What is a swastika? Many, without hesitation, will answer - the fascists used the swastika symbol. Someone will say - this is an ancient Slavic amulet, and both will be right and wrong at the same time. How many legends and myths are around this sign? They say that on the very shield that Prophetic Oleg nailed to the doors of Constantinople, a swastika was depicted.
What is a swastika?
The swastika is an ancient symbol that appeared before our era and has a rich history. Many nations dispute each other's right to its invention. Images of the swastika were found in China, India. This is a very significant symbol. What does the swastika mean - creation, the sun, well-being. The translation of the word "swastika" from Sanskrit means - a wish for good and good luck.
Swastika - the origin of the symbol
The swastika symbol is a solar, solar sign. The main idea is movement. The earth moves around the sun, the four seasons constantly replace each other - it is easy to see that the main meaning of the symbol is not just movement, but the eternal movement of the universe. Some researchers declare the swastika to be a reflection of the eternal rotation of the galaxy. The swastika is a symbol of the sun, all ancient peoples have references to it: fabrics with the image of the swastika were found at the excavations of the Inca settlements, it is on ancient Greek coins, even on the stone idols of Easter Island there are swastika signs.
The original drawing of the sun is a circle. Then, noticing the four-part picture of being, people began to add a cross with four rays to the circle. However, the picture turned out to be static - and the universe is eternally in dynamics, and then the ends of the rays were bent - the cross turned out to be moving. These rays also symbolize four significant days of the year for our ancestors - the days of the summer / winter solstice, spring and autumn equinoxes. These days determine the astronomical change of seasons and served as signs when to engage in agriculture, when construction and other important matters for society.
Swastika left and right
We see how comprehensive this sign is. It is very difficult to explain in one word what the swastika means. It is multifaceted and multi-valued, it is a sign of the fundamental principle of being with all its manifestations, and among other things, the swastika is dynamic. It can rotate both to the right and to the left. Many people confuse and consider the side of rotation to be the direction where the ends of the rays look. It is not right. The side of rotation is determined by the bending angles. Compare with the human leg - the movement is directed where the bent knee is directed, and not the heel at all.
Left handed swastika
There is a theory that says that clockwise rotation is the correct swastika, and against it is a bad, dark, reverse swastika. However, it would be too banal - right and left, black and white. In nature, everything is justified - day turns into night, summer - in winter, there is no division into good and bad - everything that exists is needed for something. So it is with the swastika - there is no good or bad, there is a left-handed and a right-handed one.
Left-handed swastika - rotates counterclockwise. This is the meaning of cleansing, restoration. Sometimes it is called a sign of destruction - in order to build something light, you need to destroy the old and dark. The swastika could be worn with a left rotation, it was called the “Heavenly Cross” and was a symbol of tribal unity, an offering to the one who wears it, the help of all the ancestors of the clan and the protection of heavenly forces. The left-handed swastika was considered a sign of the autumn sun - collective.
Right hand swastika
The right-handed swastika rotates clockwise and denotes the beginning of all things - birth, development. This is a symbol of the spring sun - creative energy. It was also called Newborn or Solar Cross. He symbolized the power of the sun and the prosperity of the family. The sign of the sun and the swastika in this case are equal. It was believed that he gives the greatest power to the priests. The prophetic Oleg, whom they spoke about at the beginning, had the right to wear this sign on his shield, since he knew, that is, he knew the Ancient Wisdom. From these beliefs came theories proving the ancient Slavic origin of the swastika.
Slavic swastika
The left-handed and right-handed swastika of the Slavs is called - and salting. The Kolovrat swastika fills with light, protects from darkness, salting gives diligence and spiritual stamina, the sign serves as a reminder that a person was created for development. These names are only two of a large group of Slavic swastika signs. They had crosses with curved rays in common. There could be six or eight rays, they are bent both to the right and to the left, each sign had its own name and was responsible for a certain security function. The main swastika symbols among the Slavs are 144. In addition to the above, the Slavs had:
- solstice;
- England;
- Svarozhich;
- Wedding attendant;
- Perunov light;
- The sky boar and many other variations based on the solar elements of the swastika.
Swastika of Slavs and Nazis - differences
Unlike the fascist, the Slavs did not have strict canons in the image of this sign. There could be any number of rays, they could be broken at different angles, they could be rounded. The symbol of the swastika among the Slavs is a greeting, a wish of good luck, while at the Nazi congress in 1923, Hitler convinced supporters that the swastika meant the fight against Jews and communists for the purity of blood and the superiority of the Aryan race. The fascist swastika has its own stringent requirements. This and only this image is the German swastika:
- The ends of the cross must be broken to the right;
- All lines intersect strictly at an angle of 90 °;
- The cross must be in a white circle on a red background.
