Vietnam war veteran Harvey Charter didn’t have to be an expert in World War II relics to know that the old American flag hanging in the Fort Myers American Legion Post was special.
As a Jewish-American, he recognized the symbolism the flag's creators intended in replacing the banner's traditional stars with a field full of the Star of David.
“It was made by the inmates of the concentration camp using pieces of cloth that they had. They actually made that right under the nose of the Nazis. So they made it there — risked their lives.” said Charter.
Charter had been unsuccessful getting the flag donated to a museum since it was a point of pride for the post. Years later, Hurricane Irma would change that. The storm damaged the building and water seeped into the flag’s frame.
“When I looked at it, it just broke my heart,” said Charter referring to the water stains and the mold that was growing on the flag and in the frame’s backing.
Knowing this was a Holocaust treasure that should be saved for future generations, he called the Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center in Naples, and asked curator Cody Rademacher for advice. Rademacher knew the damage could be severe — but he suspected the Holocaust relic was special.
“It is truly one of a kind,” said Rademacher. “There have been a handful of flags made by the survivors of concentration camps and given to liberators, but every single one of those is truly unique,” said Rademacher.
Prisoners from the Nazi concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany, made it for U.S. troops who arrived to liberate them on April 11, 1945. The Polish-speaking prisoners presented the flag to 27-year-old first lieutenant John Spain.
“The Germans had left. The only ones left were about 350 very sick, emaciated, scrawny, near-death prisoners of war,” said his son, John Spain Jr.
His son said his dad cherished it.
“I think what it really meant to him was, in spite of all the death that surrounded these individuals, that by using the stars, the five-pointed star was converted in their minds to a six-pointed star, which was the Star of David," John Spain Jr. said. "And I think what that meant to him is, in spite of everything that these prisoners had been through, they were dedicated to their religion, their faith. And above all, they knew it was the Americans that would be liberating them."
Despite being injured the very next day in battle, first-lieutenant Spain kept the flag safe for more than four decades until he donated it to the American Legion Post.
Charter knew it had to be restored and preserved professionally. He spent more than two years raising $10,000 to have it preserved.
“The material was going to start to decompose,” said Charter. “And in 5 or 10 years, it would've been gone.”
Months later, a crowd celebrated the unveiling of the restored flag at the Naples Holocaust Museum.
“I look at it, I think of John Spain, Senior," his son said. "I can see him in heaven looking down because this is really where he wanted it to be. There was no Holocaust Museum when he donated it to the American Legion. I couldn't be more proud of the fact that it's finally arrived at a permanent home. Where it’s being viewed by generation after generation.”
While John Spain Sr. died before seeing his flag showcased, he returned to Nordhausen in 1999 with his son. Communities that had once been a site of so many horrors now honored him with special dinners to school children singing for him in English.
“They treated my dad like a fallen hero. It was absolutely spectacular. Everyone could not have been nicer,” Spain Jr. said.
He says his dad wanted people to remember the millions of lives lost and he believes as custodian of the flag for so long, other generations will be able to know this part of history at the Naples museum.
“My father was probably the greatest man I've ever known in my life,” the younger Spain said. “This is truly the right place. My dad would be absolutely thrilled. I think he's here in spirit.”
The Nordhausen flag is on permanent loan at the Naples museum. It’s on display full time thru about January. It will then go on rotation with another treasure there, a quilt created by the survivors of Auschwitz who presented the gift to Soviet troops who liberated them.
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