A Nazi flag flies in Victoria and there is no way to bring it down
A woman who has German ancestry is flying a Nazi flag in her front garden in her home in the regional town of Beulah in Victoria.
Image: supplied
Cheryl Lawdorn told The Age defends her right to fly the flag on her property while paper reports neighbours have complained to the police and the flag has drawn condemning comments from the Premier and the leader of the Opposition.
Premier Daniel Andrews called the behaviour “disgusting” saying “if there is decency in that household they will take down the flag immediately”.
The local council has said it has no power to have the flag removed. The CEO of the Yarriambiack Shire Council told The Age, “We are aware the flag is causing a level of concern. What the flag represents is not in line with the values of council and we are disappointed it is causing offence in the community,” she said.
“However, we don’t have a particular level or provision that enables us to act on that. We have received no specific complaint from a person in the community but it has been raised with us that it’s there.”
Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission said: “This is a stomach-turning outrage that is a stain on our community. The flying of the Nazi flag in the skies of our nation is like plunging a dagger in the heart of Holocaust survivors and spitting in the face of the diggers who fought to defeat Hitler and his genocidal regime.
It is also a desecration and denigration of the memory of the victims. Anyone who loves our country will not feel comfortable knowing that there are individuals in our midst who are brazenly and proudly exhibiting a symbol that represents the pure evil that led to the death squads, gas chambers and the extermination of six million Jews (including a million and a half children) and millions of others. In the aftermath of the massacres in Christchurch, Halle, El Paso, San Diego and Pittsburgh, perpetrated by white-supremacists, and a dramatic surge in antisemitism in Australia, we should be alarmed about anyone who so openly identifies with the unspeakable crimes of the Third Reich since we know that a belief in such a dangerous ideology can lead to real-life violence. This goes beyond owners’ rights, and we all have a responsibility to speak up when such hateful acts take place. Once Parliament resumes, I call on the state government and the opposition to lock arms and to immediately pass legislation that bans the public display of Nazi insignia.”
The president of The Jewish Community Council of Victoria Jennifer Huppert told J-Wire: “The Jewish Community Council of Victoria strongly opposes any display of a Nazi flag in private or public areas. The symbol represents pure evil and has no place in our Victorian or Australian society. The horrors of the Holocaust should never be forgotten and with the International Holocaust Remembrance Day approaching on 27 January, now more than ever, all Australians should be reminded of the atrocities which occurred in World War Two under the Nazi Regime and continue to benefit from educational programs to deepen their understanding of the harm of symbols of hate and how they oppose Australian values and beliefs. ”
Beulah is 360kms north-west from Melbourne
Of course we shouldn’t ignore it. What should be done is government action in the form of legislation to forbid use of the swastika. And formal protests to council in regard to this particular flag display. Passivity and putting your head in the sand is dangerous.
Where is our brave Jewish youth in the area? Simply cut the pole down and show these vile people that it will not be tolerated.
At this point, it’s clear that the woman means to be inflammatory. Isn’t there a law about hatespeech in her town? At the very least, she should be made to feel uncomfortable with her choice in allegiances. She should be shamed. Her friends and neighbors should be recruited to put pressure on her to take the flag down. It’s up to them as well to make it clear that this is unacceptable.
Provocative and antagonistic behaviour usually gets only 15minutes of fame
What a pity that the media have highlighted the attention-seeking action of this profoundly disturbed woman instead of ignoring it and treating it with the disdain and contempt it deserves. Now the woman has achieved exactly what she wanted and has become a martyr for the cause of freedom of self-expression. No doubt there will be “copycat” displays.
The Anti-Defamation Commission have been collaborating with media and exposing this type of hate for years. Are you suggesting they change their tactics too?
Totally agree Rabbi Ingram. I am currently visiting family in the USA. The media here is also interested in this.
The more we ‘notice’ it, the bigger the impact.
Let’s all focus on ways to help each other like the sterling ways in which our communities have worked together to aid the fire fighters and the victims of the tragedy across Australia.
The great majority of Australians hate Nazism and Australians fought and died not only against Nazis but their brutal allies from the Empire of Japan with barbaric treatment as prisoners of war.
Australia took in refugees from Germany hoping that the values a human rights democracies would overcome a barbaric and psychotic regime that has damaged humanity for generations yet .