- It is correct to say not "swastika", but Hakkenkreyz
Swastika in Christianity
In early Christianity, the swastika was often used. It was called the "gammed cross" because of its similarity with the Greek letter gamma. A cross was masked with a swastika during the time of persecution of Christians - catacomb Christianity. The swastika or Gammadion was the main emblem of Christ until the end of the Middle Ages. Some experts draw a direct parallel between the Christian and swastika crosses, calling the latter "circling cross".
The swastika in Orthodoxy was actively used before the revolution: as part of the ornament of priestly vestments, in icon painting, in frescoes that painted the walls of churches. However, there is a directly opposite opinion - the gammadion is a broken cross, a pagan symbol that has nothing to do with Orthodoxy.
Swastika in Buddhism
The swastika can be encountered wherever there are traces of Buddhist culture, it is the footprint of the Buddha. The Buddhist swastika, or "manji", denotes the versatility of the world order. The vertical line is opposed to the horizontal one, as the relation of heaven/earth to the relation between male and female. Turning the rays in one direction emphasizes the desire for kindness, softness, in the opposite direction - for hardness, strength. This gives an understanding of the impossibility of the existence of force without compassion, and compassion without force, the denial of any one-sidedness, as a violation of world harmony.
Indian swastika
The swastika in India is no less common. There are left- and right-handed swastikas. Rotation clockwise symbolizes the male energy "yin", against - the female "yang". Sometimes this sign denotes all the gods and goddesses in Hinduism, then, on the line of intersection of the rays, the sign “om” is added - a symbol that all gods have a common beginning.
- Right rotation: denotes the sun, its movement from east to west is the development of the universe.
- The left rotation personifies the goddess Kali, magic, night - the folding of the universe.
Is the swastika banned?
The swastika was banned by the Nuremberg Tribunal. Ignorance gave rise to a lot of myths, for example, that the swastika stands for four connected letters "G" - Hitler, Himmler, Goering, Goebbels. However, this version turned out to be completely untenable. Hitler, Himmler, Göring, Goebbels - not a single surname begins with this letter. There are cases when the most valuable specimens containing images of the swastika in embroidery, on jewelry, ancient Slavic and early Christian amulets were confiscated and destroyed from museums.
Many European countries have laws that prohibit Nazi symbols, but the principle of freedom of speech is almost undeniable. Each case of using the symbols of Nazism or the swastika has the form of a separate trial.
- In 2015, Roskomnazor allowed the use of images of the swastika without propaganda purposes.
- Germany has strict laws governing the image of the swastika. There are several known court decisions prohibiting or allowing images.
- France passed a law banning the public display of Nazi symbols.
Image copyright Hulton Archive Image caption Is it possible to rehabilitate the swastika, which for many has become a symbol of fascism?
In the West, the swastika has become an integral symbol of fascism. But few remember that for thousands of years and in different cultures of the world, it was considered a symbol that brings good luck.
Will the ancient sign ever be able to shake off the stigma of Nazism and the negative associations associated with it?
In the ancient Indian literary language, Sanskrit, "swasti" means a wish for prosperity and good luck. This symbol has been used by Hindus, Buddhists and followers of Jainism for thousands of years. Most researchers believe that the symbol itself was born in India.
The first travelers from Western countries who reached Asia favorably reacted to the positive associations that the swastika carried with them, and began to actively use this symbol at home.
American graphic artist and designer Steven Heller in his book The Swastika: A Symbol Without Redemption? shows how popular it was in architectural motifs and advertising before Hitler came to power.
Image copyright BBC World Service Image caption Packaging on a fruit crate, Coca-Cola token and a deck of cards from the USA, early 20th century"She was decorated with bottles of Coca-Cola and Carlsberg beer. It was adopted by the Boy Scouts, and the American Young Girls Club called its magazine "Swastika". Its editors sent swastika badges to readers who participated in the distribution of the magazine as a small gift" Heller says.
American military units used the swastika during World War I. Her images adorned the wings of some aircraft of the Royal Air Force of Great Britain until 1939. However, the "peaceful" swastika came to an end after fascism came to power in Germany in the 30s of the last century.
