Biscuits, buildings and bands: the good luck symbol that became synonymous with Nazi atrocities

VICTORIA’S popular Swastika Orchestra once spruiked itself as the “leading dance orchestra of the north” — but the rise of Hitler forced a drastic name change.

In Black and White column: The Swastika Orchestra played in Echuca in the 1930s.

IT’S best known now as the feared symbol of the Nazis, but the swastika once gave its name to a Victorian orchestra and was used to decorate everything from buildings to biscuits.

The ancient religious symbol was considered to represent good luck until Adolf Hitler adopted the symbol for the Nazis in the lead-up to WWII.

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Since our story on the Swastika Orchestra of Echuca in the 1930s, we’ve heard from family members of two musicians in the group, which had the hard-to-refuse motto “We play — you dance”.

Julie Evans Day, from Echuca, says her father, Geoff Evans, played his first gig with the group in 1940, and this 1931 photo of the Swastika Orchestra is from his collection.

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A letter from the group dated January 1940 — four months after WWII broke out — reveals it had by then changed its name to the Rhythm Kings Orchestra, though it was still using the Swastika Orchestra letterhead, which by then must have been causing raised eyebrows.

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1934 cookbook 100 Tested Recipes: Afternoon Tea Dainties.

Recipes in 1934 cookbook 100 Tested Recipes: Afternoon Tea Dainties.

Helen Ponsford, from Echuca, says her dad, Cliff Ponsford, played trumpet with “the Swastikas” before and after the name change.

“He just said, ‘we had to change our name because of Hitler’,” Helen recalls.

Meanwhile, Corinne Smith, from Dunkeld, has a 1934 cookbook 100 Tested Recipes: Afternoon Tea Dainties, which includes a recipe for “assorted biscuits with swastika decorations”. Not much demand for those these days.

Check out In Black & White in the Herald Sun newspaper Monday to Friday for more stories and photos from our readers.