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Talk:Cathedral of Saint Mary (St. Cloud, Minnesota)

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History of the Disks

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The church's implication in the linked source that because the swastikas were placed on the church before the adoption of the crux grammata as the German national symbol after the Nazi seizure of power strikes me as disingenuous. By 1927, when it says work began on the upper tower, the swastika was a familiar symbol of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei both in its homeland and abroad. What is needed here is an examination of the political attitudes of the clergy who directed the building of the tower and those of the congrgation it served. Minnesota had a well-deserved reputation as one of th the most ant-Semitic parts of the country (if not the most) during the first part of the twentieth century and this history should not in any way be glossed over. Any appearance, particularly in an official context, of swastikas in the post-WWI era demands close scrutiny and needless to say this is especially the case when they appear in a central institution of an ethnic German community.68.178.50.46 (talk) 18:30, 21 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps the critics, including St. Coud State and University Of Minnesota PhD professors, and at least one main critic with a PhD in History, should first explain how the symbols would have been chosen by the cathedral's architect, who served in American Expeditionary Forces, US Army, fighting against Germany, a decade prior to the church contruction. All of the responsible parties are long dead, their motivations can only be speculated based on their life stories. It is embarrassing that so many highly educated professionals overlooked the obvious. They didn't do the research. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.37.28.121 (talk) 04:38, 3 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Academics are expected to research. One of the leaders in the removal effort served at a Chicago Synagogue located on Sheridan Road, maybe a half mile south of where the road turns away from lake Michigan, in front of the Mundelein College building, also designed by St. Cloud architect Nairne Fisher. Why does this matter? The Mundelein women's college was named after Cardinal George Mundelein, at the time head of the largest American diocese. Mundelein was the leading U.S. critic of Nazism, creating an international incident when he referred to aspiring artist Hitler as a 'paper hanger', see Paper hanger (Mundelein's speech). While the Mundelein speech was in 1937, years after the St. Mary's cathedral and Mundelein collece were constructed, the connection is priceless. Even today, the same individual claims that there are 'no Jews" in St. Cloud. While small in number, there have always been Jewish residents. Jewish businessman Jack I. Kleinbaum was elected to city and state office at least six times, almost won the mayors race. Another Jewish member of the city council, Mike Landy also nearly won the mayor's race in the 1990's(?). The Landy Packing Company operated in St. Cloud for decades, and processed Kosher meat!

swastika

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There was way too much detail about the swastika tiles in the articleWestern use of the swastika in the early 20th century - I have edited the section way down, but I am pasting the original here, in case anybody wants to make use of any part of it for this article:

In May 2006, five terra cotta tiles were removed from St. Mary's Cathedral in St. Cloud Minnesota, which serves the oldest parish in the community.[1] The upper church, constructed in the late 1920s, included a number of decorative tiles including a series of ten that depicted ancient forms of the cross.[2] Located near the eaves, the tiles represented the crux gammata, also known as the Gammadion, "hooked cross". The five swastika tiles alternated with a related design featuring the Lauburu or "Basque cross".[3] The upper church's final design was created by the local architectural firm of Nairne W. Fisher, who had fought against Germany during World War I.[4] The Italian Romanesque style includes Art Deco features, including the ancient symbols, sunburst brick patterns and zig zag details.
Fisher was best known for his design for the Mundelein College 'skyscraper' in Chicago, named after Cardinal George Mundelein, the leading Catholic critic of Nazi Germany who created an international incident by referring to aspiring painter Hitler as a 'paper hanger'. He was also an outspoken critic of Antisemitic Catholic priest Charles Coughlin's radio broadcasts.[5] Architect Fisher used the image of Mundelein College on the back side of his St. Cloud business card.[6]
Three of the tiles were destroyed in the process of removal, one was put on permanent display at the church. The removal was prompted in part by criticism from some current and former faculty at St. Cloud State University, where the university's electronic diversity newsletter featured a series of articles, including a history of the swastika that claimed by 1920 it was already "the symbol of Aryan conquest and mastery".[7] The article references small, obscure and secret European organisations with anti-Semitic views. It makes no mention of the use of swastikas in the US at the time the church was designed. In a book about the Holocaust, an art history professor noted that Hitler chose the swastika in 1920 and "... the swastikas of St. Cloud would follow shortly."[8] At the time of construction, St. Mary's was under the control of the Benedictine Monks at Saint Johns University in Collegeville, who arrived in Central Minnesota in 1851 from Pennsylvania.[9] Saint John's is best known, architecturally, for its Abbey church designed by Jewish architect Marcel Breuer, who fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s.[10]
According to documents at the Stearns History Museum in St. Cloud, approximately ten years before St. Mary's was designed, there were more than 2000 local residents from the heavily German Catholic area serving in the United States military, fighting against Germany.[11] President Wilson wrote a letter to the local Catholic bishop thanking him for his support of the war effort.[12]
The removal coincided with the sesquicentennial anniversary for the city, St. John's University and St. Mary's parish. St. Cloud is a "Preserve America Community". An SCSU professor produced a documentary film about the removal of the ceramic disks.[13]

That's it. - DavidWBrooks (talk) 17:47, 15 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]

References

  1. ^ Dave Schwarz photograph, St. Cloud Times photo gallery, 3 May 2006, showing removal of 1920s era terra cotta swastika tile.
  2. ^ History of Saint Mary's Cathedral, Cathedral of St. Mary, St. Cloud, Minnesota website, author not identified, "History of the Luminous Disks", 9 July 2006.
  3. ^ Swastika – The Symbol of the Buddha (website) The Baskian Swastika Lauburu, its symbolic meaning and history
  4. ^ Ann M. Harrington and Prudence Moylan, Mundelein Voices, page 32.
  5. ^ "Seventy-Five years Since Cardinal Mundelein's "Paperhanger" Speech", Sanity and Social Justice .net
  6. ^ Loyola University, Mundelein College Records Collection, Nairne W. Fisher business card.
  7. ^ Robert Lavenda, "A History of Swastikas", Insights For A Diverse Campus Community, St. Cloud State University, Volume II, Issue 4, Spring 2005, page 3 .
  8. ^ Nancy Weston, Absence/Presence: Critical Essays on the Artistic Memory of the Holocaust, 2005, Syracuse University Press, page 54
  9. ^ Patricia Kelly Witte, "St. Marys Mother Church of St. Cloud", Sentinel Printing, 2004, pages 56–61.
  10. ^ William Morgan, Earth Wood Stone, Central Minnesota Lives and Landmarks,2008, page 116.
  11. ^ Dunn, Mary Irene, "Stearns County in the World War, An Honor Roll of the Men and Women of this Community Who Served Their Country in the Period from 6 April 1917 to 11 November 1918, Compiled From State and National U.S. Military Records",manuscript dated 1932, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.
  12. ^ Woodrow Wilson, photocopy of letter on White House stationery with note "Original in Chancery Archive vault", to Rt. Rev. J. F. Busch, Bishop of St. Cloud, 26 January 1918. Stearns History Museum. The museum in St. Cloud is one of only five in Minnesota accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
  13. ^ St. Cloud State University News Release, "Symbol" to premiere 27 April"
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