Swastika Floor Tiles Adorn Brooklyn Apartment Complex
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Tiles with swastikas on them are found throughout a Greenwood Heights apartment complex, Brooklyn Paper reported Thursday.
Other tiles in the Brooklyn Garden Apartments are emblazoned with crowns, crosses and interlocking circles.
The complex was build in 1928, according to city records, and the architect’s name is illegible.
Vance Koehler, a tile historian, told Brooklyn Paper that the building’s tiles come from Mueller Mosaic Company, a former tile manufacturer based in Trenton, NJ. He said at the time the apartment was built, the swastika was nothing more than a common decorative symbol.
“You’re going to find that swastika symbol in many tile manufacturers of the early 20th century,” Koehler said. “The symbol is very old, and until the Nazis came along, it was a positive symbol.”
The building’s landlord, Isaac Kurtz, said he has no plans to get rid of the swastikas.
“It is just an emblem engraved on the floor,” he said.
Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher
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