After a country has been ravaged by war, there is a need for life to return to normal and for the economy to get back on track. But raw materials can be hard to come by in such times. That’s why following World War II, Germany took the concept of beating swords into ploughshares and ran with it—by turning Nazi helmets into kitchen items, like colanders and pots:
Stripped of its ideology, what was once a symbol of harm and terror thus reverts to its material state and is transformed into a peaceful, useful object.
http://www.core77.com/posts/57756/From-Nazis-to-Potsies