What does the sign of Hitler mean in ancient symbolism? What is a swastika? Where did the German swastika come from? Why is prohibited

The four-pointed swastika is a twenty-sided triangle, with an axial symmetry of the 4th order. The correct β-ray swastika is described by the point symmetry group (Schoenflis symbolism). This group is generated by rotation of the th order and reflection in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation - the so-called "horizontal" plane in which the drawing lies. Due to the operation of the reflection of the swastika achiral and does not have enantiomer(that is, a "double" obtained by reflection, which cannot be aligned with the original figure by any rotation). As a result, in the oriented space, the right- and left-handed swastikas do not differ. Right- and left-handed swastikas differ only on the plane, where the pattern has purely rotational symmetry. When even, an inversion appears, where is the rotation of the 2nd order.

You can build a swastika for anyone; at, we get a figure similar to the integral sign. For example, the symbol borjgali(see below) is a swastika c. A swastika-like figure will generally turn out if you take any area on a plane and multiply it by rotating it once about a vertical axis that does not lie in the vertical plane of symmetry of the area.

Origin and meaning

Illustration from ESBE.

The word "swastika" is a composite 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 ), since the Greeks saw in the swastika a combination of four letters "gamma" (Γ).

The swastika is a symbol of the Sun, good luck, happiness and creation. In Western European medieval literature, the name of the sun god of the ancient Prussians Swykstiksa(Svaixtix) is first found in Latin-language monuments - early 17th century: "Sudauer Buchlein"(mid XV century), "Episcoporum Prussiae Pomesaniensis atque Sambiensis Constitutiones Synodales" (1530), "De Sacrificiis et Idolatria Veterum Borvssorvm Livonum, aliarumque uicinarum gentium" (1563), "De Diis Samagitarum" (1615) .

The swastika is one of the ancient and archaic solar signs - an indicator of the apparent movement of the Sun around the Earth and dividing the year into four parts - four seasons. The sign fixes two solstices: summer and winter - and the annual movement of the Sun.

Nevertheless, the swastika is seen not only as a solar symbol, but also as a symbol of the fertility of the earth. Has the idea of ​​four cardinal points, centered around an axis. The swastika also implies 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.

The Encyclopedia of Brockhaus F.A. and Efron I.A. writes about the meaning of the swastika as follows:

The swastika is "correct" and the opposite. Accordingly, the swastika in the opposite direction symbolizes darkness, destruction. In ancient times, both swastikas were used simultaneously. It 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.

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 cruciform curls. The swastika was understood as a symbol of the four basic forces, the four cardinal points, the elements, the seasons and the alchemical idea of ​​the transformation of the elements.

Religious use

In many religions, the swastika is an important cult symbol.

Buddhism

Other religions

It is widely used by Jains and followers of Vishnu. In Jainism, the four arms of the swastika represent the four levels of existence.

Use in history

The swastika is a sacred symbol and is found already in the Upper Paleolithic period. The symbol is found in the culture of many peoples. Ukraine, Egypt, Iran, India, China, Maverannahr, Russia, Armenia, Georgia, the Mayan state in Central America - this is the incomplete geography of this symbol. The swastika is presented in oriental ornaments, on monumental buildings and on household items, on various amulets and Orthodox icons.

In the ancient world

The swastika was found on clay vessels from Samarra (the territory of modern Iraq), which date back to the 5th millennium BC, and in ornaments on ceramics of the South Ural Andronovo culture. The left- and right-sided swastika is found in the pre-Aryan culture of Mohenjo-Daro (the Indus River basin) and ancient China around 2000 BC.

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 cruciform curls. Back in the 7th century BC, in Asia Minor, images similar to the swastika were known, consisting of four cross-shaped curls - the rounded ends are signs of cyclic movement. There are interesting coincidences in the image of Indian and Asia Minor swastikas (points between the branches of the swastika, jagged bulges at the ends). Other early forms swastikas - a square with four plant-like curves at the edges are a sign of the earth, also of Asia Minor origin.