The Nazis appropriated the swastika for a reason. In the 19th century, the French romantic writer and sociologist Joseph Gobineau wrote a work entitled: "A Study on the Inequality of the Human Races", in which he introduced the term "Aryans". So Gobineau called the fair-haired and blue-eyed representatives of the white race, whom he considered as the highest level of all mankind.
In the second half of the 19th century, German scientists, translating texts from Sanskrit, discovered similarities between it and the Old Germanic dialects, from which it was concluded that both the ancient Indians and the ancient Germans had common ancestors: the same god-like race of warriors - the Aryans.
Image copyright BBC World Service Image caption Hindu boy with shaved head and a vase at a Buddhist temple in JapanThis idea was enthusiastically taken up by nationalist groups, who declared that the swastika was a symbol of the Aryans, and a clear demonstration of the ancient roots of the German nation.
A black cross with bent ends (the so-called "rotating cross" with rays directed clockwise), on a white circle located on a red square, has become one of the most hated emblems of the 20th century, inextricably linked with the crimes of the Third Reich.
Image copyright BBC World Service Image caption Freddie Knoller, Holocaust survivor“For the Jewish people, the swastika remains a symbol of fear, oppression and destruction. We can never change this symbol,” Holocaust survivor Freddie Knoller told the BBC. “When nationalists paint the swastika on our tombstones and synagogues, we become afraid. This should never happen again."
The swastika became a banned symbol in Germany after the end of World War II. In 2007, Germany attempted to extend this ban to all EU countries, albeit without success.
The irony is that the European roots of the swastika go much deeper than many people realize. Archaeological finds have long shown that this is a very ancient symbol, which was used not only in India. It was found in Ancient Greece, it was familiar to the Celts and Anglo-Saxons, and the oldest examples were found in Eastern Europe from the Baltic to the Balkans.
One of the oldest ornaments depicting a swastika is kept in the State Historical Museum in Kyiv.
Image copyright BBC World Service Image caption The oldest swastika ornament was carved 15 thousand years agoAmong the most valuable exhibits of the museum is a small bone figurine of a bird carved from a mammoth tusk. It was found in 1908 during excavations of a Paleolithic site near the village of Mizin in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine.
The bird's body is engraved with a complex pattern of intertwining swastikas. It is the oldest officially recognized swastika ornament in the world. Radiocarbon analysis showed that the bone bird was carved 15,000 years ago. During excavations, the bird was found among a number of phallic objects, which, according to scientists, supports the theory that the swastika also served as a symbol of fertility.
Image copyright BBC World Service Image caption The swastika is one of the oldest symbols in the world.In 1965, Soviet paleontologist Valentina Bibikova discovered that the swastika meander ornament may be a conscious reproduction by ancient artists of a natural cut on a mammoth bone. Maybe the inhabitants of the Paleolithic simply reproduced what they saw in nature? And the huge mammoth logically became a symbol of prosperity and fertility?
Single swastikas began to appear in the Vinca Vinca Neolithic culture in Eastern Europe about 7,000 years ago. However, this symbol became truly widespread in Europe only in the Bronze Age.
In the collection of the Kyiv Museum there are clay pots with swastikas circling the upper part of the vessel, which is about 4 thousand years old. When fascist troops occupied Kyiv in World War II, the Germans were so convinced that these pots proved the existence of their own Aryan ancestors that they took them with them to Germany. After the war they were returned to Kyiv.
In the Greek collection of the museum, the swastika is widely present in the form of a widespread meander ornament, which is still used to this day.
Image copyright BBC World Service Image caption "Meander" ornament on an ancient Greek vase and at the Academy of Music in Brooklyn, New YorkIn ancient Greece, pots and vases were decorated with a swastika motif.
But, perhaps, one of the most unexpected exhibits of the museum in Kyiv is a dilapidated piece of fabric, miraculously preserved from the 12th century. It is believed that it was part of the collar of the dress of some Slavic princess, and the decorations of swastikas and gold crosses were supposed to ward off evil.
Image copyright BBC World Service Image caption Embroidery with swastikas and crosses on the collar of a 12th-century dressThe swastika remained a popular motif in Eastern European embroidery until World War II. Associate professor at the Smolny Institute Pavel Kutenkov, who manages the Russian Museum of Ethnology in St. Petersburg, counted about 200 varieties of swastikas in the region.
At the same time, the swastika remains one of the most emotionally negative symbols of our world. In 1941, at Babi Yar in Kyiv, the Nazis killed, according to the most minimal estimates, more than 150 thousand people - Jews, prisoners of war, the mentally ill, gypsies, and so on. The swastika is not to blame for the fact that the National Socialists chose it as their symbol, but few manage to get rid of this association.
