Shifting Symbolism: The History of the Swastika
By Dhanviee Misra and Carolina Beirne, 9/6/2020
The Religious Relevance of the Swastika
In Sanskrit, the word swastika translates to, ‘Su’ meaning good and ‘Asti’ meaning to exist. Applicably, this translates to ‘conducive to well-being’. This is a symbol of good fortune and prosperity around the globe, especially for Hindus. This is painted on walls, house entrances, cars, and also for decoration. It is one of mankind’s most ancient symbols; the earliest known use of the swastika was unearthed on a 15,000-year-old ivory figurine of a bird carved using a mammoth tusk, an animal that has been regarded as a symbol of fertility. The four limbs of the swastika hold multiple symbolic meanings. They can be interpreted as the four Vedas (the Hindu texts)– Rig, Yajur, Sama, Atharva. They can be thought of as the four goals of life: Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha meaning right action, worldly prosperity, worldly enjoyment, and spiritual liberation. They can also be interpreted as the four seasons, four directions, the four yugas or stages of the world or epochs naming Satya, Treta, Dvapar, and Kali. Beyond Hinduism, the swastika also holds significance in other faith traditions originating in India such as Buddhism and Jainism. The swastika signifies Buddha’s footprints and heart, while for Jains it is the symbol of the seventh Tirthankara, one of the liberated souls who paved the way for others. Globally, ancient traces of swastika have been found in Ghana, Armenia, China, North America, and as part of a stylized cross in Christianity. In addition, it has been seen in ancient Asiatic culture, Greek currency, on Iron Age artifacts, and in Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture. Even the US Army’s 45th infantry division used it as a sleeve insignia up until the rise of the Nazis. While the symbol has a long history of having a positive association, it was perverted from its original meaning after being adopted by Nazi Germany. Since World War II, it has been denounced as a symbol of hatred and racial bias.
Recently, a Hindu student in the US, Simran Tatuskar, had to apologize for wanting to present the swastika as a peaceful symbol and include it in the school’s curriculum. She received backlash from various organizations and online groups, one of them being stopantisemitism.org which claims that she tried to normalize the largest hate symbol in the US.
In 2008, the second Hindu-Jewish Leadership Summit recognized the conflicting interpretations of the swastika among both communities. It cites that “Swastika is an ancient and greatly auspicious symbol of the Hindu tradition” as well as a sacred symbol that was misappropriated by the Third Reich in Germany and abused as an emblem under which heinous crimes were perpetrated against humanity, particularly the Jewish people” concluding it that “the participants recognize that this symbol is, and has been sacred to Hindus for millennia, long before its misappropriation.” Nevertheless, the depiction of the swastika is closely tied to extreme right-wing views in the Western world to this day.
The swastika is now outlawed in many western countries, due to it being commonly associated with white-supremacy groups and modern iterations of the Nazi Party. Interpretation of the swastika as a symbol of such cruelties is an immoral representation for many faiths since it has existed as a symbol of positivity for hundreds of years before its appropriation by Hitler.
Educating people on the history of the swastika, understanding the vastly different connotations of its use, considering its cultural role in multiple faiths globally, and creating an interfaith understanding is essential in our modern society.
Recently, a Hindu student in the US, Simran Tatuskar, had to apologize for wanting to present the swastika as a peaceful symbol and include it in the school’s curriculum. She received backlash from various organizations and online groups, one of them being stopantisemitism.org which claims that she tried to normalize the largest hate symbol in the US.
In 2008, the second Hindu-Jewish Leadership Summit recognized the conflicting interpretations of the swastika among both communities. It cites that “Swastika is an ancient and greatly auspicious symbol of the Hindu tradition” as well as a sacred symbol that was misappropriated by the Third Reich in Germany and abused as an emblem under which heinous crimes were perpetrated against humanity, particularly the Jewish people” concluding it that “the participants recognize that this symbol is, and has been sacred to Hindus for millennia, long before its misappropriation.” Nevertheless, the depiction of the swastika is closely tied to extreme right-wing views in the Western world to this day.
The swastika is now outlawed in many western countries, due to it being commonly associated with white-supremacy groups and modern iterations of the Nazi Party. Interpretation of the swastika as a symbol of such cruelties is an immoral representation for many faiths since it has existed as a symbol of positivity for hundreds of years before its appropriation by Hitler.
Educating people on the history of the swastika, understanding the vastly different connotations of its use, considering its cultural role in multiple faiths globally, and creating an interfaith understanding is essential in our modern society.
