Swastika.
What are your initial thoughts? What are you thinking? Many of you are probably absolutely shocked that I posted one on my blog. I can only infer that most likely an image of the Nazi flag popped into your mind – the flag blowing in the wind above the internment camps that imprisoned, abused, and murdered more than three million innocent Jews. The flag that flew behind Hitler as he rallied the people to develop and then portray a deep, unwavering hatred for the Jewish people. The flag that was carried by the Nazi soldiers, marching down the streets of Germany seeking out their next Jewish victims. The Nazi flag.
However, what many people do not realize is the swastika has an extremely extensive history that goes way beyond Hitler’s use of the ancient symbol. The symbol was used at least 5,000 years before Adolf Hitler had designed the Nazi flag with its use. The word swastika had traditionally been a sign of good fortune and well-being. The symbol itself was first used in Neolithic Eurasia to represent the movement of the sun through the sky and is associated with the worship of Aryan sun gods.
To this very day the swastika is a sacred, treasured symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Odinism as well as a Navajo sign. It is an ancient symbol that is present in numerous and diverse cultures all around the world, especially in many cultures in India, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, etc. In India especially, many times the houses and temples will have the swastika on the top of the building as a religious symbol and one of good health and well-being. It still retains its place of pre-eminence among the sub-continent’s spiritual symbols.
When Hitler took over Germany the meaning of the Swastika changed significantly. Hitler chose this hooked cross symbol for its use by the Aryan nomads of India in the Second Millennium B.C.. Hitler 
theorized that the Aryans used the swastika to portray their anti-Semitism and although the symbol has a pure origin, the first day that the flag was flown it did exactly what Hitler had intended – “hypnotized” the anti-Semites. As the flag was flown it seemed to beckon the population to act against the Jews. It had power. 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”. It symbolized the hate that arose towards the Jews and the inevitable fate they had to face.
For this reason, in Europe, as well as across may nations, the swastika became a symbol of evil – of death and suffering for millions of people. Yet the meaning was twisted from the symbol’s original intentions of good luck, good fortune, and well-being. Peace. Not exactly what it was and still is seen as in today’s society here in the United States as well as I’m sure in other nations. It is amazing how powerful a symbol can be and how the meaning of a symbol can be skewed and twisted by those manipulating them. The site Reclaim the Swastika has the goal of spreading awareness among people across the world that the swastika is no longer a symbol of the Nazis. It is no longer a symbol that Hitler owns and controls. They work to share information that reveals its long, positive aspects of history and deep spiritual meaning that often gets overlooked. The site said something quite thought-provoking towards the end of the site. “If we allow the swastika to remain forever distorted, then those responsible will have won”.
One person commented on the website that he is not a Nazi or a racist but “couldn’t give two sh***s whether people get offended, the swastika is my identity dating back before any religion of the old testament… it defines my Hindu roots and I will continue to wear it with pride”. However, many are against the movement. Teri Zucker in her blog was appalled when she walked into a tattoo parlor and saw the option of the swastika as a tattoo option. She hoped that it was due to absolute ignorance that people would get that terrible symbol on their body. She was sickened by the idea of it.
Should we fight to gain back the original meaning of this spiritual symbol? Should we see it with a new light? Should we try to integrate it back into society and if so how? Is there any way to support the use of the swastika in modern day while still recognizing that it has deep meaning for those that went through the Holocaust? Would it offend them or upset them to see the symbol in every day life?
I hope that at least you had a little change of perspective and can begin to see the swastika symbol with fresh eyes that at least recognize it for its true, positive, spiritual meaning.
One of the supporters of Learn to Love the Swastika Movement
“We just want people to know that the swastika comes in many other forms, none of which have ever been used for anything bad. We are also trying to show the right-wing fascists that it’s wrong to use this symbol. If we can educate the public about the true meanings of the swastika, maybe we can take it away from the fascists.”
Check out this interesting article giving a little bit of a deeper history on the swastika 🙂
I had no idea that the swastika had roots in Neolithic culture- any mention of the symbol is strictly in the context of the Nazi movement. I think it’s amazing how the meaning of an image can be contorted so easily. And that different social groups have their own perceptions of universal symbols, such as the skull and crossbones, which is used to identify poison in modern-day culture, but was originally used to labeled cemeteries in Spain. Even though I think that the swastika is a very emotional symbol, and has many negative connotations, especially in the U.S., I do see where people who protect other meanings of the image are coming from. Which is why someone should be free to interpret symbols as they so choose.
This really was eye-opening for me to read, however, because of the way educational systems are run here in the United States, I don’t know if many Americans would be able to get past that symbol even after reading this. We are all taught the horrible tragedies of what happened to the Jews, and none of the background of the symbol. Therefore, when we see it, all we can think about is the massacre of millions of innocent people. And that’s something that can’t be easily erased from mind. Moving past it may be too hard for Americans.