Some sincerely believe that the swastika can be revived as a positive symbol. Copenhagen tattoo parlor owner Peter Madsen says the swastika is an important element in Scandinavian mythology.
Madsen was one of the initiators of the action called "Learn to love the swastika", which took place on November 13 last year. The idea was that tattoo artists all over the world offered clients to apply three swastikas on their skin for free on this day, as a symbol of its glorious cultural past.
"The swastika is a symbol of love, which Hitler ruthlessly distorted. We are not trying to revive the" rotating cross, it would be impossible. And we do not want people to forget about the horrors of Nazism, "says Madsen.
Image copyright BBC World Service Image caption Supporter of the action "Learn to love the swastika"“We want people to know that the swastika exists in many forms, none of which have been used for something terrible before. We also want to demonstrate to all these right-wing fascists that they have no right to use this symbol. And if we can teach people to understand the true meaning of the swastika, then maybe we will be able to take it away from the Nazis.
But for those who, like Freddie Knoller, experienced all the horrors of fascism, learning to love the swastika is almost impossible.
"For people who survived the Holocaust, it is impossible to forget what a swastika is. For us, it is a symbol of absolute evil."
"However, we did not know that the swastika was born many millennia ago. Maybe people will be interested to know that it was not always a symbol of fascism," concludes Noller.
Swastika(Skt. स्वस्तिक from Skt. स्वस्ति, svasti, greeting, good luck) - a cross with curved ends ("rotating"), directed either clockwise (this is the movement of the earth around the sun), or counterclockwise.
(Old Ind. svastika, from su, lit. "associated with good"), one of the most archaic symbols, already found in the images of the Upper Paleolithic, in the ornament of many peoples in different parts of the world.
The swastika is one of the most ancient and widespread graphic symbols. "The symbol of the swastika crystallizes from the rhombo-meander ornament, which first appeared in the Upper Paleolithic, and then inherited by almost all peoples of the world." The oldest archaeological finds depicting a swastika date back to approximately 25-23 millennium BC (Mezin, Kostenki, Russia).
The swastika was used by many peoples of the world - it was present on weapons, everyday items, clothes, banners and coats of arms, and was used in the design of churches and houses.
The swastika as a symbol has many meanings, in most nations they are positive. The swastika among most ancient peoples was a symbol of the movement of life, the Sun, light, prosperity.
Celtic Kermaria Stone, 4th century BC
The swastika reflects the main type of movement in the Universe - rotational with its derivative - translational and is able to symbolize philosophical categories.
In the 20th century, the swastika (German Hakenkreuz) became famous as a symbol of Nazism and Nazi Germany, and in Western culture it is steadily associated with the Nazi regime and ideology.
History and meaning
The word "swastika" is a compound of two Sanskrit roots: सु, su, "good, good" and अस्ति, asti, "life, existence", that is, "well-being" or "well-being". There is another name for the swastika - "gammadion" (Greek γαμμάδιον), consisting of four Greek letters "gamma". The swastika is considered not only as a solar symbol, but also as a symbol of the fertility of the earth. This is one of the ancient and archaic solar signs - an indicator of the apparent movement of the Sun around the Earth and the division of the year into four parts - four seasons. The sign fixes two solstices: summer and winter - and the annual movement of the Sun. Has the idea of four cardinal points, centered around an axis. The swastika also suggests the idea of movement in two directions: clockwise and counterclockwise. Like "Yin" and "Yang", a dual sign: rotating clockwise symbolizes male energy, counterclockwise - female. In ancient Indian scriptures, male and female swastikas are distinguished, which depicts two female, as well as two male deities.
