Professor Walter's History Lessons

The Forbidden Swastika

Throughout the western world the swastika is the forbidden symbol of the Nazi Party.  In some countries displaying anything related to the Nazi party for any reason other than academic will result in eight years of prison.  It is reasonable to expect that the pain the symbol represented is still strong even after so many years.  What must be understood though is that the Nazi Party appropriated a symbol, that was quite popular throughout the world, for their own purposes.  The swastika was a good luck charm for early aviators, a symbol Native Americans, and is prominent in a collection of eastern religions.  The popularity was prevalent throughout the United States prior to WWII and its image can be seen on many historic landmarks throughout the country including the Garfield Monument (President James A. Garfield's tomb), the Yale University library, and the entrance to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The rise in popularity of the swastika can be traced to the late 18th century work of Heinrich Schliemann who discovered the symbol at the site of the ancient city of Troy.  He noticed startling similarities between the swastikas in Troy and ones found on ancient pots in Germany and theorized that the swastika was a significant religious symbol of remote ancestors.  As a result, by the early 20th century, the symbol was used worldwide and considered a symbol of good luck and success.

Trouble arose when the work of Schliemann was used by the völkisch movements which grew out of German romantic nationalism.  Soon the swastika became the symbol of the "Aryan race" which was the supposed nordic master race that originated in northern Europe.  n 1920 the swastika was adopted as the symbol of the Nazi party.  In 1925 Adolph Hitler created a new national flag based on it.

I myself, meanwhile, after innumerable attempts, had laid down a final form; a flag with a red background, a white disk, and a black swastika in the middle. After long trials I also found a definite proportion between the size of the flag and the size of the white disk, as well as the shape and thickness of the swastika.

At the end of WWII the swastika became associated with hate groups, and the original distinction it once held was never restored.  Steven Heller, an American art director, journalist, critic, author, editor specializing in graphic design, wrote a book on the possible redemption of the swastika. 

It is safe to say that while the swastika maintains the stigma it does in living memory it will never recover from the atrocities in the past that are tied to it.

-Professor Walter

A genius in life, a secret in death

Born on January 2, 1920 as Issac Yudovich Ozimov in Russia, Issac Asimov went on to become one of the most prolific writers of the 20th century.  In his time he wrote or edited over 500 books and was a professor of biochemistry at Boston University.  While his life was well known and his legacy survives in books such as iRobot and the Foundation Series his death was purposefully obscured for a decade.

In 1977 Asimov had a heart attack and in 1983 triple bypass surgery.  During the procedure he required a blood transfusion.  When he died in 1992 his brother had reported that he died of heart and kidney failure.  The truth was that he was one of the millions of victims of AIDS.  At the time Asimov wanted to come forward and let the world know what had happened to him, but his doctors warned him against it  for fear that anti-AIDS prejudice, which was prevalent at the time, would extend to his family.  After Asimov's death, his family considered releasing the information, but the controversy which erupted after USA Today forced tennis player Arthur Ashe to announce his own infection convinced them not to. 

Ten years later, after most of Asimov's doctors had died, it was decided that the truth would be made public.

-Professor Walter

Sherlock Holmes's Pipe

The traditional view of the world's most famous detective Sherlock Holmes always includes his trademark calabash pipe.  But, this is not quite accurate.  In fact Holmes, as drawn by the original artist Sidney Pagat, used a long-stemmed (chuchwarden) pipe.  The calabash pipe actually has a mellowing effect upon the smoking mixture, which would have been against Holmes's preference to strong harsh tobacco.

The truth behind the pipe comes from the stage performances of Sherlock Holmes by William Gillette.  As an actor on the stage he chose the calabash pipe because of its low center of gravity which allows the smoker to hold the pipe in the mouth alone.  That way he was free to act with both hands, but still keep the pipe in his mouth.    The popularized pipe of Sherlock Holmes was used by Basil Rathbone in motion pictures and became a part of the Holmes legend, even though it is a pipe he would not have smoked.

-Professor Walter