*after writing this post I saw that delaware Liberal had also writtena bout it. That post can be foudn by clicking HERE.
ANYWAY – on to my post:
I was watching “The View” this morning and a story got my attention. The story is about a little boy named Adolf Hitler and ShopRite’s refusal to put that name on the boy’s birthday cake. I have to admit that my reaction is probably extremely strong, because I was born and grew up in Germany (the west part of Berlin, to be exact). I grew up with the initials SS because both my first and last name start with the letter S and I did not have a middle name. I was always bothered by that fact, knowing the German history and what those letters meant to many older Germans and Jewish people. When I got married I was very happy that my initials changed, but after getting divorced and obtaining the American citizenship, I wanted to take my maiden name back. However, I could not take back my initials, so I did the one thing that I could do to change it: I took on a middle name and changed my initials from SS to SES. I feel a lot more comfortable writing down my initials or even signing papers using my initials. This was extremely important to me because I wanted to get rid of the negative feeling about my initials.
The topic on TV this morning about this boy really got to me. This innocent child will grow up with a name that has so many negative feelings and attitudes attached top it and will only appeal to people that are, in my opinion, sick anyway – namely Nazis or Neo Nazis. How can anybody name their son Adolf Hitler? The Express Times wrote in its Sunday issue:

Adolf Hitler Campbell — it’s indeed the name on his birth certificate — turns 3 today, and the Campbell family believes the boy has been mistreated. A local supermarket refused to make a birthday cake with “Adolf Hitler” on it.
The ShopRite in Greenwich Township has also refused to make a cake bearing the name of Campbell’s daughter, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell, who turns 2 in February.
Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell, a girl named for Schutzstaffel head Heinrich Himmler, turns 1 in April.

…The Campbells have swastikas in each room of their home, the rented half of a one-story duplex just outside Milford, a borough in Hunterdon County. They say they aren’t racists but believe races shouldn’t mix.

…In the foyer, Heath Campbell, who said he has German ancestry and a relative who fought for the SS, took off boots he said were worn by a Nazi solider named Daniel.
He laid them next to a skull with a swastika on its forehead, the first of dozens of swastikas seen by the Campbells’ rare guests.
There are swastikas on walls, on jackets, on the freezer and on a pillow. The family car had swastikas, Heath Campbell said, until New Jersey’s Department of Children and Families told him they could endanger the children.
The swastikas, Heath Campbell said, are symbols of peace and balance. He considers them art.
“It doesn’t mean hatred to me,” he said. Deborah Campbell said a swastika “doesn’t really have a meaning. It’s just a symbol.”

JUST A SYMBOL??? Some symbols are bound to bring up a lot of emotions and some symbols have a lot of history and negativity attached to them — how about the Rebel Flag? If you fly that flag you have to know and be aware of the fact that some people might feel offended. It’s a risk you take. So if you name your children and decorate your house with Nazi-related items then you need to be aware of the fact that this will cause strong emotions in some people. Just imagine how a Jewish family might feel that lives nearby!
I really feel sorry for these children. I only had to deal with screwed up initials – they have to deal with screwed up names.

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