracy, and playing a game for escapism.
That’s a tricky subject about “exploiting [the Nazi swastika] for commercial gain.” Even if it’s used in a serious movie about WWII, ultimately, we’re talking about commercial gain. Movies are made, typically, to make money. Same goes for video games. But I do see your point.
August 16, 2007 at 1:36 am
greg
I just wanted to point out a game that uses the swastika for historical accuracy… Wings of Power it’s an add on to Flight Simulator (X)…
I think if you cover up history or “reinterpret” it to a politically correct persuasion, you are only hurting yourself. The swastika itself never did anything to anyone. It was the Nazi Party that caused so much chaos and destruction.
To me it would be like an alcoholic blaming the bottle of beer for his alcoholic ways, when in reality it is the alcoholic himself that deserves the blame… (if that makes any sense). Any human being with a decent moral structure and a shred of objectivity and common sense should not have any problems viewing a swastika.
I emphatically think taking the swastika out of games, models, etc is wrong and as a matter of fact, I find it fascist. Censorship is a fascist action by nature. So actually in my opinion, censoring the swastika is an action more closely related to how the Nazi Party would have handled this very same type of situation.
I read a story a couple years ago about a German battleship being pulled out of the water off the coast of Argentina. The people who brought it up covered the HUGE hawk roosting on the swastika. It was a beautifully elaborate historic piece in my opinion. They destroyed it… To me that is destroying a part of history. Whats the saying? If you forget your past, you are only doomed to repeat it.
heres a link to that video game website… It just shows some German WW2 planes detailed exactly the way they should be.
http://www.shockwaveproductions.com/bob/
by the way, I am not a Nazi, just very interested in accurate history.
August 16, 2007 at 1:45 am
greg
Sorry, just wanted to add one more thing…
To Johnny Relentless, I am sorry that you are offended by swastikas, but that doesn’t make me offended by them. If swatikas offend you, don’t play WW2 games and don’t go to WW2 movies. It’s really that simple. I hate to sound insensitive, but censoring something because one group of people are offended by it is ridiculous.
What if you were offended by pistachio ice cream? Should everyone else not be allowed to eat it?
August 17, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Johnny Relentless
Wow, Gregg says he’s not a Nazi, but he thinks that anyone who is offended by their main symbol doesn’t have any morality, objectivity, or common sense.
And I never said they should be censored, and I don’t play them. Did you read my post? I was just trying to say that if they’re making entertainment for escapist purposes, putting the swastika in there is probably not a smart move. The makers os Spiderman knew that in the case of 9/11.
Of course, maybe gamemakers are aiming for the type of people who are entertained by the suffering of others and who will justify it with the excuse that games should have ‘historical accuracy.’ In that case, they’re trying to entertain people who don’t have a shred of moral decency, and I don’t give a crap about them one way or the other.
August 17, 2007 at 4:45 pm
Johnny Relentless
And anyway, Gregg, I can see there’s no point discussing this with someone who equates the holocaust with pistachio ice cream. I’ll say one thing for the Nazis, though. They were honest about their hate.
August 17, 2007 at 5:38 pm
Zeitlos
Wow, two month and the discussion is still going on…
Dear Greg,
if you are interested in accurate history and think, what you call censorship is fascist, i think you should ask yourself one thing: Isn’t it fascist too, if you replay being a fascist Nazi?
And btw: the comparison to ice cream was way below the belt.
August 17, 2007 at 11:55 pm
greg
Actually I think replaying being a Fascist Nazi is just that… playing a game. Nothing more, nothing less. After you ban the Swastika, go ahead and ban the iron cross and any other symbol the Nazis used to protect your sensitivities. Why the swastika in particular?
Hell, ban the colors red black and white for your own protection. All I’m telling you, and I will say it again… censorship is fascism, bottom line. Censorship is not “reinacting” fascism, it is actual, stone cold, fascism.