In Northeast Africa, a stele of the kingdom of Meroe was discovered, which existed in the II-III centuries AD. NS. The fresco on the stele depicts a woman entering the afterlife; a swastika also flaunts on the clothes of the deceased. The rotating cross adorns both the golden weights for the 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 is often found on the amulets of the Slavs, Germans, Pomors, Curonians, Scythians, Sarmatians, Mordovians, Udmurts, Bashkirs, Chuvashes and many other peoples. The swastika is found wherever there are traces of Buddhist culture.

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 concepts such as "area", "country". Known in the form of a swastika are two curved mutually truncated fragments of a double spiral, expressing the symbolism of the relationship "Yin" and "Yang". In marine civilizations, the double helix motif was an expression of the relationship between opposites, the sign of the Upper and Lower Waters, and also meant the process of the formation of life. 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 the defective moon, in which, like in a boat, the sun is placed. This sign represents the sign of the mystical cart, the creative quaterner, also called the hammer of Thor. A similar cross was found by Schliemann during excavations in Troy.

The swastika was depicted in pre-Christian Roman mosaics and on the coins of Cyprus and Crete. Known ancient Cretan rounded swastika from plant elements... 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. According to A. Ossendovsky, Genghis Khan wore on right hand a ring with the image of a swastika, into which a ruby ​​was set. Ossendovsky saw this ring on the hand of the Mongol governor. Currently this magic symbol known mainly in India and Central and East Asia.

Swastika in India

Swastika in Russia (and on its territory)

Various types of swastika (3-beam, 4-beam, 8-beam) are present on the ceramic ornament of the Andronov archaeological culture (South Urals of the Bronze Age).

The rhombo-meander swastika ornament in the Kostenkovskaya and Mezinskaya cultures (25-20 thousand years BC) was studied by V.A.Gorodtsov. So far, there is no reliable data about where the swastika was first used, but the earliest image of it was recorded not in Russia.

The swastika was used in rituals and construction, in homespun production: in embroidery on clothes, on carpets. Household utensils were decorated with a swastika. She was also present at the icons. Embroidered on clothes, the swastika could have a certain protective meaning.

The swastika symbol was used as a personal sign and a symbol-amulet by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Images of the swastika are found on the empress's hand-drawn postcards. One of the first such "signs" was put by the empress after the signature "A." on a Christmas card drawn by her, sent on December 5, 1917 from Tobolsk to her friend Yu. A. Den.

The swastika was depicted on some banknotes of the Provisional Government of 1917 and on some Soviet signs printed with cliche "kerenok" that were in circulation from 1918 to 1922. ...

In November 1919, the commander of the South-Eastern Front of the Red Army, V.I.Shorin, was issued, in which the distinctive sleeve insignia of Kalmyk formations with the use of a swastika was approved. The swastika in the order is denoted by the word "lyungtn", that is, the Buddhist "Lungta", meaning - "whirlwind", "vital energy".

Also, the image of the swastika can be seen on some historical monuments in Chechnya, in particular on ancient crypts in the Itum-Kalinsky region of Chechnya (the so-called "City of the Dead"). In the pre-Islamic period, the swastika was a symbol of the sun god among the pagan Chechens (Dela-Malch).

Swastika and censorship in the USSR

On the territory of modern Israel, images of the swastika were found during excavations in the mosaics of ancient synagogues. Thus, the synagogue on the site of the ancient settlement of Ein Gedi in the Dead Sea region dates back to the beginning of the 2nd century, and the synagogue on the site of the modern kibbutz Maoz Chaim in the Golan Heights operated between the 4th and 11th centuries.

In the North, Central and South America the swastika is found in Mayan and Aztec art. V North America the Navajo, Tennessee, and Ohio tribes used the swastika symbol in ritual burials.

Thai greeting Swatdi! comes from the word svatdika(swastika).

