"Ask the Rabbi" by R. Mermelstein

In reference to your reply to a query about the prevalence of Nazi regalia at gun shows:

I, too, find Nazi regalia repugnant, and fully agree that its omnipresence at gun shows gives the false and regrettable impression that there is some natural association of guns with Nazism.

However, I have known people who collect, or at least possess Nazi artifacts, and not one of these people whom I have known had the slightest sympathy for the Nazis or their evil ideas or actions. Undoubtedly there are some collectors of Nazi junk who are also Nazis, racists, or sympathizers, but my impression is that most collectors of these items regard them as trophies and memorials of the struggle against and defeat of Nazism, in the same way that some tribes collect the heads or other memorabilia of their defeated enemies. A similar mentality seems to apply to collectors of communist, WW2 Japanese, and other totalitarian memorabilia. This is not to defend such activity, but simply my attempt to understand it.

Is this a reasonable assessment, or am I being too soft on an odious hobby? Would it be worthwhile to encourage these collectors or dealers to be more explicit in their repudiation of the ideas behind their collectibles?

Sincerely,

Peter Brow

I believe my comments on Nazi memorabilia being repugnant was only directed at those who feel a deranged kinship with what these items represent. If you were to poll collectors of WWII souvenirs, especially those of Nazi origin, you'd likely get both truthful and untruthful reasons for their hobby. While the First Amendment certainly protects "The Turner Diaries" and "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion", we must put up with it along with the quasi First Amendment protection that pornography enjoys. If a collector is a serious history buff, and likes collecting such objects from that standpoint, no one can have any serious objection. Unfortunately, the Nazi regalia collector with copies of the mentioned anti Semitic books on his shelf, does need to run a software virus scan on himself, if he has any ethical brain matter at all. It is all very subjective, as you seem to understand.

Sincerely,

R. Mermelstein