Swastika

The swastika in a decorative Hindu form.

The swastika (from Sanskrit: svástika स्वस्तिक ) is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing (卐) form or its mirrored left-facing (卍) form. The swastika can also be drawn as a traditional swastika, but with a second 90° bend in each arm. Archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates from the Neolithic period. It occurs mainly in the cultures that are in modern day India and the surrounding area, sometimes as a geometrical motif and sometimes as a religious symbol. It was long widely used in major world religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

Though once commonly used all over much of the world without stigma, because of its iconic usage in Nazi Germany the symbol has become controversial in the Western world.

Etymology and alternative names

The word swastika is derived from the Sanskrit word svastik (in Devanagari, स्वस्तिक), meaning any lucky or auspicious object, and in particular a mark made on persons and things to denote good luck. It is composed of su- (cognate with Greek ευ-, eu-), meaning "good, well" and asti, a verbal abstract to the root as "to be" (cognate with the Romance copula, coming ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁es-); svasti thus means "well-being." The suffix -ka forms a diminutive or intensifies the verbal meaning, and svastika might thus be translated literally as "that which is associated with well-being," corresponding to "lucky charm" or "thing that is auspicious." The word in this sense is first used in the Harivamsa.

The Hindu Sanskrit term has been in use in English since 1871, replacing gammadion (from Greek γαμμάδιον).

Alternative historical English spellings of the Sanskrit word include suastika, swastica and svastica. Alternative names for the shape are:

• crooked cross
• cross cramponned, ~nnée, or ~nny (in heraldry), as each arm resembles a crampon or angle-iron (German: Winkelmaßkreuz)
• ugunskrusts (fire cross), also pērkonkrusts (thundercross), kāškrusts (hook-cross), Laimas krusts (Laima's cross).
• fylfot, possibly meaning "four feet," chiefly in heraldry and architecture (See fylfot for a discussion of the etymology)
• gammadion, tetragammadion (Greek: τέτραγαμμάδιον), or cross gammadion (Latin: crux gammata; Old French: croix gammée), as each arm resembles the Greek letter Γ (gamma)
• hook cross (German: Hakenkreuz);
• sun wheel, a name also used as a synonym for the sun cross
• tetraskelion (Greek: τετρασκέλιον), "four legged," especially when composed of four conjoined legs (compare triskelion (Greek: τρισκέλιον))
• Mundilfari an Old Norse term has been associated in modern literature with the swastika.
• Thor's hammer, from its supposed association with Thor, the Norse god of the weather, but this may be a misappropriation of a name that properly belongs to a Y-shaped or T-shaped symbol. The swastika shape appears in Icelandic grimoires wherein it is named Þórshamar.
• The Tibetan swastika is known as nor bu bzhi -khyil, or quadruple body symbol, defined in Unicode at codepoint U+0FCC ࿌.

History

Greek helmet with swastika marks on the top part (details), 350-325 B.C.E. from Taranto, found at Herculanum. Cabinet des Médailles, Paris.

Seals from the Indus Valley Civilization preserved at the British Museum. The top right one shows swastikas, probably the oldest found.

Some of the oldest swastikas to be discovered were found at Lothal and Harappa, on Indus Valley seals.

The symbol has an ancient history in Europe, appearing on artifacts from Indo-European cultures and is a sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Mithraism religions, making the swastika ubiquitous in both historical and contemporary society.

In the Western world, the symbol experienced a resurgence following the archaeological work in the late 19th century of Heinrich Schliemann, who discovered the symbol in the site of ancient Troy and connected it with similar shapes found on ancient pots in Germany, and theorized that the swastika was a "significant religious symbol of our remote ancestors," linking Germanic, Greek and Indo-Iranian cultures. By the early 20th century, it was widely used worldwide and was regarded as a symbol of good luck and success.

The work of Schliemann soon became a symbol of "Aryan" identity, a concept that came to be equated by theorists such as Alfred Rosenberg with a Nordic master race originating in northern Europe. Since its adoption by the Nazi Party of Adolf Hitler, the swastika has been associated with Nazism, fascism, racism (white supremacy), the Axis powers in World War II, and the Holocaust in much of the West.

Origin hypotheses

The ubiquity of the swastika symbol is easily explained by its being a very simple shape that will arise independently in any basket-weaving society. The swastika is a repeating design, created by the edges of the reeds in a square basket-weave. Other theories attempt to establish a connection via cultural diffusion or an explanation along the lines of Carl Jung's collective unconscious.

The genesis of the swastika symbol is often treated in conjunction with cross symbols in general, such as the "sun wheel" of Bronze Age religion.

Carl Sagan, in his book Comet, suggests that in antiquity a comet could have approached so close to Earth that the jets of gas streaming from it, bent by the comet's rotation, became visible, leading to the adoption of the swastika as a symbol across the world.

In Life's other secret, Ian Stewart suggests that during states of altered consciousness parallel waves of neural activity sweep across the visual cortex , producing a swirling swastika-like image, due to the way quadrants in the field of vision are mapped to opposite areas in the brain.

Alexander Cunningham has suggested that the shape arose from a combination of Brahmi characters abbreviating the word su-astí.

Archaeological record

File:Swastika iran.jpg

This Iranian necklace was excavated from Kaluraz, Guilan, first millennium B.C.E., National Museum of Iran.

The earliest consistent use of swastika motifs in the archaeological record date to the Neolithic, though an isolated late Paleolithic artifact containing the shape exists. The symbol was found on a number of shards in the Khuzestan province of Iran and as part of the "Vinca script" of Neolithic Europe of the 5th millennium B.C.E. In the Early Bronze Age, it appears on pottery found in Sintashta, Russia.

