Nazi, Confederate flags being flown in two Alberta towns

EDMONTON – The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center For Holocaust Studies (FSWC) is calling on the RCMP to launch a hate crimes investigation after Nazi and Confederate flags were seen flying at a property near Breton.

The centre, which is dedicated to countering anti-Semitism, says it was notified about the flag over the weekend, just a few days after learning about another Nazi flag being flown in the village of Boyle, a couple of hours north of Breton.

(Photo provided by FSWC)

The FSWC contacted Mounties to report the flags and RCMP said that officers had asked the property owners to remove the flags, but that they refused. It’s asking for the flags to be investigated as a hate crime.

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“It is extremely disturbing and quite disheartening to once again see a Hitler Youth flag, as well as the Confederate flag, on display,” said Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, FSWC’s director of policy, in a release.

“These displays of hate go against the values that Canada stands for and are an attack on not only the Jewish and Black communities, but also on our veterans and fallen soldiers who made unspeakable sacrifices to defeat the Nazis and preserve our freedoms.”

The organization says it’s reached out to Breton’s mayor and council asking them to work with police to have the flags taken down.