Was the 2012 Finnish film Iron Sky shown in full in Germany despite the multiple uses of Swastikas?

The Nazi comedy-satire movie Iron Sky features numerous swastikas throughout - on uniforms, buildings, artworks etc.

The German and Austrian postwar criminal code makes the public showing of the Hakenkreuz (the swastika) and other Nazi symbols illegal and punishable, except for scholarly reasons. It is even censored from the illustrations on boxes of model kits, and the decals that come in the box. Modellers seeking an accurate rendition often have to either stencil on the marking, or purchase separate decals.

This film had its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival but I cannot find out if it was shown in full, or if there was a recut version replacing the swastikas with something else (unlikely, they're pretty engrained in the film), or whether their use was just blurred?

Are Swastikas now just shown in movies when released in Germany despite being technically illegal?

censorship iron-sky

Best Answer

I saw the film and I clearly remember seeing some swastikas.

I think in Film and art it is generally tolerated that swastikas are shown, e.g. in Indiana Jones and Inglorius Basterds (although there is no swastika on the dvd casing for Inglorius Basterds)

According to this document from the Bundesprüfstelle:

Wesentlich problematischer und zudem in Rechtsprechung und Schrifttum weitgehend unbehandelt sind entsprechende Kennzeichenverwendungen in fiktionalen Unterhaltungsmedien wie insbesondere Spielfilmen und Computerspielen. Die auch häufigere Veranschaulichung von Hakenkreuzen in bekannten und populären Action- und Abenteuerfilmen wie „Indiana Jones” oder jüngst dem Tarantino-Streifen „Inglourious Basterds” wird in der Regel allgemein geduldet, wobei die Subsumtion solcher in erster Linie dem reinen Entertainment dienender Filme unter die Sozialadäquanzfälle des § 86 Abs. 3 StGB kaum gelingt. In der Praxis tendenziell restriktiver ist demgegenüber die Handhabung der Kennzeichenverwendung bei Computerspielen, in denen in der Regel schon die kurze einmalige Visualisierung eines verfassungsfeindlichen Kennzeichens i.S.d. § 86a StGB auf Grund vereinzelter obergerichtlicher Rechtsprechung zu Beginn des Computerspielzeitalters erhebliche Risiken der Beschlagnahme und Strafverfolgung mit sich bringt.

.. the showing of swastikas is tolerated in modern media (films and computer games).

An answer on gutefrage.net states the same:

The restriction generally does not apply to the use in [...], Art, [...].

Der Film muss auch keinen dokumentarischen Sinn ergeben. Relevant sind die §§ 86 und 86a StGB. Diese sagen nicht nur aus, dass man Kennzeichen bzw. Propagandamittel von verbotenen Organisationen prinzipiell erstmal nicht verwenden darf, sondern auch dass diese Verobt nicht gilt, wenn die Verwendung "der staatsbürgerlichen Aufklärung, der Abwehr verfassungswidriger Bestrebungen, der Kunst oder der Wissenschaft, der Forschung oder der Lehre, der Berichterstattung über Vorgänge des Zeitgeschehens oder der Geschichte oder ähnlichen Zwecken dient."

Da der Film eindeutig als Kunst zu werten ist, ist die Verwendung von Hakenkreuzen oder anderen ansonsten verbotenen Symbolen ganz klar erlaubt.

If a more literal translations is required please let me know :)

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What happened to Iron Sky?

Iron Sky Universe filed for bankruptcy Finnish news reported on 13 October 2020 that Iron Sky Universe, the production company behind Iron Sky franchise, has been filed for bankruptcy in Finland. This was also confirmed by Iron Sky Universe the same day.

Is Iron Sky Offensive?

But is the low-budget production, made by Finnish director Timo Vuorensola, actually worth the hype? "It's a tremendously politically incorrect film," says Vuorensola. "I wanted to make something fun. We're not aiming to preach here, and we're not being offensive, but we do have a message."

Where was the movie Iron Sky filmed?

Iron Sky (2012) During 70 years of utter secrecy, the Nazis construct a gigantic space fortress with a massive armada of flying saucers. Liberty Warehouse, 260 Conover Street and Barnell Street, Brooklyn. Times Square, Manhattan.

Is Iron Sky a true story?

It tells the story of a group of Nazi Germans who, having been defeated in 1945, fled to the Moon, where they built a space fleet to return in 2018 and conquer Earth. Iron Sky is one of the most expensive Finnish films....Iron SkyStory byJohanna Sinisalo Jarmo Puskala (concept)16 more rows

Iron Sky Official Trailer #2 - Nazi's on the Moon Movie (2012) HD

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