Trei, Peter wrote:

Bill Stewart wrote:

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Michael Kalus wrote:

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Certain symbols (e.g. Swastika) are forbidden as well. As Tim pointed out, the Swastika symbol had long use before the Nazis picked it up. [...]

Vaguely related....

I used to live in upper Manhattan. One of the subway stops I used was the 190th on the IND ("A" train). This burrows deep under Washington Heights, and has two entrances - a long tunnel which slopes *down* from the station to an exit near Broadway, and an elevator up to Fort Washington Avenue. This section of the line opened in 1932.

The floor of the vestibule of the upper elevator lobby is laid with geometric patterns in red, white, and black terra cotta tiles, and when I moved there in the late 70's I was amused to note that the pattern included 4 swastikas, in black tiles against a white background, about 4 inches across.

Sometime in the late 80's or early 90's, the swastikas where chisled out, and the square areas where they had been crudely filled with concrete.

Ft. Washington Ave by that time had long been an area heavily populated by immigrant Russian Jews. I often wondered exactly what chain of events led to this vandalism.

At least one London Underground station has swastika patterns in its tiles, and apparently did through the War. India House in London, the offices of the Indian High Commission (Commonwealth-speak for "embassy"), has swastikas in the scupltures on the outside walls, and also in murals inside. They would have been there right through WW2, the building is from the 1920s and early 30s. I have no idea if anyone covered them up. http://www.hcilondon.net/aboutus/history-indiahouse.html Its in the Aldwych, right in the middle of London, passed by millions of people every year. (Including me on my way to work). I've never heard of anyone complaining.