A Georgia elementary school is under fire for its new logo that some parents insist resembles a Nazi symbol — prompting district officials to halt its rollout.
The new logo for East Side Elementary in Marietta was unveiled Monday, depicting the school’s eagle mascot along with its initials in blue font.
A message to parents said it was selected to “represent the eagle soaring into excellence,” as well as to honor the school’s history, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
But parents and other eagle-eyed observers, including some from the American Jewish Committee, quickly noted its “striking and uncomfortable” resemblance to the Nazi eagle.
“This only clarifies the urgent need for comprehensive Holocaust education at all level,” the advocacy group tweeted Tuesday.
The Nazi eagle, also known as the Nazi war eagle, is listed among hate symbols by the Anti-Defamation League. It was developed by Germany’s Nazi Party in the 1920s, based loosely on traditional German coats of arms.
The symbol initially featured an eagle gripping a swastika, but other variations depict SS bolts or a Celtic Cross, according to the ADL.
“It should be noted that eagles are a common symbol among nations worldwide, including the United States, and not every image of an eagle is derivative of the Nazi eagle,” ADL’s website states.
The rollout of the new logo has since been halted and officials are “immediately reviewing needed changes,” a district spokeswoman confirmed Thursday to The Post.
The design was actually based on a US Army symbol, district officials said.
“We understand and strongly agree that similarities to Nazi symbols are unacceptable,” the statement continued. “Although this design was based on the U.S. Army colonel’s eagle wings, stakeholder input has been and continues to be important to our schools.”
Mike Albuquerque, a father of two students set to attend East Side Elementary when classes resume, said he didn’t want them showing their support by wearing the symbol.
“I don’t want to see my kids wearing that on their shirt,” he told the Journal-Constitution. “Really it’s a big oversight of the county and everyone involved in the process who reviewed that, to not call out the fact that this looks like Nazi iconography. Or maybe, who knows, somebody did call it out and it wasn’t heard.”
Cobb County Schools is Georgia’s second-largest school district. East Side Elementary is also located across the street from a synagogue, the newspaper reported.
Rabbi Amanda Flaks told WSB-TV she was flabbergasted upon seeing the logo.
“I thought, ‘That looks off, that makes me feel uncomfortable,’ and I came back to it a few times and I felt more and more uncomfortable and sick each time,” Flaks said.
The Nazi war eagle has been used recently by neo-Nazi sympathizers, Flaks said, adding that she contacted the school and got an apology.
“I’m very hurt on a lot of levels,” she continued. “My children are great-grandchildren of someone who fled the Nazi regime in Germany and survived the Holocaust.”
Stacy Efrat, who is Jewish, said she was similarly outraged.
“I want to see the logo not only taken away, I want a direct apology to our community,” Efrat told WSB-TV. “Not just the Jewish community, but the entire community. We need to acknowledge that they are similar and the school needs to immediately apologize and remove it.”
