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The Whittier Museum

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Mark Your

Calendar!

Sept. 24

Scouting Heritage

merit badge in

conjunction with our

Boy Scouts of

America exhibit,

1 p.m.

Nov. 18

Night at Museum,

6:30-9:30 p.m. Come

experience great

wine, beer and

festive food while

listening to toe-

tapping music. Visit

whittiermuseum.org

for ticket information

The mission of the Whittier

Historical Society is to

collect, preserve, and

exhibit materials of

historical and cultural

significance to the history

of the greater Whittier

area.

History behind Nazi flag

On July 21 the

Whittier Museum

received considera-

ble attention when

an image of a redis-

covered Nazi flag

was posted on our Face-

book page. The flag was

discovered by former

Historical Society Presi-

dent Tracy Wittman and

myself, a current muse-

um board member, when

making renovations to

the museum’s textiles

room.

The flag had been

tucked above rows of

military uniforms in a

box plainly labeled

“Nazi Flag” that went

unnoticed for some time.

When it was unfurled

the museum staff was

stunned at the excellent

condition and gigantic

size of the flag, measur-

ing at nearly 15 feet long

and 9 feet wide with

minimal damage. Some

of the first responses on

Facebook consisted of

negative remarks rang-

ing from calling our

post: offensive, disre-

spectful, in bad taste,

insensitive, one mother

refusing to bring her

daughter to the Museum

and another assuming

Whittier would become

associated with Nazism

as a result of our post.

Despite these criticisms

the post sparked several

debates among com-

menters and Museum

staff about the im-

portance of exhibiting

Flag/Page 2

By Nicholas Edmeier

Board Member

Photo by Tim Traeger

Whittier Historical Society board member Nicholas Edmeier exam-

ines a World War II Nazi flag that was discovered in the Museum’s

textile room on July 21.

P a g e 2

T h e W h i t t i e r M u s e u m G a z e t t e

2016-2017

Board of Directors

President: Stephanie Butler

Vice Presidents: Lydia Espinoza

and Roxy White Ornelas

Treasurer: Nicholas Teel

Secretary: Erin Fletcher Singley

Lisa Abbate

Virginia (Ginny) Ball

Virginia Boles

Joseph Dmohowski

Judi Henderson

Paul Moore

Sean Thomsen

Nicholas Edmeier

Lorayne Horka

Cassidy Russell

Leslie Wilson

John Garside

Bailey House Coordinator

Tracy Wittman

Executive Director

Tim Traeger

Office Manager

Kyle Smith

Whittier Museum’s

Key Patrons 2015-2016

BCM Foundation

Ceres Foundation

The City of Whittier

Employees Community Fund

Of Boeing California

Don Knabe, LA County

Supervisor 4th District

National Charity League

Ralph M. Parsons Foundation

Southern California Edison

Robert & Virginia (Ginny) Ball

Rev. Tom & Virginia Boles

Bob & Judi Henderson

Sylvia Foltz

Dolores Gonzalez-Hayes

Barbara & Don L. Jenkins

Ralph & Jeanne Muhlestein

Erika Owens

Flag/From the front page

history’s darkest moments

and its relation to current

generations. When the

photo was posted the mu-

seum staff had no idea

where this flag came from

and regrettably had no sto-

ry to connect with the post,

leaving it open to debate.

In order to understand

the complete history of our

Nazi flag and its arrival in

the U.S., I first consulted

with an expert on Nazi his-

tory from the Simon Wie-

senthal Center and to get

an opinion about our Face-

book post. I met with Aa-

ron Breitbart, a 33-year

researcher and history

teacher with the Museum

of Tolerance who was kind

enough to meet with me

and lend his expertise for

our benefit. Together we

looked at photos of the flag

and he proceeded to tell

me everything he knew

about what kind of flag we

owned, along with other

important details. By the

end of our meeting Aaron

expressed his appreciation

for our post and became

very interested in the pro-

gress that would follow.

The Nazi flag we have

is one of two designs

called a

Reichskriegsflagge, the

German Imperial War

Flag, one that was person-

ally designed by Adolf

Hitler. The Imperial War

Flag is an official military

banner that’s been used by

the German army since the

mid-19th century that

would bear the coat of

arms and national colors;

this type of flag was used

for the last time after the

fall of the Third Reich in

1945. The Nazi war flag

was first raised in 1935

outside the Bendlerblock

Building in Berlin which

was the headquarters for

the Kriegsmarine, the Nazi

Navy. Because of this it is

often referred to as a navy

flag when it was actually

used by all divisions of the

German military, including

the Heer (army) and Luft-

waffe (air force). The

Reichskriegsflagge is also

known for being the flag

new recruits would swear

their allegiance to Hitler

and the Third Reich when

joining the Nazi Party.

The Whittier Museum’s

flag is the second version

first used in 1938; the two

designs are distinguished

by the change in the thick-

ness of white and black on

the Nordic cross around

the swastika. After the de-

feat of the Nazis it was

common for soldiers to

take home spoils of war

ranging from flags, weap-

ons, uniforms, etc.

When the flag is re-

versed you can see at the

top a label printed in faint

gray across the white trim-

ming: OZ Reichskriegsllg

3x5. It was common for

the German military to put

a seal of approval on their

products, such as the

Waffenamt Code that were

regulated by the German

Army Weapons Agency.

