The Evolution of the Swastika into a Symbol of Hate
Introduction
For most of the western world, the Swastika symbol is seen as a symbol with strong attachment to the German Nazi Party, and with that comes the oppression and genocide of millions of people. However, this symbol has not always been seen this way. The original intentions for the Swastika were positive, but some believed it had links to Aryan pride, and Hitler’s narrative attached to this symbol has changed it into a symbol of hatred. It was meant to represent socialism and the needs of the working class, but small changes were made to it once it was adopted by the Nazi Party, so the positive meaning in the Eastern world remains. Despite this, its negative connotations are prevalent in the western world which hinder its presence from ever returning to common use.
The origin of the Swastika has been studied for decades, however, there are many different theories to consider. In addition, the meaning of the Swastika has evolved into something completely different than it was intended to mean. During its birth, whether it be astronomical, religious, or architectural, the Swastika was meant to be a positive symbol. The symbol appears in ancient texts comparing the symbol to the tails of a comet. Religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Odinism all used the Swastika to symbolize good fortune, however when facing a different way, it could mean death or destruction. This early interpretation of the symbol foreshadows the traumatizing events that took place under Adolf Hitler’s reign. Also, the symbol has been discovered as a geometric design on buildings in Asian countries. Eventually, the Swastika was used for malicious intent during World War II, changing the meaning of the Swastika forever. The Swastika was turned into a symbol of hatred through Nazi propaganda and white supremacy within Germany. The misuse of this symbol has had drastic effects on various countries and cultures, including the US and Germany, the Jewish community, and wholistically, the world. To answer the question of how the Swastika evolved into a symbol of hatred, a strategic approach must be taken. Many different sources must be consulted, as well as many different theories, from a time period long ago up until present day. One must consider the original intentions of the creator of the symbol, as well as the intent of those who have adopted it.
Theories on the Origin of the Swastika
One theory is that the Swastika has astronomical origins. In 1973, excavations of the prime minister’s tomb in the village of Mawangdui, near Changsha, in South Central China, discovered fifty-one items, dating back to the Han Dynasty. Among these items were books, transcripts, maps and charts that provided insight into the philosophical and scientific thinking of the ancient Chinese. Specifically, two of the texts found were in regards to astronomy and astrology, which had no distinct differentiation during that time. The title of the first text translates into Prognostications Related to the Five Planets, which discussed and plotted the orbits of the five plants between the years 246 B.C. amd 177 B.C. The second text, translated into Prognostications Related to Astronomical and Meteorological Phenomena discusses halos, clouds, rainbows, and most importantly, comets. This book, now referred to as the Comet Atlas, contained sketches comparing the the different appearance of tails of comets. Six out of the seven comets drawn looked fairly similar, however, the seventh drawing depicted four bent arms branching out from the center of the comet. In addition, this drawing was accompanied by more words in the descriptions than others. It translates to, “Appearing in spring means good harvest, in summer means drought, in autumn means flood, in winter means small battles.” The book Comet, published in 1985 by Carl Sagan, an American astronomer, attempts to explain that the comet must have approached Earth so closely that the spinning rotation caused the tail to mimic the four branches of the Swastika. Being one of the earliest depictions of the Swastika, this caption provides one of the first statements of intent or use of the Swastika symbol. The quote from the ancient texts depicts positive outcomes of the symbol, including good harvest, as well as negative outcomes, such as drought, flood, and war. From this culture, it cannot yet be determined if the Swastika began as good or bad, because multiple possibilities are included and must be explored within different cultures and time periods.