White glazed netted orch, Yi Dynasty
The swastika personifies a moral characteristic: movement along the sun is good, against the sun is evil. (()) In the symbolism of auspiciousness, the sign is depicted in the form of a cross with the ends bent at an angle or oval (in the clockwise direction), which means “screwing” the energies , holding the flow of physical forces in order to control the lower forces. The right-handed swastika is perceived as a sign of dominance over matter and energy management (as in yoga: holding the body immobile, “screwing up” the lower energies makes it possible for the higher forces of energies to manifest themselves). The left-handed swastika, on the contrary, means the unwinding of physical and instinctive forces and the creation of an obstacle to the passage of higher forces; the direction of movement favors the mechanical, earthly side, the exclusive striving for power in matter. The counterclockwise swastika is also seen as a symbol of black magic and negative energies. As a solar sign, the swastika serves as an emblem of life and light. It is perceived as an incomplete zodiac circle or as a wheel of life. Sometimes the swastika is identified with another solar sign - a cross in a circle, where the cross is a sign of the daily movement of the Sun. As a symbol of the Sun, an archaic coiled swastika with a symbol of a ram is known. A symbol of rotation, continuous movement, expressing the invariance of the solar cycle, or the rotation of the Earth around its axis. A rotating cross, the blades at the ends of which represent the movement of light. The swastika contains the idea of eternal overcoming of the inertia of the square by the wheel of rotation.
The swastika is found in the culture of the peoples of many countries of the world: in the symbols of Ancient Egypt, in Iran, in Russia, in the ornaments of different communities. One of the oldest forms of the swastika is Asia Minor and is an ideogram of the four cardinal points in the form of a figure with four cross-shaped curls. Back in the 7th century BC, images similar to the swastika were known in Asia Minor, consisting of four cross-shaped scrolls - rounded ends are signs of cyclic movement. There are interesting coincidences in the image of Indian and Asia Minor swastikas (dots between the branches of the swastika, jagged thickenings at the ends). Other early forms of the swastika - a square with four plant-like roundings along the edges - are a sign of the earth, also of Asia Minor origin. The swastika was understood as a symbol of the four main forces, the four cardinal points, the elements, the seasons and the alchemical idea of the transformation of the elements.
In the cultures of countries
The swastika is one of the most archaic sacred symbols, already found in the Upper Paleolithic among many peoples of the world. India, ancient Rus', China, Ancient Egypt, the Mayan state in Central America - this is the incomplete geography of this symbol. Swastika symbols denoted calendar signs back in the days of the Scythian kingdom. The swastika can be seen on old Orthodox icons. The swastika is a symbol of the Sun, good luck, happiness, creation (the “correct” swastika). And, accordingly, the swastika of the opposite direction symbolizes darkness, destruction, the “night Sun” among the ancient Russians. As can be seen from ancient ornaments, in particular, on jugs found in the vicinity of Arkaim, both swastikas were used. This has deep meaning. Day replaces night, light replaces darkness, new birth replaces death - and this is the natural order of things in the Universe. Therefore, in ancient times there were no "bad" and "good" swastikas - they were perceived in unity.
The first swastika drawings appeared at an early stage in the formation of the symbols of the Near East Neolithic cultures. Swastika-like figure 7 thousand BC from Asia Minor consists of four cruciform scrolls, i.e. signs of vegetation, and, obviously, is one of the variants of the ideogram of the concept of "four cardinal points". The memory that the swastika once symbolized the four cardinal directions is recorded in medieval Muslim manuscripts, and has also survived to our time among the American Indians. Another swastika-like figure, belonging to the early stage of the Asia Minor Neolithic, consists of the sign of the Earth (a square with a dot) and four plant-like appendages adjoining it. In such compositions, one should, apparently, see the origin of the swastika - in particular, its variant with rounded ends. The latter is confirmed, for example, by the ancient Cretan swastika, combined with four plant elements.
This symbol was found on clay vessels from Samarra (the territory of modern Iraq), which date back to the 5th millennium BC. The swastika in the left-handed and right-handed form is found in the pre-Aryan culture of Mohenjo-Daro (Indus River basin) and ancient China around 2000 BC. In Northeast Africa, archaeologists have found a burial stele of the kingdom of Meroz, which existed in the 2nd-3rd centuries AD. The fresco on the stele depicts a woman entering the afterlife, and a swastika also flaunts on the clothes of the deceased. The rotating cross also adorns the golden weights for scales that belonged to the inhabitants of Ashanta (Ghana), and the clay utensils of the ancient Indians, and the carpets of the Persians. The swastika was on almost all amulets among the Slavs, Germans, Pomors, Skalvians, Curonians, Scythians, Sarmatians, Mordovians, Udmurts, Bashkirs, Chuvashs and many other peoples. In many religions, the swastika is an important religious symbol.
Ancient Greek Funerary Vessel, circa 750 B.C. BC.
