{"id":1782,"date":"2014-11-13T09:20:51","date_gmt":"2014-11-13T14:20:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?p=1782"},"modified":"2025-10-16T16:07:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T20:07:09","slug":"famous-bridge-opens-nazi-flag-is-ripped","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/famous-bridge-opens-nazi-flag-is-ripped\/","title":{"rendered":"Famous bridge opens; infamous Nazi flag is ripped"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"White<\/a>
White flag atop the Brooklyn Bridge. Photo by Elizabeth Graham. Click to view The Brooklyn Paper article.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A flag and a famous bridge were recently linked when two German artists\/activists climbed the Brooklyn Bridge<\/span><\/a> to fling two white-washed American flags to the breeze. They later claimed that they were honoring \u201cthe beauty of public space\u201d and saluting the German-born architect who designed the span.<\/p>\n

In 1937, another famous bridge, on the verge of its grand opening, was connected to an infamous flag \u2013 again with a German connection.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A pass for Pedestrian Day and the fiesta<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The occasion was the debut of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. All sorts of revelry were planned, including opening the span to pedestrian traffic before cars were allowed on it. The City by the Bay also sponsored a fiesta of nations, with flags from all over the world flying above downtown streets.<\/p>\n

\"Before<\/a>
Before and after photos of the Nazi flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The problem was that one of those flags was the swastika banner of Nazi Germany. Even though World War II was two years in the future and four years from involving America, members of the International Longshoremen\u2019s Union were displeased with that flag\u2019s waving over their hometown.<\/p>\n

On the day before the bridge opened, they did something about it. As the Associated Press reported in newspapers throughout the nation, the union\u2019s members \u201cbearing a long pole fitted with a cutting device tore the flag from its overhead wire, leaving only a tattered shred fluttering over the street.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their action won hoorahs from anti-fascist groups and Jewish organizations, but it miffed the German ambassador in Washington, D.C.<\/span><\/a>, already upset by the Hindenburg disaster earlier in May. Mayor Angelo Rossi of San Francisco<\/span><\/a> issued a quick apology. \u201cAll nations have been invited to the fiesta,\u201d he explained, \u201cand I think it is very unbecoming\u2026to ask that [the Nazi insignia] be removed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mayor<\/a>
Mayor Rossi shows NYC Mayor LaGuardia the new bridge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An editorial in a Portland, Oregon, newspaper backed the mayor. The Nazi flag, it stated, \u201crepresent[s] a great and friendly nation\u2026.The incident itself is stupid and provoking.\u201d<\/p>\n

In San Francisco, The Chronicle observed that \u201ca few foolish individuals\u201d desecrated the Nazi flag and would be dealt with accordingly. Otherwise, it said, the incident was not a big deal.<\/p>\n

The biggest deal would occur in 1941. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in December, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. In response, the Chronicle declared that \u201cthe stake now is more than even the life of the Nation. It is the life of free civilization; it is the preservation\u2026of all we have won.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A flag and a famous bridge were recently linked when two German artists\/activists climbed the Brooklyn Bridge to fling two white-washed American flags to the breeze. They later claimed that they were honoring \u201cthe beauty of public space\u201d and saluting the German-born architect who designed the span. In 1937, another famous bridge, on the verge… continue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3,234,112],"class_list":["post-1782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history-lessons","tag-history","tag-nazi-flag","tag-world-war-ii"],"yoast_head":"\nFamous bridge opens; infamous Nazi flag is ripped<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In 1937, a famous bridge, on the verge of its grand opening, was connected to the infamous Nazi flag \u2013 a German connection.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/famous-bridge-opens-nazi-flag-is-ripped\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Famous bridge opens; 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