The pro-Russian war symbol ‘Z’ is the new swastika

OPINION:

Last week, I received an alarming, one-letter text message in response to a column I’d written condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine: “Z.” I stared at my phone in disbelief. The letter “Z” is a Russian state-sponsored symbol supporting the invasion of Ukraine.

The Z was first spotted on Russian tanks and armored vehicles as they steamrolled into Ukraine. The New York Post reported the story on Feb. 23 by running the clever headline, “World War Z?”

On March 7, the Russian Defense Ministry said the letter, which does not exist in the Russian alphabet, came from the preposition “Za,” the first word in the Russian phrase “Za pobedu” which means, “For victory.”

It is not uncommon for armies to mark military vehicles to avoid friendly fire. But while thousands of Russians have admirably taken to the street and faced imprisonment to speak out against President Vladimir Putin’s war crimes, some are rallying behind the symbol.

Some Russians are marking their vehicles with the letter. Companies are highlighting the letter Z in their logos, and one advertising campaign is using billboards to feature a Z made of a black and orange St. George ribbon, a Russian military symbol. In one disturbing photo, Russian soldiers purportedly made a Z letter out of blue and yellow badges from killed Ukrainian soldiers.

On March 8, my good friend and former Bush White House adviser Brad Blakeman posted on Facebook, “The pro-Russian war symbol ‘Z’ is the new Swastika.” He could not have been more right.

Like the swastika, the Z has even been impugned upon children, the way the Nazis impugned the swastika upon children who were herded into the Hitler Youth. Music videos are online featuring young Russians dancing with black shirts with the white letter Z. A photo taken from the sky of terminally ill children with their parents instructed to make a Z formation at a Russian hospice center also appeared online. Maria Butina, a Russian agent who served time in the U.S. for infiltrating the NRA and Republican circles, is now rallying youth back home with Z apparel, making false claims Ukraine is the aggressor.

The Z has also been used as a tool of intimidation against its victims. Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak willingly wore a Z on his uniform while competing at an event with Ukrainian athletes, and anti-war film critic Anton Dolin said a giant Z was painted on his apartment door. While the swastika was similarly used for intimidation against Jews in pogroms such as Kristallnacht, there were other, similar symbols.

Like the Russian pro-invasion Z, the infamous SS symbol used by the Nazi Schutzstaffel — two ancient runes that resemble lightning bolts—also stands for victory. The SS also wore the Totenkopf skull and crossbones, meant to intimidate the enemy by conveying the wearer was willing to fight to the death.

One of my most memorable moments as a Jewish American was my visit to Germany’s Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site in 2013. When I asked for directions in the Dachau train station, many Germans would not even acknowledge its existence, an apparent exhibition of “purposeful avoidance” and “selective memory” to forget a traumatic tragedy.

I was stoic as I walked throughout the entire camp, only feeling my eyes well up as I exited through the bookstore. By happenstance, I had noticed a book about Sophie Scholl — a German girl who led the White Rose student movement against the Nazis to speak out for the Jews. More than anything, that moved me.

There were Germans who did the right thing.

There are Russians doing the right thing now.

We know from news reports many Russians have been deceived into believing Ukraine provoked the war. They don’t have access to all the information we do. It will be up to the Ukrainians whether they can find it within themselves to forgive those Russians who may have been misled, and take into consideration the media blackout and massive propaganda campaign they endured.

Conversely, I cannot forgive my fellow Americans who have access to all the information in our free society, yet show admiration for Mr. Putin as he cruelly murders thousands of innocent Ukrainians. These Americans know who they are. We all know who they are. We’ve seen their tweets online. We’ve seen their rants on evening cable television. We’ve heard their soft praise in speeches.

We’ve also seen and heard their ridicule of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who has demonstrated more courage and honor in the past few days than most of us do in a lifetime. How anyone could side with Mr. Putin against this brave man, who has demonstrated so much compassion and love for his people, is unfathomable and sickening.

Unfortunately, some of these comments by Americans are now reportedly being used by the Kremlin to help justify their pro-invasion position in Russia.

How does this distorted sense of reality happen in a free society?

A misguided sense of admiration, mistaking a cruel chauvinist invader as a courageous patriotic nationalist.

An ignorant sense of history, believing ancient borders have legal relevance in today’s world.

A delusional perception of reality, insisting the free world forced a trained assassin to commit mass murder.

In a free society, there is no excuse for “purposeful avoidance” or “selective memory.” There is only transparency and accountability. Those supporting the Ukrainian genocide will be held accountable by their conscience — and immortalized by their fellow Americans as being on the wrong side of history — which is precisely where they belong.

• Jeffrey Scott Shapiro is a former Washington prosecutor and the former director of the U.S. Office of Cuba Broadcasting. He is currently the assistant commentary editor for The Washington Times.