As far as displaying Nazi flags goes, the museum professionals I talked to were generally lukewarm. The biggest concern is that a flag can evoke the kind of toxic symbolism and cult aura that fueled the Nazi movement, so museums are careful to choose exhibition strategies carefully.

One such strategy is to display a old nazi flag alongside a plaque that explains its historical significance. This allows the museum to avoid presenting it as a trophy or an icon of hatred and instead highlight its importance as evidence of a particular chapter in history.

Exploring the History of the Old Nazi Flag: From Origins to Modern Controversies

Another is to hang the flag in a space that focuses on the Nazi period and what happened because of it. This can help deconstruct the cult of personality that developed around Hitler and his followers, as well as counteract the tendency to see Nazis as monsters rather than victims of an evil regime.

For example, the new exhibit in Berlin has a Nazi banner alongside a panel that discusses how it was used to persecute Jews, and what happened when the Nazis came to power. The banner was part of the Blutfahne (Bloody Flag) carried by SA troops during the 9 November 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, which left its blood-stained.

The banner was designed by Hitler, casting the black-white-red colors of imperial Germany into a radically new form with a swastika added to suggest that the white race was God’s chosen people. The swastika had been used by earlier nationalist and racist groups like the Thule-Gesellschaft, but it was recast by Hitler’s Nazi Party as a sign of ancient Aryan ancestry.