Details of an ancient Greek burial vessel
The swastika in India has traditionally been seen as a solar sign - a symbol of life, light, generosity and abundance. It was closely associated with the cult of the god Agni. She is mentioned in the Ramayana. In the form of a swastika, a wooden tool was made to produce the sacred fire. They laid him flat on the ground; the recess in the middle served for the rod, which was rotated until the appearance of fire, kindled on the altar of the deity. It was carved in many temples, on the rocks, on the ancient monuments of India. Also a symbol of esoteric Buddhism. In this aspect, it is called the "Seal of the Heart" and, according to legend, was imprinted on the heart of the Buddha. Her image is placed on the hearts of the initiates after their death. Known as the Buddhist cross (it resembles a Maltese cross in shape). The swastika is found everywhere where there are traces of Buddhist culture - on rocks, in temples, stupas and on Buddha statues. Together with Buddhism, it penetrated from India to China, Tibet, Siam and Japan.
Torso of a female sculpture, 6th century BC
In China, the swastika is used as a sign of all the deities worshiped in the Lotus School, as well as in Tibet and Siam. In ancient Chinese manuscripts, it included such concepts as "region", "country". Known in the form of a swastika are two curved mutually truncated fragments of a double helix, expressing the symbolism of the relationship between "Yin" and "Yang". In maritime civilizations, the double helix motif was an expression of the relationship between opposites, a sign of the Upper and Lower Waters, and also meant the process of becoming life. Widely used by Jains and followers of Vishnu. In Jainism, the four arms of the swastika represent the four levels of existence.
Swastika in India
On one of the Buddhist swastikas, each blade of the cross ends in a triangle indicating the direction of movement and crowned with an arch of a flawed moon, in which, like in a boat, the sun is placed. This sign represents the sign of the mystical arba, the creative quaternary, also called Thor's hammer. A similar cross was found by Schliemann during the excavations of Troy. In Eastern Europe, Western Siberia, Central Asia and the Caucasus, it occurs from the II-I millennium BC. In Western Europe it was known to the Celts. Depicted in pre-Christian Roman mosaics and on the coins of Cyprus and Crete. An ancient Cretan rounded swastika made of plant elements is known. The Maltese cross in the form of a swastika of four triangles converging in the center is of Phoenician origin. It was also known to the Etruscans. In early Christianity, the swastika was known as the gamma cross. According to Guénon, until the end of the Middle Ages it was one of the emblems of Christ. According to Ossendowski, Genghis Khan wore on his right hand a ring depicting a swastika, into which was set a magnificent ruby - a sun stone. Ossendovsky saw this ring on the hand of the Mongol governor. At present, this magical symbol is known mainly in India and Central and East Asia.
Swastika in Russia
In Rus', swastika symbols have been known since ancient times.
The rhombo-meander swastika ornament in the Kostenkovo and Mezin cultures (25-20 thousand years BC) was studied by V. A. Gorodtsov.
As a special type of swastika, symbolizing the rising Sun-Yarilu, the victory of Light over Darkness, Eternal Life over death, Kolovrat was called (literally, “wheel rotation”, the Old Slavic form Kolovrat was also used in the Old Russian language).
In Russian folk ornamentation, the swastika was one of the common figures until the end of the 19th century.
The swastika was used in rituals and construction, in homespun production: in embroideries on clothes, on carpets. The swastika was used to decorate household utensils. She was also present on the icons
In the St. Petersburg Necropolis, Glinka's grave is crowned with a swastika.
In post-war children's legends, it was widely believed that the swastika consists of 4 letters "G", symbolizing the first letters of the names of the leaders of the Third Reich - Hitler, Goebbels, Himmler, Goering.
Swastika in India
In pre-Buddhist ancient Indian and some other cultures, the swastika is usually interpreted as a sign of auspicious destinies, a symbol of the sun. This symbol is still widely used in India and South Korea, and most weddings, holidays and festivities cannot do without it.
Swastika in India
Buddhist symbol of perfection (also known as manji, "whirlwind" (Jap. まんじ, "ornament, cross, swastika")). The vertical line indicates the relationship of heaven and earth, and the horizontal line indicates the relationship of yin-yang. The direction of short lines to the left personifies movement, gentleness, love, compassion, and their aspiration to the right is associated with constancy, firmness, intelligence and strength. Thus, any one-sidedness is a violation of world harmony and cannot lead to universal happiness. Love and compassion without strength and firmness are helpless, and strength and reason without mercy and love lead to the multiplication of evil.
