Time to rename Swastika Trail
Around the world today, the swastika is known and reviled as a symbol of hatred, oppression and genocide.
When construction workers unearthed a giant concrete swastika in the German city of Hamburg last month, the mayor immediately ordered it destroyed.
When a man wearing a swastika armband walked the streets of Seattle in September, he was knocked to the ground.
And similar angry episodes have occurred this year in the United States when people, generally associated with the farright, displayed this hooked cross in public.
When swastikas were painted on two synagogues, a United Church and the Ottawa Muslim Association building in Ottawa last year, the actions were denounced as hate crimes and police arrested a young man in connection with the vandalism.
This common, visceral and entirely negative response to the symbol most strongly associated with Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and his crimes against humanity explains why some residents who live on Swastika Trail in Puslinch Township want it renamed. The case they make is hard to dismiss. They are embarrassed by its undeniable connections to Hitler’s Nazi Germany and the evil regime that plunged the world into the bloodiest war in history while murdering six million Jews.
The name-change advocates are painfully aware that, even now, the swastika is a symbol of neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
Understandably, these residents of a small community between Kitchener and Hamilton are uncomfortable when they give their mailing address as Swastika Trail or see it on their drivers’ licences.
But there are two sides to every story and many other residents of this quiet road beside Puslinch Lake sincerely want things to stay as they are.
They argue the road was named in the 1920s, long before Hitler came to power.
They point out the swastika is a respected symbol of luck and good fortune in many ancient, eastern religions, such as Hinduism. Indeed, many Canadians adhere to these faiths and have a positive understanding of the swastika.
Swastika Trail got its name with those happy connotations in mind and is part of local heritage, say the name’s defenders.
They can also point out that in a Nov. 1 neighbourhood association vote, the majority of residents wanted to keep Swastika Trail.
Yet despite this worthwhile exercise in local democracy, the Swastika Trail name should go.
The name “swastika” is unredeemable, unsalvageable. The monstrosities with which it is linked can never be forgotten or replaced by any of the symbol’s benign meanings. The remaining question is: Who should change the name? Puslinch Township officials are reviewing the issue, which is complicated by the fact that Swastika Trail is a privately owned road, not a public one. The township does, nonetheless, have the power to intervene. It would be better, however, if the residents listened to all those who sincerely want a new name, and this includes Canadian Second World War veterans and many members of Canada’s Jewish community.
The residents can fix this problem themselves. We respectfully suggest a name change would do this.