Madison Pierce

Mr. Hawkins
Modern World History - P, Period 6
20 March 2016
The Swastika: Peace to Propaganda
Not many people understand the history and meaning of the Swastika symbol, and where
it originated from. They see the symbol and automatically think of the treacherous connections it
has to the holocaust. This symbol which was once a representation of peace was slowly
manipulated into what people know of it today. The history behind the swastika is very
important, while the Nazi party may have thought it clever and fitting, the process of the
meaning of the swastika being drastically changed makes an individual wonder where the dots
didnt connect in their cruelty. Its important to know the ancient use of the swastika, how it was
translated in the late 19th century, and the taboo affect it had after the end of world war two and
the defeat of the Nazi party.
In ancient times and still presently in some places around the world the swastika holds a
very special meaning. The swastika is a very old symbol with use widespread throughout the
world. According to the History Teachers Resource Centers research on the swastika says
Sometimes referred to as a Gammadion Hakenkreuz or a Flyfot, it traditionally had
been a sign of good fortune and well being(HTRC 1). The origin of the symbol had a very
pleasant meaning that goes back in use to almost four thousand years ago at the ancient
civilization of Troy. Infact, the word swastika comes from Sanskrit, with su- meaning well, and
asti- meaning being, giving it a pure and clear good meaning and still to this day can be seen on
temples, buses, taxis, and books most commonly in India and asian countries. The Resource

Center also states that It also is considered to be a representation of the sun and is
associated with the worship of Aryan sun gods. It is a symbol in both Jainism and
Buddhism, as well as a Nordic runic emblem and a Navajo sign.(HTRC 2). Another web
source article also shows the use of the symbol in religious terms, they state It was used by
Nordic tribes and even early Christians used the Swastika as one of their symbols,
including the Teutonic Knights, a German medieval military order, which became a purely
religious Catholic Order(Black 1).This evidence shows that by definitions, this symbol was a
cross to some spiritual and religious beliefs that go back more than two thousand years ago, in
many articles its hard to find solid ancient history on the swastika because of how it was later
interpreted in the late 19th century . In the late 19th century the symbol was resurfaced in most
parts of Europe as a good luck charm when, after extensive archeologist work done by Heinrich
Schliemann. The holocaust museum found that Schliemann discovered the hooked cross on
the site of ancient Troy. He connected it with similar shapes found on pottery in Germany
and speculated that it was a significant religious symbol of our remote ancestors.
(Holocaust Encyclopedia 1). Soon after this was discovered, Hitler saw it as an ideal symbol to
represent his nation, and the principles he was about to use to lead his people and apparently,
only his people. The meaning of the swastika was twisted and manipulated to support the
inconsiderable actions of tyranny following the birth of this unruly leader.
When Hitler got a hold of it he saw only one evident meaning to the symbol, that could
strongly represent his principles. First, discussing Hitler's thinking process shows what he was
looking for in a symbolic representation and why he chose the swastika.Teachers Resource
concluded that When Adolph Hitler, the frustrated artist, was placed in charge of
propaganda for the fledgling National Socialist Party in 1920, he realized that the party

needed a vivid symbol to distinguish it from rival groups. He sought a design, therefore,
that would attract the masses. Hitler selected the swastika as the emblem of racial purity
displayed on a red background to win over the worker,(HTRC 3). It is said that the
swastika had a sense of power and direction for the people a initially attracted lower class
citizens who were looking for hope after post world war one depression and poverty among other
things, and then the liking of the symbol gradually spread. Resources found that Adolph Hitler
wrote in Mein Kampf, In red we see the social idea of the movement, in white the
Nationalist idea, and in the swastika the vision of the struggle for the victory of the Aryan
man.(HTRC 4). Hitler and his associates believed that the swastika embodied all of their
beliefs and principles in one simple symbol. The use of the swastika was also 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 theory the Aryan people were ancestors
to the german people, so they claimed that the early Aryans of India, from whose Vedic
tradition the swastika sprang, were the prototypical white invaders. Thus, they saw fit to
co-opt the sign as a symbol of the Aryan master race(Swastika 1). For some unknown
reason, the party got away with this claim, or more honestly, got away with disrespecting another
culture which they believed were inferior. On top of that, they stole a symbol from an inferior
people, and made the symbol be a sign of a master race, many people still dont understand
how they got away with it. They say that Hitlers main inspiration for using the swastika was its
relations in previous use with Thule-Gesellschaft, who had many connections with the NSDAP.
The NSDAP had many reasons to back there swastika symbolism, as wrong as it was sure
enough, The National Socialist German Workers Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche
Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP) formally adopted the swastika or Hakenkreuz (hooked cross) in