Swastika in European culture
The swastika became popular in European culture in the 19th century, in the wake of the fashion of Aryan theory. English astrologer Richard Morrison organized the Order of the Swastika in Europe in 1869. It is found on the pages of books by Rudyard Kipling. The swastika was also used by the founder of the Boy Scouts, Robert Baden-Powell. In 1915, the swastika, being very common in Latvian culture since ancient times, was depicted on the banners of the battalions (later regiments) of the Latvian riflemen of the Russian army.
Altars with swastika V Europe:
From Aquitaine
Then, since 1918, it became an element of the official symbols of the Republic of Latvia - the emblem of military aviation, regimental insignia, insignia of societies and various organizations, state awards, and is still used today. The Latvian military order of Lachplesis was in the form of a swastika. Since 1918, the swastika has been part of the state symbols of Finland (now it is depicted on the presidential standard, as well as on the banners of the armed forces). Later it became a symbol of the German Nazis, after they came to power - the state symbol of Germany (depicted on the coat of arms and flag); after World War II, her image was banned in a number of countries.
Swastika in Nazism
The National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), which appeared in the 1920s, chose the swastika as its party symbol. Since 1920, the swastika has become associated with Nazism and racism.
There is a very common misconception that the Nazis chose the right-handed swastika as their emblem, thereby perverting the precepts of the ancient sages and defiling the sign itself, which is more than five thousand years old. In reality, this is not so. In the cultures of different peoples, both left-handed and right-handed swastikas are found.
Under the definition of "Nazi" symbols, only a four-pointed swastika, standing on an edge of 45 °, with the ends pointing to the right, can fit. It was this sign that was on the state banner of National Socialist Germany from 1933 to 1945, as well as on the emblems of the civil and military services of this country. The Nazis themselves used the term Hakenkreuz (literally “crooked (hooked) cross”), which is synonymous with the word swastika (German: Swastika), which is also used in German.
In Russia, the stylized swastika is used as an emblem by the All-Russian social movement Russian National Unity (RNE). Russian nationalists claim that the Russian swastika - the Kolovrat - is an ancient Slavic symbol and cannot be recognized as Nazi symbols.
Swastika in the cultures of other countries
The version that it was Hitler who had the brilliant idea to make the swastika a symbol of the National Socialist movement belongs to the Fuhrer himself and was voiced in Mein Kampf. Probably, for the first time, nine-year-old Adolf saw a swastika on the wall of a Catholic monastery near the town of Lambach.
The swastika has been popular since ancient times. A cross with curved ends has been featured on coins, household items, coats of arms since the eighth millennium BC. The swastika personified life, the sun, prosperity. Hitler could see the swastika again in Vienna on the emblem of Austrian anti-Semitic organizations.
By christening the archaic solar symbol the Hakenkreuz (Hakenkreuz is German for hook cross), Hitler claimed the priority of discoverer, even though the idea of the swastika as a political symbol had taken root in Germany before him. In 1920, Hitler, who was an unprofessional and mediocre, but still an artist, allegedly independently designed the party's logo design, proposing a red flag with a white circle in the middle, in the center of which a black swastika was rapaciously spreading hooks.
The red color, according to the leader of the National Socialists, was chosen in imitation of the Marxists, who also used it. Seeing the one hundred and twenty thousandth demonstration of the left forces under the scarlet banners, Hitler noted the active influence of the bloody color on the common man. In Mein Kampf, the Fuhrer mentioned the "great psychological significance" of symbols and their ability to powerfully influence emotions. But it was precisely by controlling the emotions of the crowd that Hitler managed to introduce the ideology of his party to the masses in an unprecedented way.
By adding a swastika to the red color, Adolf gave a diametrically opposite meaning to the favorite color scheme of the socialists. By attracting the attention of the workers with the familiar color of the posters, Hitler was "re-recruiting".
The red color in the interpretation of Hitler personified the idea of movement, white - the sky and nationalism, the hoe-shaped swastika - labor and the anti-Semitic struggle of the Aryans. Creative work was mysteriously treated as anti-Semitic.
In general, it is impossible to call Hitler the author of National Socialist symbols, contrary to his statements. He borrowed the color from the Marxists, the swastika and even the name of the party (slightly rearranging the letters) from the Viennese nationalists. The idea of using symbols is also plagiarism. It belongs to the oldest member of the party - a dentist named Friedrich Krohn, who submitted a memorandum back in 1919 to the party leadership. However, in the bible of National Socialism, the book Mein Kampf, the name of the quick-witted dentist is not mentioned.
However, Kron put a different content into the decoding of symbols. The red color of the banner is love for the motherland, the white circle is a symbol of innocence for unleashing the First World War, the black color of the cross is grief over losing the war.
