Contentious Nazi flag sells at Shelton thrift shop

A controversial Nazi flag sold Thursday morning at an antique shop in Shelton.

Janice Danker, the owner of Games and Needful Things, said she has received death threats and threats to her store because of the flag.

“I was getting phone calls from people telling me they were going to come down here and shoot me in my head,” Danker told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson.

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The controversy started when Danker took in the Nazi flag on consignment and hung it up for sale in a special section of the shop reserved for World War II memorabilia.

One customer saw it and posted a photo of it online. The customer told Danker she found the flag offensive and suggested she take it down.

“This is an antique store. Of course we’re going to have those kinds of things,” Danker said. “She just said, ‘Yeah but to hang it up is absolutely disgraceful.”

Despite the barrage of criticism that ensued, Danker decided to keep the flag hanging up in her store.

“I didn’t believe that people were getting angry for the right reasons,” she said. “It’s a piece of history. And it does need to be there to remind people so that it never happens again.”

Danker said she did receive a call from one woman who expressed support for keeping the flag up.

“She said, ‘My mom was in the Holocaust.’ She said, ‘I’m asking you to stand your ground.’ She said, ‘People need to see that and remember what happened. She said, ‘I’m begging you not to take it down,’” Danker said.

The flag, which Danker had authenticated, is five feet by nine feet. It was originally listed for $375. The man that purchased the flag on Thursday, Danker said, is a World War II collector.