Swastika as the emblem of Nazi organizations

Nevertheless, I had to reject all the countless projects sent to me from all over by young supporters of the movement, since all these projects boiled down to only one theme: they took the old colors and against this background, in different variations, they drew a hoe-shaped cross. […] After a series of experiments and alterations, I myself have drawn up a finished project: the main background of the banner is red; white circle inside, and in the center of this circle is a black hoe-shaped cross. After long alterations, I finally found the necessary ratio between the size of the banner and the size of the white circle, and also finally settled on the size and shape of the cross.

In the view of Hitler himself, she symbolized "the struggle for the triumph Aryan race". This choice combined the mystical occult meaning of the swastika, and the idea of ​​the swastika as an "Aryan" symbol (due to its prevalence in India), and the already established use of the swastika in the German extreme right tradition: it was used by some Austrian anti-Semitic parties, and in March 1920 During the Kapp coup, she was depicted on the helmets of the Erhardt brigade that entered Berlin (here, perhaps, there was the influence of the Baltic states, since many fighters of the Volunteer Corps faced the swastika in Latvia and Finland). Already in the 1920s, the swastika became increasingly associated with Nazism; after 1933, it finally began to be perceived as a predominantly Nazi symbol, as a result of which, for example, it was excluded from the emblem of the scout movement.

However, strictly speaking, the Nazi symbol was not any swastika, but a four-pointed one, with the ends directed to the right, and turned at 45 °. Moreover, it should be in a white circle, which in turn is depicted on a red rectangle. It was such a 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 (although decorative purposes, of course, were used, including by the Nazis, and other options).

Actually, the Nazis used the term to refer to the swastika that served as their symbol Hakenkreuz (Hackenkreuz, literally Hook cross, the translation options are also - "crooked" or "arachnid"), which is not synonymous with the word swastika (German. Swastika), also circulating in German... We can say that Hackenkreuz- the same national name for the swastika in German as "Solstice" or Kolovrat in Russian or "Hakaristi" in Finnish, and is usually used precisely to denote a Nazi symbol. In Russian translation, this word was translated as "hoe-shaped cross".

On the poster of the Soviet graphic artist Moor "All on" G "(1941), the swastika consists of 4 letters" G ", symbolizing the first letters of the surnames of the leaders of the Third Reich written in Russian - Hitler, Goebbels, Himmler, Goering.

Geographic objects in the form of a swastika

Forest swastika

Forest swastika - a swastika-shaped forest plantation. They are found both in open areas in the form of a corresponding schematic planting of trees, and in the territory of a forest. V the latter case usually a combination of coniferous (evergreen) and deciduous (deciduous) trees is used.

Until 2000, the forest swastika existed northwest of the Zernikov settlement, in the Uckermark region, in the state of Brandenburg in northwestern Germany.

On a hillside near the village of Tash-Bashat, in Kyrgyzstan, on the border with the Himalayas, there is a forest swastika "Eki Narin" ( 41.447351 , 76.391641 41 ° 26′50.46 ″ s. NS. 76 ° 23'29.9 "in. etc. /  41.44735121 , 76.39164121 (G)).

Labyrinths and their images

Swastika buildings

Complex 320-325(eng. Complex 320-325) - one of the buildings of the naval landing base in Coronado (eng. Naval Amphibious Base Coronado ), in the Bay of San Diego, California. The base is under the control of the US Navy and is the central training and operations base for special and expeditionary forces. Coordinates 32.6761, -117.1578.

The building of the Complex was built between 1967 and 1970. The original design consisted of two central buildings for a boiler plant and a relaxation area, and a three-fold repetition of a 90-degree turn to the central buildings of an L-shaped barracks building. The completed building takes on the shape of a swastika when viewed from above.

Swastika computer symbol

The Unicode character table contains the Chinese characters 卐 (U + 5350) and 卍 (U + 534D), which are swastikas.

Swastika in culture

In the Spanish TV series "Black Lagoon" (Russian version of "Closed School"), a Nazi organization developing in the bowels of a secret laboratory under a boarding school had a coat of arms in which a swastika was encrypted.