Swastika-like symbols also appear in Bronze and Iron Age designs of the northern Caucasus (Koban culture), and Azerbaijan, as well as of Scythians and Sarmatians , but, does not appear to occupy any marked position or significance. While this sign has been found in many cultures it is referred to as Swastika only in Sanskrit and related languages.

Historical use

The symbol rose to importance in Buddhism in the Mauryan Empire and in Hinduism with the Decline of Buddhism in India in the Gupta period India.

With the spread of Buddhism, the Buddhist swastika reached Tibet and China. The use of the swastika by the indigenous Bön faith of Tibet, as well as syncretic religions, such as Cao Dai of Vietnam and Falun Gong of China, is thought to be borrowed from Buddhism as well.

Reintroduction of the swastika in the West

File:MatildeMoisant.jpg

The aviator Matilde Moisant (1878–1964) wearing a swastika medallion in 1912. The symbol was popular as a good luck charm with early aviators (e.g. the highly decorated German-Jewish WW1 aviator Fritz Beckhardt

The discovery of the Indo-European language group in the 1790s led to a great effort by archaeologists to link the pre-history of European people to the ancient "Aryans" (variously referring to the Indo-Iranians or the Proto-Indo-Europeans). Following his discovery of objects bearing the swastika in the ruins of Troy, Heinrich Schliemann consulted two leading Sanskrit scholars of the day, Emile Burnouf and Max Müller. Schliemann concluded that the Swastika was a specifically Indo-European symbol. Later discoveries of the motif among the remains of the Hittites and of ancient Iran seemed to confirm this theory. This idea was taken up by many other writers, and the swastika quickly became popular in the West, appearing in many designs from the 1880s to the 1920s.^{[citation needed]}

Western use of the motif, along with the religious and cultural meanings attached to it, was subverted in the early 20th century after it was adopted as the emblem of the Nazi Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei). Nazism stated that the historical Aryans were the forefathers of modern Germans and then proposed that, because of this, the subjugation of the world by Germany was desirable, and even predestined. The swastika was used as a conveniently-geometrical and eye-catching symbol to emphasize the so-called Aryan-German correspondence and instill racial pride. It was also adopted by some German militants in the March 1920 Kapp Putsch.

The swastikas on the Finnish Order of the White Rose designed in 1918 by Akseli Gallen-Kallela remained in use until 1963. The Finnish Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Flag of the President of Finland still show a swastika design: the Cross of Liberty.

Geometry

A right-facing swastika may be described as "clockwise"...		...or "counter-clockwise".

Geometrically, the swastika can be regarded as an irregular icosagon or 20-sided polygon. The arms are of varying width and are often rectilinear (but need not be). However, the proportions of the Nazi swastika were fixed: they were based on a 5x5 grid.

Characteristic is the 90° rotational symmetry (that is, the symmetry of the cyclic group C_4h) and chirality, hence the absence of reflectional symmetry, and the existence of two versions that are each other's mirror image.

The mirror-image forms are often described as:

• clockwise and counterclockwise;
• left-facing and, as depicted across, right-facing;
• left-hand and right-hand.

"Left-facing" and "right-facing" are used mostly consistently. In an upright swastika, the upper arm faces either the viewer's left (卍) or right (卐). The other two descriptions are ambiguous as it is unclear whether they refer to the direction of the bend in each arm or to the implied rotation of the symbol. If the latter, whether the arms lead or trail remains unclear. However, "clockwise" usually refers to the "right-facing" swastika. The terms are used inconsistently (sometimes even by the same writer), which is confusing and may obfuscate an important point, that the rotation of the swastika may have symbolic relevance.

Nazi ensigns had a through and through image, so both versions were present, one on each side, but the Nazi flag on land was right-facing on both sides and at a 45° rotation.

Symbolism

Traditionally the swastika has been used as a symbol of good luck, welfare, prosperity or victory. One interpretation of the swastika is derived from the ancient mythological symbolism of Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, Shakti) (represented by the vertical line) dancing upon Shiva (Devanagari: शिव, Shiv) (represented by the horizontal line). Philosophically this may be understood as the two aspects of Brahma (Devanagari: ब्रह्म, Brahma): consciousness and energy interacting to give expression to the universe. The circular movement of this cross may be interpreted as the circular movement of the rising kundalini (Devanagari: कुण्डलिनी).

If seen as a cross, the four lines emanate from the center to the four cardinal directions, and this is commonly associated with the Sun. Other proposed correspondences are to the visible rotation of the night sky in the Northern Hemisphere around the pole star. .

The name "sauwastika" is sometimes given to the left-facing form of the swastika (卍), though the term is merely an alternate spelling of swastika. There are some who claim that the left-facing swastika has inauspicious or "evil" connotations, although others dismiss this as superstition.

Art and architecture

Swastika-type designs on the peplos of an Archaic kore, Acropolis Museum. The intersections of lines defining a solid repeated motif on the edge of a depicted piece of cloth resemble a swastika.

The swastika is common as a design motif in current Hindu architecture and Indian artwork as well as in ancient Western architecture, frequently appearing in mosaics, friezes, and other works across the ancient world. Related symbols in classical Western architecture include the cross, the three-legged triskele or triskelion and the rounded lauburu. The swastika symbol is also known in these contexts by a number of names, especially gammadion.

