A construction firm in Germany is under fire due to a swastika shape which took form from a supposedly fitting of a random set bricks on a public walkway.
The said swastika mistake was spotted by shoppers who were walking that same walkway in the town of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, which is in the northwestern part of Germany. They were the ones who called the authorities who immediately came to inspect the scene.
The use of any Nazi-related symbol is illegal in the country. However, the builders insisted that the bricks laid to take the form of a swastika was done by accident and not intentional.
The said pathway was just recently unveiled. Though the authorities confirmed that there is, indeed, a shape of a swastika on the paved way, they couldn’t determine whether it was laid accidentally or deliberately.
On the other hand, the City Council had ordered it covered the swastika covered up and imposed the builders to rearrange the bricks so as to eradicate the Nazi-related symbol.
Christian Burgart, the spokesman for the council, stated that the swastika, whether intentionally placed or not, has no place in the city, thereby, the council’s prompt action against it. He even strongly added that the (swastika) symbol has nothing to do with the town and has no place in it in whatever circumstances.
A police spokesman also commented that they have no leads regarding the accident, but are keeping their options open and are still investigating. However, the construction company responsible for the new walkway had claimed the shaping of the swastika as an accident and had already replaced it.
The prohibition of the use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations, including that of which the Nazis used, is stated in German law, thus, the ban on the swastika.
Additionally, the ban of the use of the swastika, in any form or shape and even in the most innocent situations, is stated in the German Strafgesetzbuch (Criminal Code) under section 86a.
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