Synthstuff - music, photography and more...

A bit of misdirected symbolism

An organization is redacting a symbol they have used for 317 years because some people say it looks like a symbol used 60 years ago. From the London Daily Mail:

Barclays removes 'Nazi' eagle from headquarters
Barclays' iconic eagle emblem that has stood on top of one of its major buildings for 30 years has been removed - after reports that it looked like a Nazi symbol.

The three-and-a-half tonne eagle was taken down from its 117ft perch on the top of Barclays House in Poole, Dorset.

The bankers said that the decision to remove the logo, which is 317-years-old, was because it was out-of-date branding.

But there have been reports that the company's new Dutch partner, ABN Amro, does not like the emblem because it has Nazi connotations.

Barclays House was built in 1976 when the enormous eagle was perched on top - yet it could easily be mistaken for a 1930s Berlin building.

One Barclays insider said: "It is rather a Teutonic looking eagle and has unfortunate connotations."

The 14ft wide aluminium bird had become a defining sight in the centre of Poole on top of the building where over 2,500 people work.

A poll in the town showed that 93 per cent of people wanted it kept.

The Barclays eagle predates the Nazi era by about 230 years, dating back to 1690 when its predecessor bank set up in Lombard Street in the City of London.

Over the years the image has been modified many times, the last being in 2004.

An eagle has featured in the German coat of arms for 800 years and was modified by the Nazis and put on a swastika in 1935.

A spokesman for Barclays said: "It's nothing sinister. The eagle is coming down purely because it is out of date branding.

Christ on a corn-dog -- there is no similarity at all. Damn political-correctness weenies should be taken out back of the barn and soundly thrashed -- mucking up the world for everyone. After all, 93% of the people wanted to keep it. Posted by DaveH at August 21, 2007 2:47 PM