In Chinese, Korean, and Japanese art, the swastika is often found as part of a repeating pattern. One common pattern, called sayagata in Japanese, comprises left and right facing swastikas joined by lines. As the negative space between the lines has a distinctive shape, the sayagata pattern is sometimes called the "key fret" motif in English.

In Greco-Roman art and architecture, and in Romanesque and Gothic art in the West, isolated swastikas are relatively rare, and the swastika is more commonly found as a repeated element in a border or tessellation. The swastika often represented perpetual motion, reflecting the design of a rotating windmill or watermill. A meander of connected swastikas makes up the large band that surrounds the Augustan Ara Pacis. A design of interlocking swastikas is one of several tessellations on the floor of the cathedral of Amiens, France. A border of linked swastikas was a common Roman architectural motif, and can be seen in more recent buildings as a neoclassical element. A swastika border is one form of meander, and the individual swastikas in such a border are sometimes called Greek keys.

Swastika on geometric pottery, National Archaeological Museum of Athens.

Swastikas have also been found on pottery in archaeological digs in the area of ancient Kush. Swastikas were found on pottery at the Gebel Barkal temples as well as in digs corresponding to the later X-Group peoples.

A mola showing a swastika, based on the Kuna flag.

Ceramic tiles with a swastika design have appeared in many parts of the world including the United States in the early 20th century. A number of the buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places or as Unesco World Heritage sites, and are considered worthy of historical preservation. See Western use of the Swastika in the early 20th century for specific examples.

The Primate's Palace in Bratislava has security grills on the ground floor that incorporate swastikas in their design. (See Image of the Primate's Palace)

Religion

Swastika on the doorstep of an apartment in Maharashtra, India.

Hinduism

In Hinduism, the two symbols represent the two forms of the creator god Brahma: facing right it represents the evolution of the universe (Devanagari: प्रवृत्ति, Pravritti), facing left it represents the involution of the universe (Devanagari: निवृत्ति, Nivritti). It is also seen as pointing in all four directions (north, east, south and west) and thus signifies stability and groundedness. Its use as a sun symbol can first be seen in its representation of the god Surya (Devanagari: सूर्य, Sun). The swastika is considered extremely holy and auspicious by all Hindus, and is used in all Hindu yantras (Devanagari: यंत्र) and religious designs.

The swastika is found all over Hindu temples, signs, altars, pictures and iconography where it is sacred. It is used in Hindu weddings, festivals, ceremonies, houses and doorways, clothing and jewelry, motor transport and even decorations on food items such as cakes and pastries. Among the Hindus of Bengal, it is common to see the name "swastika" (Bengali: স্বস্তিক sbastik) applied to a slightly different symbol, which has the same significance as the common swastika, and both symbols are used as auspicious signs. This symbol looks something like a stick figure of a human being

"Swastika" (স্বস্তিক Sbastik) is a common given name amongst Bengalis and a prominent literary magazine in Kolkata (Calcutta) is called the Swastika.

The Swastika is one of the 108 symbols of Hindu deity Vishnu and represents the sun's rays, upon which life depends.

Buddhism

File:Photo of rss member.jpg

A picture of a Red Swastika Society member.

The symbol as it is used in Buddhist art and scripture is known in Japanese as a manji (literally, "the character for eternality" 萬字), and represents Dharma, universal harmony, and the balance of opposites. When facing left, it is the omote (front) manji, representing love and mercy. Facing right, it represents strength and intelligence, and is called the ura (rear) manji. Balanced manji are often found at the beginning and end of Buddhist scriptures (outside India).

Buddhism originated in the Indian subcontinent in the 5th century B.C.E. and inherited the manji. These two symbols are included, at least since the Liao Dynasty, as part of the Chinese language, the symbolic sign for the character 萬 or 万 (wàn in Mandarin, man in Korean, Cantonese and Japanese, vạn in Vietnamese) meaning "all" or "eternality" (lit. myriad) and as 卐, which is seldom used. A manji marks the beginning of many Buddhist scriptures. The manji (in either orientation) appears on the chest of some statues of Gautama Buddha and is often incised on the soles of the feet of the Buddha in statuary.

In 1922, the Chinese Syncretist movement Daoyuan founded the philanthropic association Red Swastika Society in imitation of the Red Cross. The association was very active in China during the 1920s and the 1930s.

Jainism

The swastika is a holy symbol in Jainism

Jainism gives even more prominence to the swastika than does Hinduism. It is a symbol of the seventh Jina (Saint), the Tirthankara Suparsva. In the Svetambar (Devanagari: श्वेताम्बर) Jain tradition, it is also one of the symbols of the ashta-mangalas (Devanagari: अष्ट मंगल). It is considered to be one of the 24 auspicious marks and the emblem of the seventh arhat of the present age. All Jain temples and holy books must contain the swastika and ceremonies typically begin and end with creating a swastika mark several times with rice around the altar.

Abrahamic religions

The swastika was not widely utilized by followers of the Abrahamic religions. Where it does exist, it is not always portrayed as an explicitly religious symbol, and is often purely decorative or, at most, a symbol of good luck. One example of scattered use is the floor of the synagogue at Ein Gedi, built during the Roman occupation of Judea, which was decorated with a swastika.