Gallery

• Swastika in European culture



Swastika in 2nd century AD Roman mosaic

see also

Notes (edit)

1. R.V. Bagdasarov. Radio program "Swastika: blessing or curse" on "Echo of Moscow".
2. Korablev L.L.Graphic magic of Icelanders. - M .: "Veligor", 2002. - P. 101
3. http://www.swastika-info.com/images/amerika/usa/cocacola-swastika-fob.jpg
4. Gorodtsov V.A. Archeology. Stone period... M .; Pg., 1923.
5. Jelinek Jan. Large illustrated atlas primitive man... Prague, 1985.
6. Tarunin A. The Past - Kolovrat in Russia.
7. Bagdasarov, Roman; Dymarsky Vitaly, Zakharov Dmitry Swastika: blessing or curse. "The Price of Victory"... "Echo of Moscow". Archived from the original on August 23, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2010.
8. Bagdasarov, Roman.... - M .: M., 2001 .-- S. 432.
9. Sergei Fomin. Materials for the history of the Tsaritsyn Cross
10. Letters from the Imperial Family from captivity. Jordanville, 1974.S. 160; Dehn L. The Real Tsaritsa. London, 1922. P. 242.
11. In the same place. S. 190.
12. Nikolaev R. Soviet "credit cards" with a swastika? ... Site "Bonistika". - The article was also published in the newspaper "Miniature" 1992 №7, p.11 .. Archived from the original on August 23, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
13. Evgeny Zhirnov. To assign the right to wear the swastika to all the Red Army soldiers // Vlast magazine. - 08/01/2000 - No. 30 (381)
14. http://www.echo.msk.ru/programs/victory/559590-echo/ Interview with historian and religious scholar Roman Bagdasarov
15. http://lj.rossia.org/users/just_hoaxer/311555.html LYUNGTN
16. B.A. Kuftin Material culture Russian Meshchera. Part 1. Womens clothing: shirt, ponyova, sundress. - M .: 1926.
17. W. Shearer. The rise and fall of the Third Reich
18. quotation from the book of R. Bagdasarov "The mysticism of the fire cross", M., Veche, 2005
19. Discussion of the terms Hakenkreuz and Swastika in the Linguaphiles LiveJournal community
20. Adolf Hitler, "Mein Kampf"
21. Kern Hermann. Labyrinths of the world / Per. from English - SPb .: Azbuka-classic, 2007 .-- 432 p.
22. Azerbaijani Carpets
23. Li Hongzhi. Zhuan Falun Falun Dafa

Literature

In Russian

1. Wilson Thomas. Swastika. The oldest known symbol, its movement from country to country, with observations of the movement of some crafts in prehistoric times / Translated from English: A. Yu. Moskvin // History of the swastika from ancient times to the present day. - Nizhny Novgorod: Publishing house "Books", 2008. - 528 p. - S. 3-354. - ISBN 978-5-94706-053-9.
   (This is the first publication in Russian of the best fundamental work on the history of the swastika, written by Thomas Wilson, curator of the Department of Prehistoric Anthropology at the US National Museum, and published for the first time in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution (Washington) in 1896).
2. Akunov V. The swastika is the oldest symbol of humanity (a selection of publications)
3. Bagdasarov R.V. Swastika: sacred symbol. Ethnoreligiological essays. - Ed. 2nd, corrected. - M .: White Alvy, 2002 .-- 432 p. - 3000 copies. - ISBN 5-7619-0164-1
4. Bagdasarov R.V. The mysticism of the fiery cross. Ed. 3rd, add. and corrected. - M .: Veche, 2005 .-- 400 p. - 5000 copies. - (Labyrinths of occult science). -

August 21st, 2015, 08:57 pm

Looking at this Tibetan yak, I noticed a swastika ornament. And I thought: the swastika is "fascist"!

