Georgia school faces outrage for new logo that resembles Nazi crest

A Georgia elementary school is halting the rollout of its new logo after receiving criticism for its resemblance to a Nazi symbol.

The proposed logo for East Side Elementary School, located in the suburbs of Atlanta in Marietta, Ga., portrays an eagle with “ES” overlaying the image to represent the school’s name, and many online pointed out similarities to the Nazi Eagle symbol developed in the 1920s.

The Cobb County School District said the resemblance was unintentional and the logo was based on the U.S. Army colonel’s eagle wings.

“Earlier this week, we learned of concerns about a new logo at East Side Elementary,” a district spokesperson said in a statement.

“The roll-out of this logo has been halted, and we are immediately reviewing needed changes,” the spokesperson said. “We understand and strongly agree that similarities to Nazi symbolism are unacceptable.” 

Groups including the American Jewish Committee condemned the logo’s development.

“Regardless of intent, @CobbSchools should have realized that the new logo for East Side Elementary bears a striking and uncomfortable resemblance to the Nazi eagle,” the group wrote in a tweet on Tuesday. “This only clarifies the urgent need for comprehensive Holocaust education at all levels.”

Sara Ghazal, policy director for the Georgia House Democratic caucus and a member of the state’s election board, tweeted a message on Monday apparently shared with the school community announcing the design that said it was chosen to “represent the eagle soaring into excellence and to honor the history of our great school.”

“Presenting, from the district that last week approved armed personnel in schools who are designated by the superintendent, a new logo for a nearby elementary school,” Ghazal tweeted.

The school is located across the street from a synagogue.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that officials found graffiti depicting swastikas in two high schools in the county during the Jewish high holidays last fall and several middle school students in the county were disciplined earlier this year for sharing antisemitic posts on social media.

“I don’t want to see my kids wearing that on their shirt,” Mike Albuquerque, a parent of two students who will attend the school in the fall, told the outlet.

“Really it’s a big oversight of the county and everyone involved in the process who reviewed that, to not call out the fact that this looks like Nazi iconography,” he said. “Or maybe, who knows, somebody did call it out and it wasn’t heard.”