File:Jewish swastika.jpg

A mandala-like meditative image from the Kabbalistic work "Parashat Eliezer"

An unusual swastika, composed of the Hebrew letters Aleph and Resh, appears in the 18th century Kabbalistic work "Parashat Eliezer" by Rabbi Eliezer Fischl of Strizhov, a commentary on the obscure ancient eschatological book "Karnayim," ascribed to Rabbi Aharon of Kardina. The symbol is enclosed by a circle and surrounded by a cyclic hymn in Aramaic. The hymn, which refers explicitly to the power of the Sun, as well as the shape of the symbol, shows strong solar symbolism. According to the book, this mandala-like symbol is meant to help a mystical adept to contemplate on the cyclic nature and structure of the Universe.

In Christianity, the swastika is sometimes used as a hooked version of the Christian Cross, the symbol of Christ's victory over death. Some Christian churches built in the Romanesque and Gothic eras are decorated with swastikas, carrying over earlier Roman designs. The stole worn by a priest in the 1445 painting of the Seven Sacraments by Roger van der Weyden presents the swastika form simply as one way of depicting the cross. Swastikas also appear on the vestments on the effigy of Bishop William Edington (d.1366) in Winchester Cathedral.

The Benedictine choir school at Lambach Abbey, Upper Austria, which Hitler attended for several months as a boy, had a swastika chiseled into the monastery portal and also the wall above the spring grotto in the courtyard by 1868. Their origin was the personal coat of arms of Abbot Theoderich Hagn of the monastery in Lambach, which bore a golden swastika with slanted points on a blue field. The Lambach depiction, in the Hindu style, did not inspire Hitler to use the symbol, as the Nazi Party's use of it stems from the Thule Society and previous occult societies.

The Muslim "Friday" mosque of Isfahan, Iran and the Taynal Mosque in Tripoli, Lebanon both have swastika motifs.

Other Asian traditions

A swastika crossed by two arrows, within a shield and surmounted by a royal crown on an orange background was used as the coat of arms of the samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga in the early 17th century.

Some sources indicate that the Chinese Empress Wu (武則天) (684–704) of the Tang Dynasty decreed that the swastika would be used as an alternative symbol of the sun. As part of the Chinese script, the swastika has Unicode encodings U+534D 卍 (pronunciation following the Chinese character "萬": pinyin:wàn); (left-facing) and U+5350 卐 (right-facing).

The Mandarin "Wan" is a homophone for "10,000" and is commonly used to represent the whole of creation, e.g. 'the myriad things' in the Dao De Jing.

On Japanese maps, a swastika (left-facing and horizontal) is used to mark the location of a Buddhist temple.

Native American traditions

Native American basketball team in 1909.

The swastika shape was used by some Native Americans. It has been found in excavations of Mississippian-era sites in the Ohio valley. It was widely used by many southwestern tribes, most notably the Navajo. Among various tribes, the swastika carried different meanings. To the Hopi it represented the wandering Hopi clan; to the Navajo it was one symbol for a whirling winds (tsil no'oli'), a sacred image representing a legend that was used in healing rituals.

A swastika shape is an ancient symbol in the culture of the Kuna people of Kuna Yala, Panama. In Kuna tradition, it symbolizes the octopus that created the world; its tentacles, pointing to the four cardinal points.

In February, 1925, the Kuna revolted against Panamanian suppression of their culture, and were granted autonomy in 1930; the flag they adopted is based on the swastika shape, and remains the official flag of Kuna Yala.

Pre-Christian Europe

In Bronze Age Europe, the "Sun cross" (a cross in a circle) appears frequently, often interpreted as a solar symbol. Swastika shapes have been found on numerous artifacts from Iron Age Europe (Greco-Roman, Illyrian, Etruscan, Baltic, Celtic, Germanic, and Slavic).

Baltic

The swastika is one of the most common symbols used throughout Baltic art. The symbol is known as either Ugunskrusts, the "Fire cross" (rotating counter-clockwise), or Pērkonkrusts, the "Thunder cross" (rotating clock-wise), and was mainly associated with Pērkons, the god of Thunder.

Celtic

Variation of tursaansydän

The bronze frontspiece of a ritual pre-Christian (ca 350-50 B.C.E.) shield found in the River Thames near Battersea Bridge (hence "Battersea Shield") is embossed with 27 swastikas in bronze and red enamel. An Ogham stone found in Anglish, Co Kerry (CIIC 141) was modified into an early Christian gravestone, and was decorated with a cross pattée and two swastikas. At the Northern edge of Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire, there is a swastika-shaped pattern engraved in a stone known as the Swastika Stone.

Finnish

In Finland the swastika was often used in traditional folk art products, as a decoration or magical symbol on textiles and wood. Certain types of symbols which incorporated swastika were used to decorate wood; such symbols are called tursaansydän and mursunsydän in Finnish. Tursaansydän was often used until 18th century, when it was mostly replaced by simple swastika.

Germanic

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Alemannic or Bavarian brooches (Zierscheiben) incorporating a swastika symbol at the center with a varying number of rays.

The swastika shape (also called a fylfot) appears on various Germanic Migration Period and Viking Age artifacts, such as the 3rd century Værløse Fibula from Zealand, Denmark, the Gothic spearhead from Brest-Litovsk, Russia, the 9th century Snoldelev Stone from Ramsø, Denmark, and numerous Migration Period bracteates drawn left-facing or right-facing.

The pagan Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo, England, contained numerous items bearing the swastika, now housed in the collection of the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Hilda Ellis Davidson theorized that the swastika symbol was associated with Thor, possibly representing his hammer Mjolnir - symbolic of thunder - and possibly being connected to the Bronze Age sun wheel. Davidson cites "many examples" of the swastika symbol from Anglo-Saxon graves of the pagan period, with particular prominence on cremation urns from the cemeteries of East Anglia.

