Nazi symbolism

The swastika was the first symbol of Nazism and remains strongly associated with it in the Western world.

The 20th-century German Nazi Party made extensive use of graphic symbols, especially the swastika, notably in the form of the swastika flag, which became the co-national flag of Nazi Germany in 1933, and the sole national flag in 1935. A very similar flag had represented the Party beginning in 1920.

The swastika

Main article: Swastika § Nazism

The Nazis' principal symbol was the hakenkreuz, "hooked-cross" (which resembles the Swastika) which the newly established Nazi Party formally adopted in 1920. The emblem was a black swastika (卐) rotated 45 degrees on a white circle on a red background. This insignia was used on the party's flag, badge, and armband. Similar shaped swastikas were seen in United States postcards wishing people good luck in the early 1900s.

The black-white-red motif is based on the colours of the flags of the German Empire. This colour scheme was commonly associated with anti-Weimar German nationalists, following the fall of the German Empire. The Nazis denounced the black-red-gold flag of the Weimar republic (the current flag of Germany).

In Mein Kampf Adolf Hitler described the symbolism of the Nazi flag: "The red expressed the social thought underlying the movement. White the national thought. And the swastika signified the mission allotted to us-the struggle for the victory of Aryan mankind and at the same time the triumph of the ideal of creative work ..."

Today, certain countries such as Germany (see Strafgesetzbuch section 86a), Austria, France, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Ukraine, Brazil, and Israel have banned Nazi symbols and it is considered a criminal offence if they are displayed publicly for non-educational purposes. On August 9, 2018, Germany lifted the ban on the usage of swastikas and other Nazi symbols in video games. "Through the change in the interpretation of the law, games that critically look at current affairs can for the first time be given a USK age rating," USK managing director Elisabeth Secker told CTV. "This has long been the case for films and with regards to the freedom of the arts, this is now rightly also the case with computer and videogames."

Heraldry

The ancient arms of Coburg (left) featured the head of Saint Maurice, a symbol looked down upon by the Nazi party; in 1934, it was replaced by a coat of arms featuring a sword with a swastika on the pommel (right).

Under the Nazi regime, government bodies were encouraged to remove religious symbolism from their heraldry. Symbols such as crosses, saints, etc. were seen as upsetting to National Socialists; however, few German councils actually changed their often ancient symbols. Some, however, did, including Coburg, which replaced the Maure on their arms with a sword and swastika, and Thuringia, which added a swastika to the paws of their lion.

Nazi occultists Karl Maria Wiligut and Guido von List both claimed that heraldry began in the world of the Germanic gods, and was created by Wotan, the god of war.

Other symbols

Other symbols employed by the Nazis include:

• The eagle atop swastika (German: Parteiadler), the formal symbol of the Nazi Party
• The SS bolts, the runic insignia of the Schutzstaffel
• Various runes from the runic script, such as the Odal/Othala, Algiz/Leben, Tyr/Tiwaz runes and other rune-like symbols such as the Wolfsangel
• The black SS uniform
• The brown shirts of the Sturmabteilung
• The death's head insignia of the SS-Totenkopfverbände and concentration camp units
• The Black Sun (German: Schwarze Sonne/Sonnenrad) used by Heinrich Himmler of the SS.
• The crossed hammer and sword of Strasserism, a strand of Nazism that has an anti-capitalist and socialist ideology.
• The broken sun cross swastika.

Runic letters

Letters of the historical runic alphabet and the modern Armanen runes have been used by Nazism and neo-Nazi groups that associate themselves with Germanic traditions, mainly the Sigel, Eihwaz, Tyr; c.f. Odal (see Odalism) and Algiz runes.

The fascination that runes seem to have exerted on the Nazis can be traced to the occult and völkisch author Guido von List, one of the important figures in Germanic mysticism and runic revivalism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1908, List published in Das Geheimnis der Runen ("The Secret of the Runes") a set of 18 so-called "Armanen Runes", based on the Younger Futhark, which were allegedly revealed to him in a state of temporary blindness after a cataract operation on both eyes in 1902.

In Nazi contexts, the s-rune is referred to as "Sig" (after List, probably from Anglo-Saxon Sigel). The "Wolfsangel", while not a rune historically, has the shape of List's "Gibor" rune. Runic "SS" was the symbol of the Schutzstaffel.

Usages by neo-Nazi groups

Many symbols used by the Nazis have further been appropriated by neo-Nazi groups, including a number of runes.

Neo-Nazis however also employ various number symbols such as:

• 18, code for Adolf Hitler. The number comes from the position of the letters in the alphabet: A = 1, H = 8.
• 88, code for 88 Precepts. A manifesto written by David Lane, a late 20th-century American white supremacist, on the proper organization of a white nationalist nation, 88 Precepts is a treatise on natural law, religion and politics. However, according to the Anti-Defamation League, it is code for Heil Hitler. Again, the number comes from the position of the letter H in the Latin alphabet.
• 14, from the Fourteen Words coined by David Lane: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children."
• 14 and 88 are sometimes combined with each other (i.e. 14/88, 8814, 1488). They are also sometimes depicted on dice.
• Celtic Cross, originally a symbol used to represent pre-Christian and Christian European groups such as the Irish post-World War II it has been used by many neo-Nazi groups.

Gallery

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  The Reichsadler of Nazi Germany (1933–1945); the Parteiadler, the emblem of the Nazi Party, was very similar
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  SS death's head insignia
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  Horizontally aligned Wolfsangel, used by the 2nd SS Panzer Division
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  Vertical Wolfsangel
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  Odal rune(also used by the American-based "National Socialist Movement" since November 2016)
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  Sig runes

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  Algiz rune
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  A simplified version of the Celtic cross is used by various neo-Nazi groups
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  The broken sun cross used by the German Faith Movement and the 5th SS Panzer Division, also used by the Thule Society
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  The Hammer and Sword utilized by adherents of Strasserism
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  The Black Sun used by Esoteric Nazi circles and other neo-nazi groups

See also

• Fascist symbolism
• Flags of Germany
• Symbols of Germany
• Nazi memorabilia
• Runic insignia of the Schutzstaffel
• Strafgesetzbuch section 86a
• Swastika / Fylfot
• Runes
• Germanic Paganism
• Symbols of Francoism
• Uniforms and insignia of the Schutzstaffel
• Western use of the swastika in the early 20th century

External links

• Hate on Display: A Visual Database of Extremist Symbols, Logos and Tattoos
• A collection of forbidden Nazi symbols and emblems of various groups
• Symbols used by white supremacists
• "New Book Reveals Secret Meaning of Neo-Nazi Codes"
• "These are the new symbols of hate"