Aaron confirmed that

“Reichskriegsllg” was an

abbreviation for

Reichskriegsflagge. The

accompanying numbers

3x5 were revealed to be

the flag’s exact measure-

ments in meters. The

Reichskriegsflagge had to

be produced the exact

same size every time be-

cause it was always raised

at the soldiers’ barracks.

Unfortunately finding out

what OZ stands for has

been difficult, especially

since the majority of this

print has been smudged.

This is most likely an ab-

breviation for the particu-

lar company that produced

the flag.

However, the smallest

piece of evidence that can

be missed is located next

to the 3x5. Handwritten in

faint brown, almost faded

away, is the word

“Strasbourg.” Strasbourg is

one of the largest cities on

the French and German

Flag/Page 3

P a g e 3 V o l u m e 4 3 N u m b e r 9

border. This was most likely written

by the soldier who took possession of

this flag and attempted to write the

name of the place he was either cur-

rently in or specifically where the flag

came from. Aaron explained that one

of the most notorious concentration

camps was located near Strasbourg

called Natzweiler-Struthof. It was lib-

erated by French and American forces

in 1944 during which they discovered

the Nazis’ attempt to create a Jewish

skeleton display that would show the

inferiority of non-Aryan biology along

with a crematorium specifically de-

signed to heat the soldiers’ barracks.

Was our soldier present during the lib-

eration of this camp or had he simply

been present during the liberation of

Strasbourg? And if so who is he?

This has been the most puzzling mys-

tery since rediscovering our Nazi war

flag. Museum records document that

the flag was donated in 1986 by Mr. &

Mrs. Leonard Norman; regrettably no

other story was accompanied with the

donation. I attempted to find the Nor-

mans, but they had long been gone

from their home on Ahmann Avenue

and no one else has been able to sup-

ply information on them. The mys-

tery unfolded more when several

Whittier residents claimed that the

flag was originally brought to the U.S.

by Bill Baker, now deceased as of

2013. Bill Baker’s sister-in-law, Nan-

cy, and biological sister, Murad, have

both been helpful in discovering more

about Bill. Regrettably neither sister

knew about the Nazi flag but con-

firmed that Bill was in World War II

along with his brother, Lindy, who

died earlier in 2000. Both families re-

gret that the brothers shared little of

their personal experiences during the

war. If Bill, possibly even Lindy,

brought the flag to the U.S. how did it

become donated by the Normans?

This is the more tragic side of the his-

torian who encounters broken pieces

to a story they’re looking to finish and

must rely on speculation. If Bill

brought the Nazi flag to the U.S. did

he at some point give it to the Nor-

mans who would then donate it to the

Museum?

“Know and not promote.” That was

Aaron’s advice when discussing our

Facebook post, especially in regard to

a topic like intolerance. The whole

point of this research has become

based on something else Aaron point-

ed out about the “battle for memory”

in how we struggle with preserving

the memories of tragedies in today’s

world.

Some Facebookers saw the post as a

symbol of hate still felt in today’s cul-

ture, which is true, but the counter ar-

guments understood this is history, an

established fact no one should hide or

minimize.

The Whittier Museum is a historical

institution whose purpose is to pre-

serve and educate. We have never pro-

moted and never will promote any

type of fanatic group. Our duty as a

museum is to show our guests the evi-

dence of the past, explain what we

know happened and hope this infor-

mation will benefit their lives with

valuable knowledge that makes them

aware of consequences committed by

previous people. The Whittier Muse-

um is not just about the city’s history.

It is part of a global history because

our residents have gone beyond the

city streets and have become part of

the bigger world of politics, cultural

change and war.

Nicholas Edmeier is a Whittier His-

torical Society docent, board mem-

ber and student at Whittier College.

Flag/From Page 2

Historic Bailey Houses span the United States! The Jonathan Bailey House is familiar to most WHS members as the first home in

the City of Whittier. The house was built in the late 1860s and Quakers Jonathan

and Rebecca Bailey moved into the modest home on Camilla Street in 1887. The

house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But did you know that

there are actually two Jonathan Bailey houses listed on the National Register?

The second Bailey house was built in 1825 in Yates County, New York and is a

fine example of late-Federal/Greek Revival style architecture. The New York

Bailey is not related to the Whittier Bailey. But wait—there’s more! Gordon Joyce

(great, great grandson of Jonathan and Rebecca Bailey) reported that there is in

fact a third Bailey House on the National Register. The third Bailey House be-

longed to missionary Edward Bailey (again, no relation to the Whittier Baileys) who

built one of the first western style houses in Wailuku on the island of Maui in 1833. It is now a history and art museum

owned by the Maui Historical Society.

Bailey House Museum in Maui, Hawaii

WHITTIER HISTORICAL

SOCIETY & MUSEUM

6755 Newlin Ave.

Whittier, CA 90601

NON-PROFIT ORG.

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

WHITTIER, CA

PERMIT #202

We are overwhelmed

by the generosity of our

supporters and mem-

bers who answered the

call and donated money

to replace our old gal-

vanized plumbing with

new copper fittings.

We’ve made a great

start to reach our goal

and want to thank each

patron who contributed

to this fund. However,

we still need your help

to resolve the issue

completely. Any amount

will suffice. Your tax-

deductible contribution

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the rest of the way and,

effectively, keep our

collections above water.

Thanks again for your

support.