Swastika in Flashbacks?
In episode 4 of Manhattan, Frank Winter has a flashback while walking alone through the desert at night. He sees a dead german soldier lieing on his stomach. On the back of the helmet there is a swastika (the sign of the nazis in WW2). As far as I know, the flashbacks are set in World War 1 (since it is Frank himself, fighting in this war).
So how can the soldier have a swastika (also with an imperial eagle holding it) on his helmet?
Did I get something wrong or is this a mistake in the series?!
Best Answer
The use of the Swastika prior to WW2 and the Nazi party's use of it, was very common. It is (was) a general symbol of luck through many cultures. Even the Boy Scouts of America, American Soldiers, and Coca Cola used it! It was not uncommon to find it used throughout WW1. One notable one is the French and American fighter pilot Captain Raoul Lufbery, whom flew a American SPAD with the Swastika on it:
The Imperial Eagle dates back to Roman times, and has constantly been in use. German has used the Imperial Eagle during WW1:
But that specific image used on that helmet, of a flying Imperial Eagle holding the Swastika is the Luftwaffe Second Pattern emblem, used by the German Luftwaffe (Almost Literally: Air Force) of Nazi Germany before and during WW2 (1935 to 1946)
As others have mentioned, the decal is placed on the side of the helmet, never the back.
The helmet doesn't match the standard Luftwaffe WW2 helmets either. It does seem to look like a M1918 WW1 helmet, given its very large rear slope.
As Frank is shown to be in WW1 trench warfare, where the use of Mustard Gas was most common, the wrongful depiction of a WW2 emblem design on a WW1 helmet is completely out of place. A production gaffe at best.
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Sashika Nisansala with Flashback - Delathura 2018
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Answer 2
This seems to be a mistake commited by the props-section of the producers. What you see there, is a Luftwaffe Decal (specifically Wehrmacht, 1935-1945). This could have been some symbolism, but what is really weird, is the location of this Luftwaffe decal/sticker/logo. They were absolutely never (never ever) applied, on the back above the liner rivet behind, which is what we see here. They were always applied on the left side, 3mm (standard) beneath the ventilation holes. German factories and workers did not make such mistakes - at least not to place it behind!
This looks a lot like someone who happened to have a helmet and a decal, and just put them together for fun, and then this ended up in some movie-props storage. Since you guys said that it is WWI, then it is also impossible that this decal would have been there.
Answer 3
The Swastika is a symbol has been around for ages. Heinrich Schliemann found it on the Troy-site where after it grew as a symbol of "Good luck" around the world. Later on it changed to the symbol of Nazism.
Although I didn't know this was used in WWI it pretty much makes sense to wish the soldiers good luck.
You can read more about it on Wikipedia.
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