This symbol dates back to around five thousand years before Hitler adopted it. The word Swastika comes from the Sanskrit word “Svastika”, meaning good fortune or well being. The physical symbol of the hooked cross can be dated back to the neolithic era, used to signify the sun’s movement across the sky. Religious origins are also suggested to explain how the Swastika came about. This symbol is present within Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Odinism and, while the meanings slightly vary, they all mean some form of good luck or fortune, a positive meaning, instead of negative which is how it is perceived today. The Swastika can be found on many temples or houses in India or Indonesia. In Buddhism, the symbol can mean good fortune, auspiciousness, or Buddha’s footprints and heart. The Swastika is said to contain the mind of the Buddha and can often be found imprinted on the chest, feet or palms of Buddha images, among sixty-five other symbols that can be found imprinted. The Swastika has also often been used to signify the beginning of Buddhist texts and in Japan and China, the Buddhist Swastika was seen as a symbol of plurality, eternity, abundance, prosperity, and long life. Something important to note is that the Buddhist Swastika is almost always clockwise or right-facing. In contrast, in the Hindu religion, when the Swastika is right-facing or clockwise, it represents the symbol of the sun or the God Vishnu, the second God in the Hindu triumvirate, responsible for the upkeep of the world. When it is left-facing or counterclockwise, it represents Kali, the hindu goddess of death, who is also considered to be a strong motherly figure, and magic. The Swastika is also present in the Jain symbol, made up of multiple parts that have different meanings. Below the Swastika in the Jain symbol is a hand with a wheel inside and the word “Ahisma” written inside of that. This word means non-violence, which coincides with the hand, which symbolizes how Jains encourage others to stop and think about their actions before doing something harmful. Above is the Swastika. The four arms of the Swastika represent each of the four destinies into which one may be born: heavenly beings, human beings, animal beings and hellish beings. The four arms are also used to remind Jains that in order to achieve liberation, they must strive to become the four pillars of the Jain Sangh: sädhus, sädhvis, shrävaks, and shrävikäs. (Cort 17) These are used to encourage Jains to overcome social attachments and renounce the worldly life. Finally, a religion without Asian origin that uses the Swastika is Odinism, mainly of European descent. Referred to as the Fylfot, this symbol represents cycles in the universe, such as solstices and seasons. A difference between the use of the Swastika in Odinism and Buddhism is that in Odinism, a right-facing or clockwise represents death and destruction whereas left-facing or counterclockwise, it means creation and evolution (Greg 298).
Beside the astronomical or religious origins, the Swastika may have also originated as an architectural symbol. Found all over the world, the Swastika can be seen as a geometric buildings, pottery, tombs and even used as an advertisement symbol. It was used by Coca-Cola, Carlsberg beer and the Boy Scouts. In addition, the membership pin for Girl’s Club of America was in the shape of a Swastika. The first Swastika ever found was uncovered in Mezine, Ukraine, carved on an ivory figurine, which dates back around twelve thousand years. After excavations of Troy ceased to be funded by Britain, Frank Calvert purchased land in Hissarlik, the modern name for Troy, and began his own excavation in 1865 with the help of German archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann, to whom he gave permission to excavate on his property for half of the interest of the findings in return. Schliemann began working on October 11 through November 25, 1871 and continued on April 1, 1872. In his letter to Calvert, Schliemann writes, “I have now obtained the certainty to have discovered a great tower and a wall of ancient Troy in the depths of Ilium” (Dyke 331). Among his findings were a mysterious, four-legged hooked cross, with which he consulted leading Sanskrit scholars, Emile Burnoff and Max Muller to learn more about its meaning. This consultation lead to the assumption that the Swastika was related to Aryan nomads, as they were the first groups to use it. Years later, Austrian nationalist and poet Guido von List founded a secret society named Armanenschaft, in which the members used the Swastika as a way to identify themselves. Hitler and List had much of the same ideals, such as national socialism, and they had similar self images, describing themselves and their people in very similar ways.
The Nazi Party’s Use of the Swastika
Hundreds of years after the meaning of the Swastika had been established by an array of cultures, Adolf Hitler began his rise to power, eventually changing the meaning of the Swastika forever. After the assassination of the heir to the Austrian Empire, Franz Ferdinand, by a serb, “Hitler's passions against foreigners, particularly Slavs, were inflamed”. Patriotism, not only for him, but along with other Austrians, was at an all time high. Due to this, Hitler enlisted in the Bavarian Army and began combat after only two months of training. Escaping death a multitude of times, Hitler was awarded a Second Class Iron Cross in 1914 and a First Class Iron Cross in 1918, both for bravery. This contributed to Hitler’s reputation as a war hero. While recovering from injuries acquired in the war, Communist-inspired insurrections took hold of Germany. Some of the leaders of these movement were Jewish, contributing to Hitler’s hatred for Jews and Communism alike. In retaliation, The Free Corps, a paramilitary organization composed of war veterans, was created to combat Communism. The members of the Free Corps formed the Nazi Army. After the loss of the war, Germany’s monarchy came to an end and the Weimar Republic emerged due to the sweeping victory of centrist parties. Soon after, Hitler was listed into a military intelligence unit, the Press and Propaganda Department of Group Command IV of the Reichswehr, and hatred for Jews became part of their political platform. Within this committee, Hitler attended Nazi meetings, small at the time where he found himself among like minded individuals. Hitler endorsed the fall of the Weimar Republic and organized a protest in Berlin to rid the government of Communists and Jews.
