Buzz
Modern-day warfare involves a wide array of advanced weapons and tactics, far surpassing what’s visible on the battlefield. Propaganda, a tool employed by every side, is crucial in uplifting morale, influencing public opinion against the enemy, and suppressing opposition. Beyond the usual methods of propaganda like posters and broadcasts, references to the enemy nations are often erased from public life.
This shift can happen organically when people and businesses sense a change in public sentiment, or it can be enforced by political figures. Instances of both have occurred in nearly every war throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. This has resulted in some peculiar renamings across different domains, some of which have persisted while others have reverted. Here are ten of the most unusual wartime renamings.
10. Freedom Fries and Freedom Toast
In 2003, U.S. lawmakers were forbidden from ordering French fries in three Washington cafeterias. Instead, they were instructed to order “freedom fries” or “freedom toast” instead of French toast at breakfast. Although many cafeteria staff deemed this change “ridiculous,” it was introduced by two lawmakers as a symbolic act to protest France’s refusal to support the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Private restaurants across the United States reportedly followed suit, though the name didn’t gain long-lasting popularity, and U.S.-France relations eventually improved. Other nations, such as Germany and Russia, also opposed the invasion, but France was singled out as the primary leader of the opposition. Fortunately, these countries didn’t have their names associated with many foods.
9. Renamed Towns
Renaming towns was a surprisingly common practice during the world wars. Prior to the conflicts, there were numerous towns named Berlin. One such town, located in Colusa County, California, received a telegram during World War II urging them to change their name, a request sent to all towns with the Berlin name. However, the Colusa County town never responded.
When journalists investigated further, they discovered the town had already changed its name 26 years earlier, spurred by anti-German sentiment during World War I. Another town that changed its name during the First World War was Germantown. Historians noted that the name change followed an incident when a troop train was stopped there, and soldiers, enraged by the town's name, damaged the station.
8. The Royal Family’s Surname
Long before modern public relations specialists could offer advice, King George V of Britain made a savvy decision that not only secured his position on the throne but also safeguarded the royal family’s future. In 1917, after years of intense fighting against Germany, anti-German sentiment was widespread in the UK. The issue, however, was that the royal family had deep German roots.
The king’s cousin was none other than the Kaiser of Germany, and his wife was German as well. The royal family’s lineage, the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was often used as their surname, revealing their German ancestry. King George realized that if he didn’t take action, he could face serious repercussions—perhaps even a revolution. As a result, he created a new family surname, choosing ‘Windsor’ for himself and his descendants, a name with a more distinctly British tone.
7. Renamed Dog Breeds
Another name change occurred in 1917, though it officially reverted in 1977, involving the German Shepherd breed. These dogs had been used extensively by both sides during the world wars, but with Germany as the enemy, many people felt uncomfortable with the breed's name.
In response, the name was modified, though in various forms. The American Kennel Club removed ‘German’ from the name in 1917, while the British opted for a complete rebranding, choosing the name ‘Alsatian,’ referring to a region in France that had been overtaken by Germany during an earlier war.
6. Coffee
In the early 1900s, many Parisian cafes tried to replicate the charm of Viennese cafes, which were seen as symbols of luxury and refinement. One popular drink was the café viennois, a sweet, hot coffee topped with whipped cream. However, when World War I broke out in 1914, French sentiment toward Germany soured. Austria-Hungary, with Vienna as its capital, was aligned with Germany in the war.
Due to growing disdain for anything associated with Germany, quick-thinking cafe owners changed the name of café viennois to café liégeois. The new name came from Liège, a Belgian city famous for delaying the German advance toward France for 12 days during a pivotal battle. The Belgian resistance caused significant losses for the Germans, including 5,000 soldiers, which allowed France to bolster its defenses.
5. The Spanish Flu
The deadly pandemic known as the Spanish Flu didn’t technically get its name due to the war, but the wartime context definitely influenced its naming. Although the flu likely didn’t originate in Spain, it was widely reported there, which led to the name. Why Spain? Because other nations involved in the war suppressed information about the pandemic to maintain public morale.
Meanwhile, Spain was neutral during the war and had the freedom to report on the pandemic without restrictions. As most of the information about the influenza came from Spanish sources, both the Americans and Europeans mistakenly assumed that Spain was the origin of the outbreak, leading to the name 'Spanish flu.'
4. Playing Cards
Renaming things for political purposes is not a modern phenomenon, though it became more prominent in the 20th century. One earlier example comes from the French Revolution. Some revolutionaries took a unique approach to promoting their ideals by incorporating them into everyday objects, including playing cards. The traditional faces of kings and queens were quickly ousted from card decks in revolutionary France.
Alongside the monarchs, figures like the jack were replaced with symbols and titles that echoed revolutionary principles, such as 'The Spirit of Peace,' 'The Spirit of Commerce,' 'Liberty of the Professions,' and 'Ace of the Law (of the French Republic).' These changes reflected the values that the revolutionaries wanted to instill in the people.
3. Art
In 2022, London’s National Gallery renamed French impressionist Edgar Degas’ Russian Dancers to Ukrainian Dancers. While acknowledging the timing of the name change seemed appropriate, the gallery clarified that scholars had been discussing the title long before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in that same year.
The dancers depicted in the painting are based on a troupe that captivated Degas during their performance in Paris. They are dressed in ribbons and garlands, reflecting the bright blue and yellow of Ukraine’s national colors. This change was met with approval from Ukrainian nationals in the UK, who had long criticized the habit of labeling artworks with Russian identifiers. They pointed out how Jewish, Belarusian, and Ukrainian art had often been labeled as Russian in British museums, blurring distinct national identities as if Russia encompassed all of these cultures. Some even saw this perspective as a contributing factor to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
2. Museums
In May 2022, the German-Russian Museum in Berlin rebranded itself as the Berlin-Karlshorst Museum. Located at the site where Germany’s surrender was signed in 1945, it opened in 1995 to celebrate the Red Army’s role in liberating Germany from Nazi control. Though funded by both Russia and Germany, the museum’s name change came as a direct response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The director of the museum stated that renaming it to remove Russia from the title was a necessary action. He explained that it was no longer suitable to attribute the Russian Federation the status given by the joint name. While emphasizing that the museum remains dedicated to honoring the Red Army’s sacrifices, he also pointed out that soldiers from other Soviet republics, including Ukrainians, contributed to the liberation of Berlin.
1. Mountains
Some place names that became problematic due to later events manage to go unnoticed for years. One such case was Swastika Mountain in Oregon, which went unnoticed for decades after World War II. It wasn’t until 2022, when a pair of hikers required rescue from the mountain by the National Guard, that the name was brought into the spotlight.
Following the news report, an Oregon resident named Joyce McClain started a petition to change the name. She rallied support to convince the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to rebrand the mountain, which had been named in the 1930s, well before Hitler’s rise to power. The board had to weigh McClain’s argument against those from other groups, such as the Hindu American Foundation, which highlighted the swastika’s long history as a sacred symbol in multiple religions for over 4,000 years.
After considering the broader meaning of the swastika, particularly in the post-war context, the board agreed to rename the mountain. The new name, Mount Halo, was chosen to reflect the area’s history, specifically honoring a Native American chief named Halito.
