The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

Swastika

Our house was built by a Jew. The foyer by the front door has
a tile floor. Several of the tiles look like the swastika,
most commonly known as the symbol of the Nazi party in 1930's
and 1940's Germany. One day I received a visitor who noticed
the swastikas. He asked me if I was Jewish. I said no and
asked him why he asked. He said, "Because you have the Jewish
peace symbol on your floor." I must have looked very surprised
because he went on hurriedly to explain that what was on the
floor was not the Nazi symbol. Hitler had taken the Jewish
peace symbol and turned it around so that its points faced in
the opposite direction of the original shape as an insult to
the Jews. What was on my floor was the original shape.

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT