Nazi artefacts bearing prohibited symbols are being openly sold in Australia three years after the federal government made it illegal to do so, with vendors claiming they are doing so for ‘educational’ reasons. The government in 2023 outlawed the display and trade of items bearing the Nazi Hakenkreuz (swastika) and double-sig rune that was the logo of the Schutzstaffel (SS), after multiple states passed similar laws that banned the display of Nazi symbols and the performance of the Nazi salute.
The laws included exemptions for religious, academic, educational, artistic, literary or scientific purposes. However, it appears that some vendors are exploiting these exemptions, with Guardian Australia identifying Australian sellers of military antiques listing German military items that appear to be from the Nazi era and bear the Hakenkreuz or double-sig rune. These vendors claim to be selling the items for ‘educational’ or ‘research purposes’.
Kurt Coleman Military Antiques, a business with a registered address in Queensland’s Sunshine Coast region, had 25 pages of Nazi-era German military and related items for sale on its website. The listings included military booklets, pins, badges, rings, officer’s tunics, officer’s caps, and weaponry with visible swastikas and other Nazi imagery. One of the highest-priced items was a white porcelain vase with an embossed Nazi eagle for $2,500.
Henry’s Military Collectibles, based in Western Australia, also had multiple German Nazi-era military items listed for sale, including multiple war merit crosses, belt buckles, and a Luftschutz (civil air defence) helmet. The items appear in the listing images to have stickers placed over the offending symbols. The website claims that Henry’s Military Collectibles only deals with products of historical value for collectors, museums, and research purposes, and does not associate with National Socialism or the Third Reich period.
A spokesperson for the Australian federal police said that the AFP has engaged with auction houses in relation to the sale and public display of items containing prohibited symbols, but would not confirm details of ongoing assessments and investigations. Associate professor Romain Fathi, a military historian at the Australian National University, noted that the collection of military and war-related objects is not neutral, and that the same object can have vastly different meanings based on the hand that is holding it, and the motivations of keeping the objects.
Fathi also stated that Nazi or Third Reich collecting has different implications to collecting items from other historical periods, and that these objects are not playthings, but objects of death, by a regime characterised by death. When individuals find power and fascination in them, that becomes very dangerous.