Sami

An object very much like a hammer or a double axe is depicted among the magical symbols on the drums of Sami shamans, used in their religious ceremonies before Christianity was established.

Slavic

The Boreyko Coat of Arms.

The swastika shape was also present in pre-Christian Slavic mythology. It was dedicated to the sun god Svarog (Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian Сварог) and called kolovrat, (Polish kołowrót, Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian коловрат or коловорот, Serbian коловрат/kolovrat) or swarzyca. In the Polish first Republic the symbol of the swastika was also popular with the nobility.

For the Slavs the swastika is a magic sign manifesting the power and majesty of the sun and fire. It was usually called "The wheel of Svarog." It was often used as an ornament decorating ritualistic utensils of a cult cinerary urns with ashes of the dead. It was the symbol of power (the swastika seen on the coins of Mieszko I).

At the start of the Renaissance, swastika ornaments disappeared from utensils but swastika continued being used by Slavs. It became a popular ornament on Easter eggs and in wayside shrines in folk culture. This ornament still existed in 1940-50. The Swastika was also a heraldic symbol, for example on the Boreyko coat of arms, used by noblemen in Poland and Ukraine. In the 19th century the swastika was one of the Russian empire's symbols; it was even placed in coins as a background to the Russian eagle.

Basque

A lauburu.

The Lauburu (Basque for "four heads") is the traditional Basque. The cross has four comma-shaped heads similar to the Japanese tomoe and in modern times it has been associated with the swastika. It is a clock-wise turning Swasticka with rounded edges.

As the symbol of Nazism

Since World War II, the swastika is often associated with the flag of Nazi Germany and the Nazi Party in the Western world. Prior to this association, swastikas were used throughout the western world.

In the wake of widespread popular usage, the Nazi Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP) formally adopted the swastika (in German: Hakenkreuz (hook-cross)) in 1920. This was used on the party's flag (right), badge, and armband. It had also been used unofficially by its predecessor, the German Workers Party, Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (DAP).^{[citation needed]}

In his 1925 work Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler wrote that:

I myself, meanwhile, after innumerable attempts, had laid down a final form; a flag with a red background, a white disk, and a black swastika in the middle. After long trials I also found a definite proportion between the size of the flag and the size of the white disk, as well as the shape and thickness of the swastika.

When Hitler created a flag for the Nazi Party, he sought to incorporate both the swastika and "those revered colors expressive of our homage to the glorious past and which once brought so much honor to the German nation." (Red, white, and black were the colors of the flag of the old German Empire.) He also stated: "As National Socialists, we see our program in our flag. In red, we see the social idea of the movement; in white, the nationalistic idea; in the swastika, the mission of the struggle for the victory of the Aryan man, and, by the same token, the victory of the idea of creative work, which as such always has been and always will be anti-Semitic."

The swastika was also understood as "the symbol of the creating, acting life" (das Symbol des schaffenden, wirkenden Lebens) and as "race emblem of Germanism" (Rasseabzeichen des Germanentums) .

The use of the swastika was associated by Nazi theorists with their conjecture of Aryan cultural descent of the German people. Following the Nordicist version of the Aryan invasion theory, the Nazis claimed that the early Aryans of India, from whose Vedic tradition the swastika sprang, were the prototypical white invaders. It was also widely believed that the Indian caste system had originated as a means to avoid racial mixing. The concept of Racial purity was an ideology central to Nazism, even though it is now considered unscientific. For Alfred Rosenberg, the theologian of National Socialism, the Aryans of India were both a model to be imitated and a warning of the dangers of the spiritual and racial "confusion" that, he believed, arose from the close proximity of races. Thus, they saw fit to co-opt the sign as a symbol of the Aryan master race. The use of the swastika as a symbol of the Aryan race dates back to writings of Emile Burnouf. Following many other writers, the German nationalist poet Guido von List believed it to be a uniquely Aryan symbol.

File:Thule-gesellschaft emblem.jpg

A Thule Society emblem featuring a Swastika.

Before the Nazis, the swastika was already in use as a symbol of German völkisch nationalist movements (Völkische Bewegung). In Deutschland Erwache (ISBN 0-912138-69-6), Ulric of England (sic) says:

[…] what inspired Hitler to use the swastika as a symbol for the NSDAP was its use by the Thule Society (German: Thule-Gesellschaft) since there were many connections between them and the DAP … from 1919 until the summer of 1921 Hitler used the special Nationalsozialistische library of Dr. Friedrich Krohn, a very active member of the Thule-Gesellschaft … Dr. Krohn was also the dentist from Sternberg who was named by Hitler in Mein Kampf as the designer of a flag very similar to one that Hitler designed in 1920 … during the summer of 1920, the first party flag was shown at Lake Tegernsee … these home-made … early flags were not preserved, the Ortsgruppe München (Munich Local Group) flag was generally regarded as the first flag of the Party.

José Manuel Erbez says:

The first time the swastika was used with an "Aryan" meaning was on December 25, 1907, when the self-named Order of the New Templars, a secret society founded by [Adolf Joseph] Lanz von Liebenfels, hoisted at Werfenstein Castle (Austria) a yellow flag with a swastika and four fleurs-de-lys.

However, Liebenfels was drawing on an already established use of the symbol.

On March 14, 1933, shortly after Hitler's appointment as Chancellor of Germany, the NSDAP flag was hoisted alongside Germany's national colors. It was adopted as the sole national flag on September 15, 1935 (see Nazi Germany).