Many times I have come across attempts to divide the swastika into "right-handed" and "left-handed". They say that "f Ashistka "swastika" - "left-handed", it rotates to the left - "back", ie counterclockwise time. Slavic swastika - on the contrary - "right-sided". If the swastika rotates clockwise ("right-handed" swastika), then this means adding vital energy, if against (left-sided) - then this indicates the "suction" of vital energy to Navi, to the afterlife dead.

michael101063 в A very ancient sacred symbol writes: "... it is necessary to know that the swastika is left-sided and right-sided. The left-sided one was associated with lunar cults, black magic of bloody sacrifices and with a downward spiral of involution. Right-sided - with solar cults, white magic and an upward spiral of evolution ...

It is no coincidence that the Nazis used and continue to use the left-sided swastika, like the black sorcerers Bon-po in Tibet, to whom expeditions of the Nazi occult Institute "Ahnenerbe" went for sacred knowledge of antiquity.

It is no coincidence that there has always been a close connection and cooperation between the Nazis and black sorcerers. And also the massacres of civilians by the Nazis are not accidental, since in essence they are bloody sacrifices to the forces of darkness. "

And now I look at this yak and I feel sorry for him: stupid Tibetans hung him all over with a "fascist" "left-sided" swastika, through which all his energy will be sucked off, and he, poor fellow, will gather and die.

Or maybe these are not stupid Tibetans, but those who divide it into "harmful" left-sided and "beneficial" right-sided? Obviously, our distant ancestors did not know such a division. Here is an ancient Novgorod ring found by the expedition of ac. Rybakov.

If you believe modern idle "reasoning", then the owner of this ring was a mentally abnormal person, withered sinister with a member at "half past six". This is of course complete nonsense. If this form of the swastika was associated with something negative, neither animals nor (especially) people would wear it.

R. Bagdasarov, our main "specialist" on swastikas, notes that there are no clear meanings for "left" and "right" swastikas even in India, not to mention other cultures. In Christianity, for example, both variants of the swastika are used.

If we divide the swastika into "positive" and "negative", then it turns out that the priest worships both God and the devil at the same time, which again looks like sheer nonsense.

So there are no "right-handed" and "left-handed" swastikas. The swastika is the swastika.

The urban legend of the Soviet pioneers said that the swastika is a circle of four letters G: Hitler, Goebbels, Goering, Himmler. The children did not think that German Gs really different letters- H and G. Although the number of leading Nazis in G really went off scale - you can also remember Groe, and Hess, and many others. But it's better not to remember.

German Nazis used this sign even before Hitler came to power. And why they showed such an interest in the swastika is not surprising: for them it was an object of mystical power, originally from India, from the primordially Aryan territories. Well, it also looked beautiful, and the leaders of the National Socialist movement always attached great importance to the issues of aesthetics.

Statue of an Indian elephant with a swastika on the territory of the old brewery Carlsberg in Copenhagen. The statue has nothing to do with Nazism: pay attention to the points 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 VI-V centuries BC. It can be seen on items found in 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 "prosperity", and purely graphically (according to the most common theory) symbolizes the Sun. The four-limb is far from obligatory for it; the variety of angles of rotation, inclination of rays and additional patterns is also great. In classical Hindu form, she is usually depicted as in the figure below.

There are many interpretations in which direction the swastika should rotate. They even discuss their division into female and male, depending on the direction.

Due to the high popularity of the Sun among people of all races, it is logical that the swastika is an element of symbolism, writing and graphics among hundreds and hundreds of ancient peoples scattered throughout the planet. Even in Christianity, she found her place, and there is an opinion that christian cross is its direct descendant. Family features are really easy to see. In our dear Orthodoxy, swastika-like elements were called "gamma cross" and were often used in the design of churches. True, now it is not so easy to find their traces in Russia, since after the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, even harmless Orthodox swastikas were liquidated.

