Asian cultural groups try to save sacred swastika corrupted by Hitler

A staff member of the Greeley History Museum looks at a quilt decorated with swastikas in Greeley, Colorado. The quilt was probably made before 1930, according to the family and the Greeley Museums. Hitler adopted the symbol in 1935. Photo: AP

Sheetal Deo was shocked when she got a letter from her Queens apartment building’s co-op board calling her Diwali decoration "offensive” and demanding she take it down.

"My decoration said ‘Happy Diwali’ and had a swastika on it,” said Deo, a physician, who was celebrating the Hindu festival of lights.