1920 (Swastika 2). The principles behind stealing the swastika were very well construed in
terms of having evidence, but the evidence is clearly incorrect and manipulated, after the
adoption of the swastika many rebelled the change in flag and national symbol and were
unsuccessful, but the symbol did become globally tabood eventually, once recognized, what once
was a symbol of peace and well-being, became a representation of tyranny and dictatorship.
Because Hitler and the Nazis and, in modern times, by neo-Nazis and other hate groups
used the swastika, for many people in the West, the swastika is associated primarily with Nazism,
fascism, and white supremacy in general. Ergo, outside historical contexts, it has become taboo
in Western countries. An article on the web gives many examples of the shame it brought, one
example they give states that The Theosophical Society, founded in New York in 1875,
incorporated the Swastika into its seal because of the Buddhist associations of the symbol.
The swastika use by the Navajo and other tribes made it a popular symbol for the
American Southwest. Until the 1930s blankets, metalwork, and other Southwestern
souvenirs were often made with swastikas.(Swastika 3). Most common folk dont know this
about north america because its not something they are very proud of and isnt often talked
about in recorded history. Up until the 1930s, the swastika was used and interpreted in a wide
spread of ways, but when the holocaust exploded people didnt want to be associated with it.
Another example shows that even German postwar criminal code makes the public
showing of the Hakenkreuz (the swastika) and other Nazi symbols illegal and punishable,
except for scholarly reasons. (Swastika 4). They too realized the shame in what the swastika
has brung to their country. Across the world people have also tried to accuse places and people of
being supporters to the NSDAP, and have tried to abolish things associated in that manner.
Christmas crackers containing plastic toy pandas sporting swastikas were pulled from

shelves after complaints from consumers in Canada, although the China-based

manufacturer claimed the symbol was presented in a traditional sense and not as a
reference to the Nazis..The previously successful career of the British band Kula Shaker
virtually collapsed in the 1990s after the band's frontman, Crispian Mills, son of actress
Hayley Mills, expressed his desire to use Swastikas as part of the imagery of their live
show; because of this, and additional remarks he made, he was widely accused of holding
Nazi sympathies(Swastika 5). These are only a few examples in which products and people
that were not associated with any Nazism, were tried against because of the way it may look to
other countries and to the overall population, Many western countries rushed to eliminate
anything that could be confused as associated with Nazis. Including even cities that had been
established much before the nazi party even existed, and used the symbol in a good
interpretation. In 1995, the City of Glendale, California scrambled to cover up over 900
cast iron lampposts decorated with swastikas throughout the downtown portion of the city;
the lampposts had been manufactured by an American company in the early 1920s, and
had nothing to do with Nazism.. And Swastika, a small community in northern Ontario,
Canada, approximately 580 kilometres north of Toronto, and 5 kilometres west of Kirkland
Lake, the town of which it is now part. The government of Ontario attempted to change the
town's name during World War II, but the town resisted. Today, people are still accused of
being Nazi associated because of evidence of swastika use, the predominant meaning of the
swastika was altered and in most western countries would not be confused for anything but a
symbol of Adolf Hitler.
Its very important to know the history of the swastika in terms of ancient interpretation,
how it become adopted in the 1900s (mainly by the Nazi party), and its taboo affect. It is ironic,

and unfortunate, that a symbol of life and eternity that was considered sacred for thousands of
years has become a symbol of hatred. The Swastika is not a bad symbol, it has just been
represented in a bad way, but that does not mean it should be left in the dust with those bad
people. It is hard to disassociate the symbol with that reign of terror, but maybe someday,
somebody will challenge that.