Finland’s Air Force to stop using Swastika on its flag to avoid ‘awkwardness with allies’

The ancient symbol was hijacked by Nazi Germany

Infamously adopted by Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party in 1920 (and still appropriated to this day by neo-Nazis), the 15,000-year-old symbol is associated with Hinduism and Buddhism outside the Western world and holds a sacred meaning in many cultures.

Yet, due to a certain awkwardness linked to genocidal atrocities, its usage over here is slightly frowned upon.

Finland's first move was to pull the swastika from its Air Force Command's imagery several years ago, and now they're taking things further to reflect the times we live in.

Speaking to a state-run broadcaster, the head of Karelia Air Wing air defence force, Tomi Böhm, shared: "We could have continued with this flag, but sometimes awkward situations can arise with foreign visitors. It may be wise to live with the times."

Per The Associated Press, the Nordic country's Defence Forces claimed in an email that the aim is to "update the symbolism and emblems of the flags to better reflect the current identity of the Air Force".

In light of Finland's NATO involvement, the statement revealed "there's now a need to get more integrated with the forces of countries like Germany, the Netherlands, and France — countries where the swastika is clearly a negative symbol.

"The traditional Von Rosen swastika emblem, in use since 1918, has already been removed from most other Air Force emblems during earlier reforms, so its removal from the unit flags is a logical continuation of this work."

Fresh from gaining independence from the Imperial Russians, the swastika first appeared on Finland's Air Force flag two years before Hitler's staining of it.

Instead of red and black, though, the Finnish version took the form of blue on white.

The new flags will be unveiled at a later date, featuring an eagle over a blue circle with white wings.