Germany gives nod to depiction of Nazi symbols in video games

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Computer and video games can now carry swastikas and other Nazi symbols as the Entertainment Software Self-Regulation Body (USK) has lifted the long standing ban. The body stated that use of these symbols is fine as long as they serve an artistic or scientific purpose or if they are being used to represent a historic event.

As reported by The Telegraph,  the debate started after censorship of a video game - Wolfenstein II – The New Colossus. The game revolves around the Nazi victory in the Second World War in a different universe, featuring an aging Adolf Hitler.

For the version of the game in Germany, Hitler's famous moustache was digitally removed and swastikas were replaced with triangular symbols, keeping with the ban then. This led to an uproar in the gaming community demanding that games should be treated like films.

The move to lift the ban has been welcomed by German Games Industry Association advocating that they have campaigned for games to be permitted to have an equal role in the society, for a long time now.

However managing director of USK, Elisabeth Secker said that the law itself is not being changed, as public display of Nazi and other banned symbols still remains illegal. "Through the change in the interpretation of the law, games that critically look at current affairs can for the first time be given a USK age rating," said Secker in a statement.

"This has long been the case for films and with regards to the freedom of the arts, this is now rightly also the case with computer and video games," she said.