The Finnish Air Force, now part of NATO, announced its intention to gradually remove swastikas from its unit flags, while emphasizing that this symbol has no connection to Nazi Germany, having been adopted since 1918, before the Nazi regime emerged.

Tomi Poom, the new commander of the Finnish Air Defense Squadron, said: “We could have continued using this flag, but sometimes sensitive situations arise with foreign visitors. It might be wise to keep up with the times.”

Changes have occurred over the years; the Finnish swastika was removed from the Air Force Command unit emblem a few years ago. However, swastikas remained on some Finnish Air Force flags, which sometimes surprised NATO allies, tourists, and other foreigners who see them during military events.

Reasons for Removal

The Air Force, which has used the swastika since its founding in 1918, is removing it from flags raised during ceremonial occasions. Its leaders, who have been gradually erasing the symbol for years, stated that the new flag design will better reflect the “current identity” of the Air Force.

Colonel Tomi Poom told Finland’s public broadcaster Yle: “We could have continued using this flag, but sometimes embarrassing situations arise with foreign visitors.” He added, “It might be wise to keep up with the times.”

The new emblem to be used on flags will feature a golden eagle flying over a blue circle, surrounded by wings.

The swastika was a common, harmless symbol until adopted by the German Nazi Party as the permanent emblem of its genocidal regime.

It remains a symbol of intolerance, used by neo-Nazis and others to threaten Jews and other minorities. Many European countries, including Germany, have banned its public display, and Finnish lawmakers have considered similar legislation.

Reason for Use

Finland experienced a civil war in 1918 between socialist and conservative camps, just one year after gaining independence from Russia.

After the conservatives’ victory, the swastika became the distinctive emblem of the Finnish Air Force, used on its aircraft ever since.

Its use is a legacy of Swedish aristocrat Eric von Rosen, who painted it on a plane he donated to the anti-communist Finnish forces during the civil war following Finland’s independence.

Von Rosen used the swastika as a personal good luck symbol, though his later association with Nazi figures increased controversy.

The Finnish military has gradually been phasing out the swastika. The Finnish Air Force command announced it removed the emblem from its insignia in 2017. In 2020, some observers noted the emblem had quietly been removed from uniforms and official websites.

Outside Europe, the swastika is a sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and other cultures, a status that has caused confusion and reconsiderations.

In a controversial announcement before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, a Japanese mapping agency said it would stop using the “mangi” symbol, which resembles the swastika, to mark temples, hoping to avoid situations where visitors might confuse it with a Nazi symbol.

Bad Image for a New NATO Member

The Ministry of Defense told the Associated Press on Friday that a plan to renew Air Force unit flags was launched in 2023, the year Finland joined NATO, but denied it was related to NATO membership. The goal is to “update the symbolism and emblems of the flags to better reflect the current identity of the Air Force.”

It referred to an article published in the Helsinki Sanomat newspaper on Friday, which said the removal was due to the belief that the swastika was an “embarrassing symbol in international contexts.”

Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, joined NATO in April 2023 due to concerns over Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Teivo Tivenin, a global politics professor at the University of Helsinki, said the flags in question were introduced in the 1950s and are currently flown by four Air Force units.

Tivenin, who published a book this month titled “The History of the Swastika,” said the Air Force and the Finnish people insisted for years that the swastika used by the Finnish Air Force “has no connection to the Nazi swastika.”

But now, after Finland’s integration into NATO, policymakers have decided “it is necessary to enhance integration with forces from countries like Germany, the Netherlands, and France — countries where the swastika is clearly a negative symbol,” he said.

Tivenin added that in 2021, German Air Force units withdrew from a closing ceremony after exercises at a military base in Finnish Lapland upon learning the Finnish swastika flag would be displayed.

The Defense Forces announced new flags featuring an eagle will be deployed once completed and used in events such as parades and local celebrations, without specifying a date.