While in prison for these acts seen as treasonous, he wrote the first volume of Mein Kampf, which was partially an autobiography but also detailed Hitler’s thoughts on how the Jews were responsible for democracy and communism within Germany, as well as their defeat in the war. “They had no culture of their own, he asserted, but perverted existing cultures such as Germany's with their parasitism. As such, they were not a race, but an anti-race” (Meier). According to Hitler, Germans were the one of the purest races and were destined to be the master race. To maintain this purity, Hitler wrote that intermarriage was to be avoided in order to eliminate Jews as a whole. Due to the link made by Heinrich Schliemann in regards to the Aryan connection with the Swastika, Volkisch movements and Germans populist movements, adopted his ideas to emphasize an ancient Aryan-German alliance and used the symbol encourage German pride.
After being released from prison, Hitler decided to gain power constitutionally rather than by force. In 1932, Hitler lost the election to Paul von Hindenburg and became chancellor instead. After Hindenburg’s death in 1934, Hitler was the consensus successor and, after claiming credit for the improving economy, began his dictatorship. The Nazi Party supported this victory and the policies that followed. In March of that year he appointed Joseph Goebbels the country’s minister for public enlightenment and propaganda. In this capacity, Goebbels had complete jurisdiction over the content of German newspapers, magazines, books, music, films, stage plays, radio programs and fine arts. His mission was to censor all opposition to Hitler and present the chancellor and the Nazi Party in the most positive light while stirring up hatred for Jewish people. Choosing the Swastika was a strategic and thought out decision made by Goebbels. In all of Goebbels journals, he never once referred to the group as “nazis”. To summarize the propaganda of National Socialists in Germany before Hitler’s rule, a pamphlet written by Goebbels was distributed throughout Germany. It was called “Die verfluchten Hakenkreuzler. Etwas zum Nachdenken.” which translates to “The cursed hooked-cross. Something to think about.” Modern socialists claim that this title translates to “Those damned Nazis,” in order to distance themselves from the Nazi rhetoric, however Goebbels always referred to his movement as socialist (Goebbels). Due to this word choice, the typical Swastika that is drawn as if it is inside a square, was turned on its side to make clear an “S”. The Swastika became popular in Europe, after migrating from Eastern countries, and was used in the air force symbols of Finland and Latvia, following their independence after World War I and until the 1940’s. In Sweden, the Swastika was used to represent power, and could often be found on maps to indicate where a power plant would be. This began to give the Swastika a more political connotation. The first design for the Nazi Party flag was designed by Dr. Friedrich Krohn, a dentist from Sternberg.
“Krohn's design, the Swastika on a white disk against a red background, was intended to symbolize the ideology of the movement – in red its social ideal, in white its nationalism, and in the Swastika ‘the struggle for the victory of Aryan man.’ But Krohn's flag featured a right-handed Swastika, traditional symbol of good fortune, spiritual evaluation and the triumph of spirit over matter. Hitler insisted on it being replaced by the left-handed Swastika, regarded by occultists as the equivalent of a reversed crucifix, an evocation of evil, spiritual devolution and black magic!”