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A swastika flag flying at an unknown rally in Germany in World War Two

While the DAP and the NSDAP had used both right-facing and left-facing swastikas, the right-facing swastika was used consistently from 1920 onwards. "Centred vs. Offset Disc and Swastika 1933–1945 (Germany)." Flags of the World. December 29, 2004.</ref>

Several variants are found:

• a 45° black swastika on a white disc as in the NSDAP and national flags;
• a 45° black swastika on a white lozenge (e.g., Hitler Youth);
• a 45° black swastika with a white outline was painted on the tail of aircraft of the Luftwaffe;
• a 45° black swastika outlined by thin white and black lines on a white disc (e.g., the German War Ensign);
• an upright black swastika outlined by thin white and black lines on a white disc (e.g., Adolf Hitler's personal standard in which a gold wreath encircles the swastika; the Schutzstaffel; and the Reichsdienstflagge, in which a black circle encircles the swastika);
• small gold, silver, black, or white 45° swastikas, often lying on or being held by an eagle, on many badges and flags.
• a swastika with curved outer arms forming a broken circle, as worn by the SS Nordland Division.

Use in Western countries

Because of its use by Hitler and the Nazis and, in modern times, by neo-Nazis and other hate groups, the swastika is today largely associated with Nazism and white supremacy (see Western use of the Swastika in the early 20th century) in most of the Western countries. As a result, all of its use, or its use as a Nazi or hate symbol is prohibited in some jurisdictions. Because of the stigma attached to the symbol, many buildings that have contained the symbol as decoration have had the symbol removed. Westerners whose family originates from India, including religions such as Jain, Hindu and other Indian religions, still use the swastika as a religious symbol, with no connection to Nazism, although not without being accused of cultural insensitivity.

Finland

Presidential Standard of Finland features the Cross of liberty with a swastika

File:Rv1007 s11 lentosotakoulu.jpg

All the Unit Colours of the Finnish Air Force feature the same basic design, with a swastika as a central element. This is the Unit Colour of the Finnish Air Force Academy.

Finland might be a notable exception amongst the modern Western countries regarding the public attitude towards the swastika.

The president of Finland is the grand master of the Order of the White Rose. According to the protocol, the president shall wear the Cross of Liberty with Chains on formal occasions. The original design of the chains, decorated with swastikas, dates from 1918 by the artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela. The Grand Cross with Chains has been awarded 11 times to foreign heads of state. To avoid misunderstandings, the swastika decorations were replaced by fir-crosses at the request of President Kekkonen in 1963.

Also a design by Gallen-Kallela of 1918, the Cross of Liberty has a swastika pattern in the arms of the cross. The Cross of Liberty is depicted in the upper left corner of the flag of the President of Finland.

A traditional symbol that incorporates a swastika, the tursaansydän, is used by scouts in some instances and a student organization. The village of Tursa uses the tursaansydän as a kind of a certificate of genuineness of products made there. Traditional textiles are still being made with swastikas as a part of traditional ornaments.

Latvia

Latvia adopted the swastika, called the Ugunskrusts ("fire cross"), for its air force in 1918/1919 and continued its use until 1940. The cross itself was maroon on a white background, mirroring the colors of the Latvian flag.

Belgium

A controversy arose in Maasmechelen, Belgium, when Google Earth users found that a 27 year old fountain at the city council office looks like a swastika from the air. As a result the mayor said he would replace it.

Brazil

The use of the swastika in conjunction with any other Nazi allusion, and also its manufacture, distribution or broadcasting, is a crime as dictated by law 7.716/89 from 1989. The penalty is a fine and two to five years in prison.

European Union

The European Union's executive Commission proposed a European Union wide anti-racism law in 2001, but European Union states failed to agree on the balance between prohibiting racism and freedom of expression. An attempt to ban the swastika across the EU in early 2005 failed after objections from the British Government and others. In early 2007, Germany proposed that the European Union follow German Criminal Law and criminalize the denial of the Holocaust and the display of Nazi symbols including the swastika. This led to an opposition campaign by Hindu groups across Europe The proposal to ban the swastika was dropped by Berlin from the proposed European Union wide anti-racism laws on January 29, 2007.

Germany

Plane of Ernst Udet used for acrobatic shows held during the 1936 Summer Olympics on display in the Polish Aviation Museum.

The German (and Austrian) postwar criminal code makes the public showing of the Hakenkreuz (the swastika) and other Nazi symbols illegal and punishable, except for scholarly reasons. It is even censored from the lithographs on boxes of model kits, and the decals that come in the box. It is also censored from the reprints of 1930s railway timetable published by Bundesbahn. The swastikas on Hindu and Jain temples are exempt, as religious symbols cannot be banned in Germany.

In late 2005 police raided the offices of the punk rock label and mail order store "Nix Gut Records" and confiscated merchandise depicting crossed-out swastikas and fists smashing swastikas. In 2006 the Stade police department started an inquiry against anti-fascist youths using a placard depicting a person dumping a swastika into a trashcan. The placard was displayed in opposition to the campaign of right-wing nationalist parties for local elections.

On Friday, March 17, 2006, a member of the Bundestag Claudia Roth reported herself to the German police for displaying a crossed-out swastika in multiple demonstrations against Neo-Nazis, and subsequently got the Bundestag to suspend her immunity from prosecution. On March 15, 2007, the Federal Court of Justice of Germany (Bundesgerichtshof) reversed the charge, holding that the crossed-out symbols were "clearly directed against a revival of national-socialist endeavors," thereby settling the dispute for the future.

