Russian Telegram channels used photos of Third Reich Christmas decorations, some of which were previously exhibited in German museums. A picture of a box with Christmas balls with Nazi symbols was first posted online in 2011, two other pictures of swastika decorations were taken in 2013 at the Ulm Museum. The post also used a photo of a “Christmas decoration patriotic set” from the free advertising platform OLX. However, this product has not had any offers and it may have been deliberately put up for sale as a provocation, as evidenced by the information in the seller’s profile.
Photos of decorations with swastikas, which are allegedly used to decorate Christmas trees in Ukraine, are circulating on the Internet. The reports say that such sets can easily be bought on the Ukrainian online advertising and sale platform OLX.
“Nazism is flourishing in Ukraine. Toys for children, clothes, souvenirs and now — Christmas decorations. Enemy ideology is increasing. It dominates all spheres of life and absorbs children’s consciousness,” reads the caption to these photos. The photos are posted by the Novorossia Militia Reports Telegram channel.
In reality, pictures of Christmas tree decorations with swastikas and other Nazi symbols have nothing to do with Ukraine. They depict Third Reich Christmas baubles, some of which were previously exhibited in German museums.
StopFake journalists uncovered that two photos showing Christmas decorations with Nazi symbols on a Christmas tree were taken back in 2013, in Ulm, at the Museum Brot und Kunst exhibition of Third Reich Christmas tree ornaments. There are many publications about this exhibition in German, English and Russian.
Bild writes that the purpose of this exhibition is to demonstrate how Nazi ideology used and distorted Christmas symbols for propaganda purposes.
These photos can be purchased on the German photo agency pa Picture-Alliance website. The description of the photos states that they were taken on November 27, 2013. They depict Third Reich Christmas tree decorations with swastikas and the slogan “Sieg Heil”.
Another photo — a box of baubles with swastikas — also shows Christmas decorations from the German Nazi regime. This photo was uploaded to the photo-sharing website Flickr in 2011. The photo caption reads: “Nazi Christmas ornaments”.
One of the published photos was taken from an ad selling Christmas toys on the olx.ua website. In the ad photos, you can see Christmas baubles with the Azov battalion emblem, the NATO logo, as well as the inscriptions Glory of the Ukrainian Forces, Right Sector, etc. Along with absolutely legal symbols, the set includes the emblem of the SS unit Dead Head and a cross reminiscent of the Nazi Iron Cross. However, this gift set was not getting many proposals and its seller had not received any feedback. In addition, the author has not visited the platform since December 20, that is, from the day the announcement was published. We also note that the seller’s profile states that he signed up on the platform in December 2022, and this is his first listing. As a reminder, anyone can register on the olx.ua website and put their goods up for sale. As of now, this advertisement has been removed.
At the same time, a Google search for the words “buy patriotic Christmas decorations” did not show any such similar products. According to this search, Ukrainian online stores offer jewelry in national colors, with a trident and the inscriptions Ukrainian Armed Forces, Glory to Ukraine! etc.
Previously, StopFake analyzed similar disinformation in the story Photofake: Zelensky handed the flag of Ukraine “with SS runes” to the US Congress.