In the interpretation of Hitler, the swastika became a sign of the Aryan struggle against "subhumans". The claws of the cross seem to be aimed at Jews, Slavs, representatives of other peoples who do not belong to the race of "blond beasts".
Unfortunately, the ancient positive sign was discredited by the National Socialists. The Nuremberg Tribunal in 1946 banned Nazi ideology and symbols. The swastika was also banned. Recently, she has been somewhat rehabilitated. Roskomnadzor, for example, admitted in April 2015 that displaying this sign outside of a propaganda context is not an act of extremism. Although the "reprehensible past" cannot be deleted from the biography, the swastika is used by some racist organizations.
The urban legend of the Soviet pioneers said that the swastika is the four letters G assembled in a circle: Hitler, Goebbels, Goering, Himmler. The children did not think that the German Gs are actually different letters - H and G. Although the number of leading Nazis on G really went off scale - you can also remember Groe, and Hess, and many others. But it's better not to remember.
The German Nazis used this sign even before Hitler came to power. And why they showed such interest in the swastika is not at all surprising: for them it was an object of mystical power, originally from India, from the original Aryan territories. Well, it also looked beautiful, and the leaders of the National Socialist movement always attached great importance to aesthetics.
A statue of an Indian elephant with a swastika on the grounds of the old Carlsberg brewery in Copenhagen. The statue has nothing to do with Nazism: pay attention to the dots near the center
If we consider the swastika not as part of patterns and drawings, but as an independent object, then its first appearance dates back to about the 6th-5th centuries BC. It can be seen on objects found at excavations in the Middle East. Why is it customary to call India the birthplace of the swastika? Because the word "swastika" itself is taken from Sanskrit (literary ancient Indian language), means "well-being", and purely graphically (according to the most common theory) symbolizes the Sun. Four-pointedness is far from obligatory for her, there is also a wide variety of angles of rotation, inclination of the rays and additional patterns. In the classical Hindu form, she is usually depicted as in the figure below.
There are many interpretations of which way the swastika should rotate. Even their division into female and male is discussed, depending on the direction
Due to the high popularity of the Sun among people of all races, it logically happened that the swastika is an element of symbolism, writing and graphics among hundreds and hundreds of ancient peoples scattered all over the planet. Even in Christianity, she found her place, and there is an opinion that the Christian cross is her direct descendant. Family traits are really easy to see. In our dear Orthodoxy, swastika-like elements were called "gamma cross" and were often used in the design of temples. True, now it is not so easy to find their traces in Russia, since after the start of the Great Patriotic War, even harmless Orthodox swastikas were eliminated.
Orthodox gamma cross
The swastika is such a widespread object of world culture and religion that it is rather surprising that it rarely appears in the modern world. Logically, it should follow us everywhere. The answer is really simple: after the collapse of the Third Reich, she began to cause such unpleasant associations that they got rid of her with unprecedented zeal. This is amusingly reminiscent of the story of the name Adolf, which was extremely popular in Germany at all times, but almost disappeared from use after 1945.
Craftsmen have adapted to find the swastika in the most unexpected places. With the advent of open access to space images of the Earth, the search for natural and architectural incidents has become a kind of sport. The most popular object for conspiracy theorists and swastikophiles is the naval base building in San Diego, California, designed in 1967.
The US Navy spent 600 thousand dollars to somehow rid this building of the resemblance to the swastika, but the final result is disappointing
The Russian Internet and some railway station trays are crammed with all sorts of interpreters of Slavic pagan swastikas, where it is meticulously explained in pictures what “yarovrat”, “svitovit” or “salting” means. Sounds and looks exciting, but keep in mind that there is no scientific basis for these myths at all. Even the term “Kolovrat”, which is supposedly the Slavic name of the swastika, which has come into use, is a product of conjecture and myth-making.
A beautiful example of a rich Slavophile fantasy. Pay special attention to the name of the first swastika on the second page.
Outlandish mystical powers are attributed to the swastika, hence it is understandable that people who are suspicious, superstitious or prone to the occult are interested in it. Does it bring happiness to the wearer? Think for yourself: Hitler used her both in the tail and in the mane, and ended up so badly that you would not wish the enemy.
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna was a great lover of swastikas. She drew the symbol wherever her pencils and paints reached, especially in the rooms of her children, so that they would grow up healthy and not grieve about anything. But the empress was shot by the Bolsheviks along with the whole family. The conclusions are obvious.