Orthodox gamma cross

The swastika is such a widespread object of world culture and religion that it is rather surprising that its appearance in modern world... Logically, it should follow us everywhere. The answer is really simple: after the collapse of the Third Reich, it began to evoke such unpleasant associations that they got rid of it with unprecedented zeal. This, in a funny way, reminds of the story with the name Adolf, which was extremely popular in Germany at all times, but almost disappeared from everyday life after 1945.

Craftsmen got used to finding the swastika in the most unexpected places. With the advent of space images of the Earth in the public domain, the search for natural and architectural incidents has turned into a kind of sport. The most popular site for conspiracy theorists and swastikophiles is the San Diego, California naval base building, designed in 1967.

The leadership of the US Navy spent 600 thousand dollars to somehow save this building from the resemblance to the swastika, but the final result is disappointing.

The Russian Internet and some railway stations are crammed with all sorts of interpreters of Slavic pagan swastikas, where meticulously, the pictures explain what it means "yarovrat", "svitovit" or "salting". It sounds and looks exciting, but keep in mind that there is no scientific foundation under these myths at all. Even the term "Kolovrat", which has come into use, allegedly Slavic name swastika, is a product of speculation and myth-making.

A beautiful example of rich Slavophil 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 clear that it is interesting to her from people who are suspicious, superstitious or inclined to the occult. Does it bring happiness to the wearer? Think for yourself: Hitler used it both in the tail and in the mane, and ended so badly that you would not wish the enemy.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna was a big lover of swastikas. She drew the symbol wherever her pencils and paints could reach, especially in her children's rooms, 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 clear.

In his autobiographical and ideological book Mein Kampf, Hitler claimed that it was he who came up with the brilliant idea of ​​making the swastika a symbol of the National Socialist movement. Probably, for the first time, little Adolf saw a swastika on the wall of a Catholic monastery near the town of Lambach.

The swastika sign - a cross with curved ends - has been popular since ancient times. He was present on coins, household items and coats of arms from the 8th millennium BC. The swastika personified life, sun, prosperity. Hitler could see this archaic solar symbol in Vienna on the emblems of Austrian anti-Semitic organizations.

By christening him Hakenkreuz (Hakenkreuz is translated from German as a hook cross), Hitler claimed the fame of a pioneer, although the swastika as a political symbol in Germany appeared even before him. In 1920, Hitler, who was unprofessional and untalented, but still an artist, allegedly independently developed the design of the party's logo, which is a red flag with a white circle in the middle, in the center of which was a black swastika with predatory hooks.

The color red, according to the leader of the National Socialists, was chosen to imitate the Marxists. Seeing the 120,000-strong demonstration of the left forces under the scarlet banners, Hitler noted the active influence of the bloody color on common man... In his book Mein Kampf, the Fuhrer mentioned the "great psychological significance" of symbols and their ability to powerfully influence a person. But it was through the control of crowd emotions that Hitler succeeded in introducing 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. Attracting the attention of the workers with the familiar color of the posters, Hitler, as it were, “recruited” them.

The red color in Hitler's interpretation personified the idea of ​​movement, white - the sky and nationalism, the hoe-shaped swastika - the work and anti-Semitic struggle of the Aryans. Creative labor was mysteriously interpreted as a sign of anti-Semitism.

In general, it is impossible to call Hitler the author of the 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 symbolism is also plagiarism. It belongs to the oldest member of the party - a dentist named Friedrich Krone, who submitted a memo in 1919 to the party leadership. However, in the bible of National Socialism, Mein Kampf, the name of the quick-witted dentist is not mentioned.

However, Kron put a different meaning in these symbols. The red color of the banner is love for the homeland, the white circle is innocence for unleashing the First World War, the black color of the cross is sorrow over losing the war.

In Hitler's decoding, 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 symbolism. The swastika was also banned. V recent times she is somewhat rehabilitated. Roskomnadzor, for example, admitted in April 2015 that displaying this sign outside a propaganda context is not an act of extremism. Although the "reprehensible past" cannot be erased, even today the swastika is used by some racist organizations.

