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Museum owner airs out Nazi flags in backyard; neighbors see it as hate message

MIAMI, Fla. – The owner of a private historical museum in Miami thought he was airing out some flag donations. The patio behind the building, where the long hedges were was tucked away in the back. What he didn’t realize was that only feet away, and within clear view of the backyard, high-rise condominium residents could see below what ended up being a distressing display.

On Twitter, The Museum Club bills itself as a historical museum with a vast collection of invaluable items related to the history of wars, firearms and weaponry. It is located near the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science and the Perez Art Museum, an area known as Miami’s arts and entertainment district.

When the owner of the private collection, Ivan Sherman, received an historical donation, the distress it caused his neighbors on a sacred Jewish holiday was unfathomable.

Sherman said the artifacts that were delivered were flags from the Nazi era.

When Frank Frione Jr. looked down from his condo balcony and onto The Museum Club’s backyard, he couldn’t believe what he saw. That’s when he began streaming video live on Facebook.

“I noticed swastikas,” Frione told Local 10. He also wrote on the social media account: “The Nazi flag is back up on display once again! And it’s a Jewish holiday. Not right!” He had 4,000 hits almost immediately, he said.

Frione said the flags had been gone but then put back on Friday, which is Rosh Hashanah, the first of the Jewish High Holy Days.

The Museum Club’s owner said that when he received the donated flags, they had mold on them, so Sherman unrolled them and laid them out on a hedge just behind his building on a back patio.

“Looking down and not knowing what was going on.. . many families have been distraught. People were crying in the building. I said ‘I need to do something.’ We finally got in contact with the owner and he’s very embarrassed and he wants to make a donation to the charity of my choice,” Frione said.

Sherman said the point of his private The Museum Club is to “remember history so we don’t repeat it.”

The flags have since been taken in.

Frione said: “They were not aware or not paying attention to the surroundings and that’s a huge factor.”


About the Authors
Christina Vazquez headshot

Christina returned to Local 10 in 2019 as a reporter after covering Hurricane Dorian for the station. She is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist and previously earned an Emmy Award while at WPLG for her investigative consumer protection segment "Call Christina."

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