Colorado city votes to rename ‘Swastika Acres’ neighborhood
Denver suburb was named after Native American symbol before it was co-opted by Nazis; only resident opposing name change to Old Cherry Hills was descendant of Holocaust survivors
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A Colorado city this week voted to drop the name “Swastika Acres” from a subdivision in a Denver suburb.
KDVR-TV reported the Cherry Hills Village City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a name change to “Old Cherry Hills” to prevent future controversy.
The neighborhood was named Swastika Acres in the early 20th century, decades before the symbol was adopted by the Nazis, according to The Denver Post. The Denver Swastika Land Co. named the subdivision in 1908, when the swastika was a commonly used symbol by Native American tribes in the southwestern US.
Councilman Dan Sheldon, who spearheaded the name change, told The Post that it was “important for our community to bring some closure to this issue.”
“The community has cried out for this to be changed,” he said.
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Russell Stewart, the Mayor of Cherry Hills, also supported the change. “It’s the right thing to do,” he told The Post.
While the Swastika Acres name cannot be found on road signs, it still appeared on real estate closing documents.
Sheldon said one woman opposed the change to preserve the historical value of the symbol, despite having lost family in the Holocaust.
“I don’t think you should erase history,” Susan Cooper said. “What would it be like if people denied the Holocaust? You have to get the facts of history.”
The Times of Israel Community.