Awkward market trinkets

Going through flea markets is often a fun journey but sometimes you are just not ready for the things you might find...

Calmly strolling through Sofia we stumbled upon a small flea market in the heart of the old town. Intrigued, we decided to have a look at the art and trinkets being sold. At first it was fairly standard with hand paintings, postcards and Bulgarian flags for sale but then things took an awkward twist.

What initially looked like coins from a distance was in fact a stand with medals. Fair enough, I thought, it isn't the first place I have seen old Soviet medals for sale but after looking closer, the medals and trinkets were not only Soviet. Many among those were Nazi medals and memorabilia of all kinds. This was disconcerting.

Sure, on the one hand, assuming all of those were authentic, we are talking about historical artifacts, about things that under the right light can be shown to teach people about history and the consequences of ideological warfare. But are the people who buy things at flea markets really the target audience for such things or is this being sold to people who openly, or not, support the hideous Nazi propaganda?

Should such trinkets be banned from being openly sold and or distributed? And if so, are we not limiting personal freedoms of a kind to unsure personal freedoms of other? Is that the way?

Either way, it sure was an awkward moment for us at that flea market.