Their powerful propaganda, along with the use of the Swastika, aided in Hitler’s strong support. Joseph Goebbels needed to choose propaganda techniques that appealed to the masses and set them apart from rival countries. On the Nazi flag, three colors were incorporated: red to symbolize the social movement, black to symbolize the struggle for victory, and white to symbolize nationalistic pride and Aryan identity. In addition, the party used a flag with a Swastika on a red background to appeal to the working class. Among these flags were many other propaganda techniques. The Nazi Party controlled mass media and depicted Jews as scapegoats for all of Germany’s problems, especially the economic crisis, which was displayed on posters, cartoons, and film, where Jews were commonly portrayed as criminals stealing money from honest Aryans. Eventually, multiple volumes of Hitler’s Mein Kampf were published which was given free to every newlywed couple and every soldier fighting on front lines. By the end of the war, ten million copies of this piece of propaganda were sold. Perhaps the Nazi Party’s most powerful tool was The Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler himself. His charisma and commanding speeches captivated his audience.
Part 3: Effects on the Modern World
The Swastika, with the help of World War II, has lingering effects on Germany, the United States, the Jewish community and the world. Unlike other countries, Germany was not exposed to the Swastika until after Hitler adopted it. This means that they did not have the opportunity to witness its various meanings of good fortune, but rather were only given two interpretations of the symbol, German pride or hatred for Jews. After the war, Germany banned any usage of the Swastika and in 2007 unsuccessfully tried to introduce a European Union-wide ban. In modern society, the Swastika is a reminder of the tragic hatred the Jews, among others, faced during World War II and the Nazi Party regime. As a result of the Nazi movement, many Neo-Nazi groups have been formed, which share a hatred for many minority groups, especially Jews, and a common belief in fascism. One of the most dangerous Neo-Nazism groups in America is the National Alliance, formed in 1970. However, they do not use the Swastika as their symbol of identification, due to its negative connotations. Another neo-nazi group in the United States is the American Nazi Party (ANP), which uses the Swastika as the symbol of their movement. The goal of the ANP is to bring “American National Socialism, first created and embodied by our late Commander George Lincoln Rockwell, out of the past Phase One activities which at the time served their purpose well, and into the 21st Century.” Their ideals parallel that of the German Nazi Party in that they believe “the two main tenets of National Socialism embodies the Struggle for Aryan Racial survival, and Social Justice for White Working Class”. In contrast, in the Eastern world, the Swastika remains to be a symbol of peace and good fortune. Specifically in the Hindu religion in India, the Swastika is abundant on doors and entrances. Hindu Americans continue to decorate their homes with Swastikas for the Hindu holiday, Diwali.
The Swastika has never represented anything but a symbol of hatred for the Jewish community, and many believe it never will. It was a symbol of extreme oppression of their race and culture. The United States was not exposed to the Swastika until Hitler’s rise to power, meaning they only saw the negative side of it. Often, Americans compare the Swastika to the Confederate Flag. Southerners argue that the Confederate Flag represents southern heritage, not hatred, but it is associated with the slavery and oppression of blacks. The same can be said about the Swastika, however this argument is not widely supported due to the extent to which it was used to further anti-semitic ideals. After centuries of a plethora of meanings surfacing, the only one that seems to remain in the minds of the world is the Swastika’s association with the Holocaust and anti-semitism.
Conclusion
The Swastika’s extensive background provides various theories of its origin and meaning, ranging from good fortune and well being to death and destruction. Some of the earliest depictions of the Swastika, found in tombs in a village in South China, depict the if-then method of a comet that has a similar appearance to the Swastika. If it appears in Spring, then there will be a good harvest, but if it appears in winter, there will be war. In Its religious connections, such as Buddhism or Hinduism, suggest that the right-facing, clockwise Swastika represents prosperity or God of the upkeep of the universe, Vishnu, respectively. Similarly, the Swastika is used in Jainism to represent peace and the act of nonviolence. This symbol was also found on many structures in India and Indonesia, as well as used for advertisement in the pre-World War II world. When Hitler rose to power, the Nazi Party used the Swastika as a symbol of their movement, due to the connection between it and the Aryan race, discovered by Heinrich Schliemann. Joseph Goebbels is responsible for hijacking the positive meaning of the Swastika and using it for the malicious intent of the Nazi party. Since Nazi Germany gave the Swastika such negative implications, surrounding the ideals that Jews were the cause of Germany’s hardships, the long-lasting effects of the Swastika, created by Adolf Hitler to emphasize Nazi pride, will never leave the minds of citizens of the world. A positive meaning, like the ones that were originally intended, will never be able to remerge into society.