Finland to remove swastikas from its air force flags

BerlinFinland will remove the swastikas that still fly on the flags of some of its air force units. The decision is intended to avoid controversy and misunderstandings with its Western allies, following the country's accession to NATO in April 2023.

The Air Force had quietly begun removing the gamma cross from its emblem and uniforms in 2020, but some air units have retained the swastika on their flags. They are now removing them under external pressure, the new commander of the Karelian Air Wing (military unit), Colonel Tomi Böhm, acknowledged in statements to Finnish public radio Yle. "We could have continued using that flag [with the swastika], but sometimes awkward situations can arise with foreign visitors. Perhaps it is prudent to adapt to changing times," said Böhm, who assured that there has been no political pressure to remove the gamma cross from their unit flags.

The swastika is an ancient symbol. It was used at least 5,000 years before dictator Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party adopted it as a symbol in an act of cultural appropriation. In fact, the word swastika comes from Sanskrit swastika, what does it mean good fortune either welfare, and is a sacred symbol for Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It adorns temples and homes in India and Indonesia. It is also found in Roman mosaics.

However, in Europe and other parts of the world, this geometric symbol has, since the 1930s, carried a meaning linked to Nazism, anti-Semitism, and the atrocities of Nazi Germany. The gamma cross, banned today along with other Nazi symbols in Germany, has been used by the Finnish Air Force (FAF) since its founding in 1918, years before Hitler came to power.

A symbol of good fortune

The first Finnish Air Force aircraft, a Thulin Type D, was a gift from Swedish Count Eric von Rosen in Finland, which had just gained independence from the Russian Empire in 1917. The Nazi Party, which adopted the swastika as its symbol, was founded two years later in 1920. A blue swastika on a white background was painted on the wings of this first Finnish aircraft, which Count von Rosen considered a personal symbol of good luck. This variant of the swastika was then adopted as the national insignia for all Finnish Air Force aircraft until 1945.

The Finnish Air Force maintains that the use of the swastika on its aircraft had no connection with Nazi Germany, although Finland used it against the Soviet Union, their common enemy. Furthermore, Count von Rosen eventually became one of the leaders of the National Socialist movement in Sweden: he was the brother-in-law of Nazi leader Hermann Göring and a personal friend of Hitler.

After World War II, the Finnish Air Force stopped using the swastika on aircraft, but retained the controversial symbol as the emblem of its central command and on its uniforms. The von Rosen gamma cross was replaced on aircraft from 1945 onwards by a blue and white circular insignia.

The Air Force Central Command removed the swastika from its emblem a few years ago and replaced it with a golden eagle surrounded by a circle of wings. However, some FAF units still use the swastika on their flags, which sometimes led to misunderstandings or awkward situations when carrying out missions abroad.

Finland's defense forces confirmed to the Associated Press (AP) that the plan to renew unit flags was launched in 2023, the year Finland joined NATO, but said the decision was not tied to its accession.

At 1,340 kilometers (830 miles), Finland shares the longest border in the European Union with Russia. Helsinki ended its long-standing policy of non-alignment with NATO membership in 2023 and renounced its neutrality, a historic shift prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.