The Swastika and Naziism
The Swastika, a symbol with a long history of positive connotations ranging throughout multiple religions for an even wider range of uses, has been forever corrupted by one of the most tyrannical regimes the world has ever seen: Nazi Germany.
The Nazi’s principal symbol was the Hakenkreuz, translated to the “hooked-cross” and very strongly resembles the Swastika, though it was rotated by 45 degrees. Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi Party, made it the main symbol of his fascist regime, the National Social Party, in the 1920s. Due to the cruelty of the party, the swastika became synonymous with Nazi Germany’s attempts to gain totalitarian rule of Europe, thus associating it with the regime’s fascism, brutality and genocide in the minds of this world to this day. The symbol spurred Hitler’s aims of achieving totalitarian authority over Europe, and the symbol represented their intention of racial purification, in the attempt to create the ‘perfect’ Aryan race.
The Aryan race was formulated by the Nazis, attributed to their pure Germanic ancestry, and they believed that this grouping of Germanic, Nordic and Indo-European peoples were superior and that it was their duty to eliminate those who were not of this bloodline from the continent. In Hitler’s memoir, Mein Kampf, he spoke of their use of the Swastika with the following, “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…” which shows the hatred for non-Aryan people and the goal signified by their adaptation.
The swastika was not originally a symbol of hatred, in fact, similar symbols can be seen on postcards from the United States in the early 1900s which were used to wish people good luck and congratulate them. Ancient Indian artifacts that once belonged to Aryan nomads regularly depicted the swastika, and thus the symbol was corrupted from the equivocal historical context to strengthen the Aryan’s claims of total dominance. Therefore, since World War II, the once religious symbol has been stigmatised as a representation of disgusting historical events and racial bias. In modern times, the symbol is used by a myriad of white-supremacy groups and modern revivals of the Nazi party. It is one of the many Nazi symbols that has been since outlawed in Germany.
In modern times, countries such as Germany, France, Ukraine, Latvia, Austria, Israel, Brazil, Lithuania and Poland have banned and criminalised its public display, unless directly for educational purposes. However, in 2018, Germany allowed the use of the symbol in video games, and Elisabeth Secker, managing director of the Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (The German Entertainment Software Regulation organization), said that “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,” in a bid for freedom of the arts.
Unfortunately, despite the original religious founding and original representations of fertility, it is a symbol which will forever be convoluted in minds of the Western World.
The Nazi’s principal symbol was the Hakenkreuz, translated to the “hooked-cross” and very strongly resembles the Swastika, though it was rotated by 45 degrees. Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi Party, made it the main symbol of his fascist regime, the National Social Party, in the 1920s. Due to the cruelty of the party, the swastika became synonymous with Nazi Germany’s attempts to gain totalitarian rule of Europe, thus associating it with the regime’s fascism, brutality and genocide in the minds of this world to this day. The symbol spurred Hitler’s aims of achieving totalitarian authority over Europe, and the symbol represented their intention of racial purification, in the attempt to create the ‘perfect’ Aryan race.
The Aryan race was formulated by the Nazis, attributed to their pure Germanic ancestry, and they believed that this grouping of Germanic, Nordic and Indo-European peoples were superior and that it was their duty to eliminate those who were not of this bloodline from the continent. In Hitler’s memoir, Mein Kampf, he spoke of their use of the Swastika with the following, “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…” which shows the hatred for non-Aryan people and the goal signified by their adaptation.
The swastika was not originally a symbol of hatred, in fact, similar symbols can be seen on postcards from the United States in the early 1900s which were used to wish people good luck and congratulate them. Ancient Indian artifacts that once belonged to Aryan nomads regularly depicted the swastika, and thus the symbol was corrupted from the equivocal historical context to strengthen the Aryan’s claims of total dominance. Therefore, since World War II, the once religious symbol has been stigmatised as a representation of disgusting historical events and racial bias. In modern times, the symbol is used by a myriad of white-supremacy groups and modern revivals of the Nazi party. It is one of the many Nazi symbols that has been since outlawed in Germany.
In modern times, countries such as Germany, France, Ukraine, Latvia, Austria, Israel, Brazil, Lithuania and Poland have banned and criminalised its public display, unless directly for educational purposes. However, in 2018, Germany allowed the use of the symbol in video games, and Elisabeth Secker, managing director of the Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (The German Entertainment Software Regulation organization), said that “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,” in a bid for freedom of the arts.
Unfortunately, despite the original religious founding and original representations of fertility, it is a symbol which will forever be convoluted in minds of the Western World.
