Danzig use Nazi-associated symbol on new merchandise
American metal band Danzig have been selling merchandise on tour featuring a symbol that was formerly associated with the Nazi Party.
The band, fronted by Glenn Danzig, recently completed a small tour of the West Coast. It began at the Virgin Theater in Las Vegas on March 21st and visited Lincoln, Seattle, Portland, and Los Angeles before concluding on March 30th in Phoenix, Arizona.
During the run of dates, Danzig sold a range of T-shirts and posters featuring the Sonnenrad symbol, also known as the Sunwheel or Black Sun.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, the sonnerad is “one of a number of ancient European symbols appropriated by the Nazis in their attempt to invent an idealised ‘Aryan/Norse’ heritage.”
They continued: “The sonnenrad appears in the traditional symbology of many countries and cultures, including Old Norse and Celtic cultures. It has countless variations; the swastika and similar rounded variants are actually sonnenrad forms, as are certain versions of the Celtic Cross.”
The Anti-Defamation League also addressed the symbol’s links to the Nazi Party, adding, “In Nazi Germany, the Nazi Party, the SA and the SS all used sonnenrad symbology at times, which has led neo-Nazis and other modern white supremacists to adopt such images. One sonnenrad version in particular is popular among white supremacists: two concentric circles with crooked rays emanating from the inner circle to the outer circle.”
Their explanation continues: “Often white supremacists will put another hate symbol such as a swastika in the center of the inner circle.”
Danzig are yet to respond to the criticisms regarding the merchandise which have surfaced on social media during the last 24 hours.
Glenn Danzig is currently scheduled to appear at the Coachella Festival in April on both weekends with The OG Misfits. The Californian festival is set to be headlined by Lady Gaga, Travis Scott, Post Malone and Green Day.
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