This is a pretty complicated subject. Just because they were in existence before doesn't exactly rule out that they weren't wanted in Germany. Or even needed. T

This is a pretty complicated subject. Just because they were in existence before doesn't exactly rule out that they weren't wanted in Germany. Or even needed. The general trend was to both forget and prevent. So banning certain symbols, books, movies from the public eye was generally considered to be what's best. I know, it's not that easy, which caused a lot of problems later on and still is pretty hard to deal with. And I don't get that much criticism about the laws. Yes, Americans generally look quite astonished on any country perceived to have fewer freedoms (and "socialist Europe" certainly applies for that), but the Brits and French usually don't mock us for that. They tend to be quite more panicked whenever some neo-nazis appear, and if they were using the original symbols this might get worse. (Never mind that France has laws against holocaust deniers, too.)