If you do not like swastikas, or if they make you squeamish somehow, I suggest not looking at them. Pretty simple really. Don’t take away everyone else’s right to look at them.
Am I missing something here? Sorry again to sound crass, but I really don’t see how banning the swastika is doing anything psychologically healthy for anyone. Do you really think covering something up makes it go away?
August 18, 2007 at 12:06 am
greg
Sorry, but I just wanted to make one last point. I am not in any way trying to be a flamer here. I can see the example of pistachio ice cream may well be too abstract. Let me attempt to make a direct correlation.
Say the Japanese, who coincidentally make a large percentage of products that Americans use on a daily basis, including video games, decide to ban the American flag. Why? hmm let me see, hundreds of thousands of their citizens were brutally murdered by the USA in 1945 via nuclear attack… Not to mention the thousands of Japanese Americans put in internment camps by the US.
Ok. Say they decided to ban the American flag. Would you consider this a useful or relevant tactic? Does it make sense? Does it seem in any way diplomatically mature?
Whats the difference?
August 18, 2007 at 7:32 am
Zeitlos
Your example is very interesting. Being “squemish” about the swatika might have something to do with the different relation of the Germans and the Americans to their national flags (if you can read german try this link: http://usaerklaert.wordpress.com/2006/05/24/die-fusball-wm-und-andere-fahnenprobleme/)
The main problem seems to be this: For Germans the flag is a symbol of a nation, of the state and so it also represents the wrongdoings of every state. If i read it correctly, the Americans the their flag as a symbol of the people and their rights. So this might be a little bit easier to understand why the USA still have the same flag and use it heavily without a bad conscience (although the country can look back on a history with a lot of violence caused b the state which one could possibly be ashamed of). At the same time Germans might still have a bad feeling when they see their own flag, even the black-red-gold on today.
Either the popularity of the star-spangeled banner is rooted in this different understanding of the symbol “flag”, or it the American government has a very good Corporate Design department.
July 16, 2008 at 7:59 pm
tgerman
Hi guys i am a german so i would like to explain to you why it is not allowed in germany to display swastikas in video games. Swastika like other Nazi symbols are considered “anticonstitutional” signs by our law that endanger the democratic principle of our nation. Therefore wearing it or displaying it in any way to promote Nazi ideas is forbidden to so in germany. It is not that we try to hide our past, it is just a measure to prevent spread of the Nazi philosophy by “advertise”. Actually it is not completely illegal to show the swastika symbol. The law has exceptions for the areas art and documentary, so you will see them in history books and documentaries as well. The reasin video games are excluded can be considered a “hole in law”, because video games are not covered juridically by the word “art”. By the law (which has not necessarily to do with reason), a video game is not included in the definition of art per se. That means you can be juridically prosecuted for depicting swastikas in a video game. This is not true for films like “Der Untergang” because they are considered art by the law.
I hope icould help you a bit.
Btw, i do of course share the opinion it does not make sense to forbid swastikas in video games. But it has to be understood as a sideeffect of legislation rather than as a strange law. In my opinion it is correct that neo-nazis are not allowed to wear swastikas to promote Hitler`s philosophy.
July 17, 2008 at 12:22 am
Josh
Hi Tgerman,
Thanks for the clarification on the legal information regarding this. I found it interesting to read about. Have there been any pushes to make video games fall under art?
Also, we’re quite agreed: while I wish video games could be truer to such things, I’m obviously against Neo-Nazis going around flashing swastikas.
October 22, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Ryan
I can understand the german law regarding the use of the swastika in video games and how that can cause some backlash because of all the controversy involved in that but i mean sure if its a great simulation of WW2 id give it a go but in a way the removal of the swastika and replacing it with a cheesy iron cross gives the impression the these germans dont fight for the nazi party let alone Hitler (which actually was the case). It seems that its a law thats going anywhere too soon and it probably wont ever change for obvious reasons (neo nazis, people who get their panties in a bunch cause they cant help but get offended by anything,etc)
Best to all