German court says Nazi slogan is legal in English

BERLIN, Friday

Nazis slogans banned in Germany may be legal if they are translated from German into English, one of the country’s highest courts has ruled.

The Federal Court of Justice said it had rescinded a conviction against a man fined 4,200 euros ($5,993) for possessing 100 T-shirts due for sale emblazoned with the words ‘Blood & Honour’ –– a translation of the Hitler Youth slogan ‘Blut und Ehre’.

The display of Nazi symbols is forbidden in Germany, but the court said the context of the original phrase had been sufficiently distorted to render its usage legal. The court added, however, the man could still be convicted of using the English phrase ‘Blood & Honour’ because it was also the name of a far-right organisation. –Reuters