The relevant excerpt of the German criminal code reads:

§ 86 StGB Dissemination of Means of Propaganda of Unconstitutional Organizations

(1) Whoever domestically disseminates or produces, stocks, imports or exports or makes publicly accessible through data storage media for dissemination domestically or abroad, means of propaganda:

1. of a party which has been declared to be unconstitutional by the Federal Constitutional Court or a party or organization, as to which it has been determined, no longer subject to appeal, that it is a substitute organization of such a party; […]

4. means of propaganda, the contents of which are intended to further the aims of a former National Socialist organization, shall be punished with imprisonment for not more than three years or a fine. […]

(3) Subsection (1) shall not be applicable if the means of propaganda or the act serves to further civil enlightenment, to avert unconstitutional aims, to promote art or science, research or teaching, reporting about current historical events or similar purposes. […]

§ 86a StGB Use of Symbols of Unconstitutional Organizations

(1) Whoever:

1. domestically distributes or publicly uses, in a meeting or in writings (§ 11 subsection (3)) disseminated by him, symbols of one of the parties or organizations indicated in § 86 subsection (1), nos. 1, 2 and 4; or

2. produces, stocks, imports or exports objects which depict or contain such symbols for distribution or use domestically or abroad, in the manner indicated in number 1,

shall be punished with imprisonment for not more than three years or a fine.

(2) Symbols, within the meaning of subsection (1), shall be, in particular, flags, insignia, uniforms, slogans and forms of greeting. Symbols which are so similar as to be mistaken for those named in sentence 1 shall be deemed to be equivalent thereto. […]

United States

File:BSA Natl Jamboree 1937.jpg

Boy Scouts at the prewar (1937) national Scout jamboree in Washington, D.C., using swastikas as part of their Native American portrayal

The swastika symbol was popular as a good luck or religious/spiritual symbol in the United States, prior to its association with Nazi Germany. The symbol remains visible on numerous historic buildings, including sites that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It also appeared on tiles, lampposts, metal valves, tools, surfboards, stock certificates, brand names, place names, medals, commercial tokens, postcards, souvenirs, rugs and clothing; see Western use of the Swastika in the early 20th century.

The shoulder patch of the 45th Infantry Division, a National Guard unit from the Southwestern US, was originally a yellow swastika on a red diamond, in the context of a religious/mystical symbol of the Native American tribes of that region. As war with Nazi Germany became imminent in the late 1930s, the swastika was replaced by a yellow thunderbird emblem.

Satirical use

Members of the LaRouche movement in Stockholm protest the Treaty of Lisbon with pictures rearranging the stars of the Flag of Europe into a swastika

A book featuring "120 Funny Swastika Cartoons" was published in 2008 by New York Cartoonist Sam Gross. The author said he created the cartoons in response to excessive news coverage given to swastika vandals, that his intent "...is to reduce the swastika to something humorous."

The powerful symbolism acquired by the swastika has often been used in graphic design and propaganda as a means of drawing Nazi comparisons; examples include the cover of Stuart Eizenstat's 2003 book Imperfect Justice, publicity materials for Costa-Gavras's 2002 film Amen, and a billboard that was erected opposite the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Cuba, in 2004, which juxtaposed images of the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse pictures with a swastika.

Other Contemporary usage

India, Nepal and Sri Lanka

File:BiharSeal.jpg

The logo of the Indian State of Bihar incorporates a swastika.

In South Asia, the swastika remains ubiquitous as a symbol of wealth and good fortune. Many businesses and other organizations, such as the Ahmedabad Stock Exchange and the Nepal Chamber of Commerce, use the swastika in their logos. The red swastika was suggested as an emblem of International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in India and Sri Lanka, but the idea was not implemented [2]. Swastikas can be found practically everywhere in Indian cities, on buses, buildings, auto-rickshaws, and clothing.

Tajikistan

In 2005, authorities in Tajikistan called for the widespread adoption of the swastika as a national symbol. President Emomali Rahmonov declared the swastika an "Aryan" symbol and 2006 to be "the year of Aryan culture," which would be a time to “study and popularize Aryan contributions to the history of the world civilization, raise a new generation (of Tajiks) with the spirit of national self-determination, and develop deeper ties with other ethnicities and cultures.”

New religious movements

Theosophical Society

The Theosophical Society uses a swastika as part of its seal, along with an Aum, a hexagram, a Star of David, an Ankh and an Ouroboros. Unlike the much more recent Raëlian movement (see below), the Theosophical Society symbol has been free from controversy, and the seal is still used. .

Raëlian Movement

The Raëlian Movement, who believe that Extra-Terrestrials originally created all life on earth, use a symbol that is often the source of considerable controversy: an interlaced Star of David and a Swastika. The Raelians state that the Star of David represents infinity in space whereas the swastika represents infinity in time i.e. there being no beginning and no end in time, and everything being cyclic . In 1991, the symbol was changed to remove the Swastika, out of respect to the victims of the holocaust, but as of 2007 has been restored to its original form .

Ananda Marga

File:Ananda-pratik.jpg

The emblem of Ananda Marga.

The Tantra-based religious movement Ananda Marga (Devanagari: आनन्द मार्ग, meaning Way to Happiness) uses a motif similar to the Raëlians, but in their case the apparent star of David is defined as intersecting triangles with no specific reference to Jewish culture.

Falungong

The Falungong qigong movement uses a symbol that features a large swastika surrounded by four smaller (and rounded) ones, interspersed with yin-and-yang symbols. The usage is taken from traditional Chinese symbolism, and here alludes to chakra-like portion of the esoteric human anatomy, located in the stomach (see Dantien).

