New school logo draws comparisons to Nazi symbolism. Georgia district responds

A logo intended to resemble the U.S. Army colonel’s eagle wings has instead drawn criticism and claims of antisemitism from parents in an Atlanta-area school district.

The new logo for East Side Elementary looks much like a symbol used in Nazi Germany, parents say, and should be scrapped. Its rollout at the Marietta, Georgia, school was announced Monday, July 18, but quickly halted after concerns from the Jewish and local school communities.

“Any type of Nazi symbolism is very hurtful, particularly to Jewish people,” parent Stacy Efrat, whose youngest child attends East Side, told McClatchy News. “It reflects a very harmful time in our history that we want to put behind us. And every time that symbol comes back up, it reminds us of what happened in the past.”

“It’s a pattern, and it’s very frustrating,” she added.

Cobb County Schools responded to the criticism and said it has “paused to consider” the proposed logo.

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

The image depicts an eagle “soaring into excellence” and carrying the initials “ES” for East Side, according to photos posted online. The design is strikingly similar to a logo used by the Nazi Party of Germany, which shows an eagle with its wings outstretched and a swastika in its clutches.

Many parents and community members voiced their frustrations on social media.

“Is Cobb County raising the next generation of Nazi’s?” one woman commented on Facebook. “While it has been put on hold...not one member of leadership saw the resemblance? And they are concerned about (Critical Race Theory) ... The adults in leadership need to learn history me-thinks.”

“You should see the new team uniforms, they include arm bands and jackboots,” another wrote.

Dov Wilker, director of the American Jewish Committee Atlanta region, also questioned the logo design.

“The issue here is that (Cobb Schools) chose to use imagery that reminds us of the Holocaust and the intentional persecution of the Jewish people,” Wilker told McClatchy News.“For us to continue experiencing these types of situations is really troubling, especially from academic institutions.”

He also noted that East Side Elementary sits just across the street from a synagogue.

“We shouldn’t be using any iconography that’s hateful,” Wilker said.

For Efrat, the logo is the latest in a pattern of antisemitic incidents in the district that’s “making it hard for all of us to brush it off.”

Last fall, swastikas and “Hail Hitler” were found scrawled on a bathroom wall at Pope High School in Marietta, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Photos of an East Cobb Middle School student wearing a swastika armband and giving the salute also surfaced online this year, according to WAGA.

“I hope that this was an oversight and an accident,” Efrat said of the proposed logo. “In my opinion, the blame falls on the district because they’re the ones that created the logo — not the school.”

The frustrated parent said Cobb County Schools owes the community an apology, and wants assurance that the offensive logo will be scrapped and replaced with a new one. So far, the district hasn’t said if it plans to replace the logo.

“We appreciate those who took time to share their thoughts and will make sure all input is reviewed as changes are considered,” a district spokesperson said in a statement.

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