Neopaganism

The Odinic Rite claims the "fylfot" as a "holy symbol of Odinism," citing the pre-Christian Germanic use of the symbol.

Image Gallery

• 

  A swastika on a Buddhist temple in Korea.

• 

  Reconstructed colour scheme of the entablature on a Doric temple, decorated with swastika designs .

• 

  A swastika on a Roman mosaic.

• 

  A part of the Book of Silk from 400 B.C.E.

• 

  A swastika shown painted inside the nosecone of the Spirit of St. Louis.

• 

  The swastika on a comb found in the Danish bog Nydam Mose, from around 300.

• 

  The swastika shape on the Danish Snoldelev Stone, from around 800.

• Amiens-pavement-swastika.jpg

  Interlocking swastika design in pavement of Amiens Cathedral.

• 

  The tombstone of abbot Simon de Gillans (-1345), with a stole depicting swastikas. Musée de Cluny, Paris.

• Gornji Mocioci Crepaljsko.jpg

  Stećak with swastika from Medieval Bosnia.

• 

  Detail of The Seven Sacraments (1445) by Roger van der Weyden. The crosses on the priest's stole are alternately in swastika and in "patent" form.

• 

  Flag of the city of Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan

• 

  Election propaganda for the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) in Kathmandu

• 

  Hindu Swastika sign in a car in Canada.

See also

• Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
• Brigid's cross
• Celtic cross
• Fascist symbolism
• Forest swastika
• Karl Haushofer
• Lauburu or Basque cross
• The Red Swastika Society (China)
• Rodło
• Sauwastika
• Solar symbols
• Sun cross
• Swastika curve
• Swastika Laundry
• Triskelion, including the three-legged badge of the Isle of Man
• Tursaansydän
• Western use of the Swastika in the early 20th century

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• A critical update to remove unacceptable symbols from the Bookshelf Symbol 7 font. Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 833407. November 8, 2004.
• Aigner, Dennis J. (2000). The Swastika Symbol in Navajo Textiles. Laguna Beach, California: DAI Press. ISBN 0-9701898-0-X.
• Clarence House issues apology for Prince Harry's Nazi costume. BBC News. January 13, 2005.
• Clube, V. and Napier, B. The Cosmic Serpent. Universe Books, 1982.
• Enthoven, R.E. The Folklore of Bombay. London: Oxford University Press, 1924 (pp. 40–45).
• Gardner, N. (2006) Multiple Meanings: The Swastika Symbol. In Hidden Europe, 11, pp. 35–37. Berlin. ISSN 1860-6318.
• Jaume Ollé, Željko Heimer, and Norman Martin. "State Flag and Ensign 1935–1945" December 29, 2004. The Reichsdienstflagge.
• Lonsdale, Steven. Animals and the Origin of Dance, Thames and Hudson Inc., NY, 1982 (pp. 169–181).
• MacCulloch, C.J.A. Canon, John A. (Ed.) Mythology of all Races. vol. 8 ("Chinese Mythology" Ferguson, John C.) Marshall Jones Co. Boston, MA 1928 (p. 31).
• ManWoman. Gentle Swastika: Reclaiming the Innocence, Cranbrook, B.C., Canada: Flyfoot Press, 2001. ISBN 0-9688716-0-7.
• Marcus Wendel, Jaume Ollé, et al. "Schutzstaffel/SS" December 14, 2001.
• Morphy, Howard (Ed.). Animals into Art (ONE WORLD ARCHAEOLOGY; vol. 7) Unwin Gyman Ltd., London, 1989 (chapt. 11 Schaafsma, Polly).
• Norman Martin et al. "Standard of the Leader and National Chancellor 1935–1945." April 9, 2004. Hitler's personal flag.
• Roy, Pratap Chandra. The Mahabharata, Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi, 1973 (vol. 1 section 13–58, vol. 5 section 2–3).
• Schliemann, Henry. Ilios Harper & Brothers, Franklin Square, NY, 1881 (pp. 334–353).
• Tan Huay Peng. (1980–1983). Fun with Chinese Characters. Singapore: Federal Publications. ISBN 981-01-3005-8.
• The Swastika: The Earliest Known Symbol, and Its Migrations; with Observations on the Migration of Certain Industries in Prehistoric Times. In Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution
• Whipple, Fred L. The Mystery of Comets Smithsonian Inst. Press, Washington, DC 1985, (pp. 163–167).
• Wilson, Thomas (Curator, Department of Prehistoric Anthropology, U.S. National Museum) (1896).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Swastikas

general

• History of the Swastika (US Holocaust Memorial Museum)
• The Origins of the Swastika BBC News
• The Swastika, the Earliest Known Symbol (DjVu)

Dharmic religions

• Swastikam - Symbol of Auspiciousness (chapter 7 of Vishayasuchi by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami)

early Western use

• Windsor's "Swastikas" Hockey Teams 1905–1916
• Finnish uses of the swastika
• [3] US Army Air Corp (USAAC) Boeing P-12C with 55th Pursuit Squadrons swastika-insignia in 1930s. The USAAC became the United States Air Force in 1941.

Nazi use

• Documentary about the use of the swastike in the Third Reich
• From Flags of the World:
  • Origins of the Swastika Flag (Third Reich, Germany) (collection of links and comments)
  • Neonazi flags (links to other FOTW pages)

Miscellaneous

• Reclaim the Swastika

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