Today, many people, hearing the word "swastika", immediately imagine Adolf Hitler, concentration camps and the horrors of the Second World War. But, in fact, this symbol appeared even before new era and has a very rich history. It received wide distribution in Slavic culture, where there were many modifications of it. The synonym for the word "swastik" was the concept "solar", that is, solar. Were there any differences in the swastika of the Slavs and the Nazis? And, if so, how were they expressed?

First, let's recall what a swastika looks like. This is a cross, each of the four ends of which is bent at right angles. Moreover, all angles are directed in one direction: to the right or to the left. Looking at such a sign, the feeling of its rotation is created. There are opinions that the main difference between the Slavic and fascist swastikas lies in the direction of this very rotation. For the Germans, this is a right-hand movement (clockwise), and for our ancestors, it is a left-hand movement (counterclockwise). But this is not all that distinguishes the Aryan and Aryan swastika.

External differences

Also important hallmark is the constancy of color and shape at the sign of the Führer's army. Their swastika lines are wide enough, absolutely straight, black. The underlying background is a white circle on a red canvas.

And what about the Slavic swastika? First, as already mentioned, there are many swastika signs that differ in shape. Of course, each symbol is based on a cross with right angles at the ends. But the cross may not have four ends, but six or even eight. On his lines may appear additional elements, including smooth, rounded lines.

Secondly, the color of the swastika signs. There is also variety here, but not so pronounced. The predominantly red symbol on a white background. The color red was not chosen by chance. After all, he was the personification of the sun among the Slavs. But there are both blue and yellow colors on some of the signs. Third, the direction of movement. Earlier it was said that it is opposite to the fascist among the Slavs. However, this is not quite true. We meet both right-handed swastikas among the Slavs, and left-handed.

We have considered only the external distinctive attributes of the swastika of the Slavs and the swastika of the fascists. But much more important facts are as follows:

• The approximate time for the mark to appear.
• The value that was attached to it.
• Where and under what conditions this symbol was used.

Let's start with the Slavic swastika

It is difficult to name the time when it appeared among the Slavs. But, for example, among the Scythians, it was recorded in the fourth millennium BC. And since a little later the Slavs began to stand out from the Indo-European community, then, for sure, they were already used by them at that time (third or second millennium BC). Moreover, among the Proto-Slavs, they were the fundamental ornaments.

Swastika signs abounded in the everyday life of the Slavs. And therefore, one and the same meaning cannot be ascribed to all of them. In fact, each symbol was individual and carried its own semantic load... By the way, the swastika could be either an independent sign or be part of more complex ones (moreover, it was most often located in the center). Here are the main meanings of the Slavic swastika (solar symbols):

• Sacred and Sacred Fire.
• Ancient wisdom.
• Unity of the Family.
• Spiritual development, self-improvement.
• Patronage of the gods in wisdom and justice.
• In the sign of Valkykria, it is a talisman of wisdom, honor, nobility, justice.

That is, in general, we can say that the meaning of the swastika was somehow sublime, spiritually high, noble.

Archaeological excavations have provided us with a lot of valuable information. It turned out that in ancient times the Slavs applied similar signs to their weapons, embroidered on suits (clothes) and textile accessories (towels, towels), cut out on the elements of their dwellings, household items (dishes, spinning wheels and other wooden devices). They did all this mainly for the purpose of protection, in order to save themselves and their home from evil forces, from grief, from fire, from the evil eye. After all, the ancient Slavs were very superstitious in this regard. And with such protection, they felt much more secure and confident. Even the mounds and settlements of the ancient Slavs could have a swastika shape. At the same time, the ends of the cross symbolized a certain side of the world.

Fascist swastika

• Adolf Hitler himself adopted this sign as a symbol of the National Socialist movement. But, we know that it was not he who invented it. And in general, the swastika was used by other nationalist groups in Germany even before the appearance of the National Socialist German Workers' Party. Therefore, let's take the time of appearance for the beginning of the twentieth century.

An interesting fact: the person who suggested Hitler to take the swastika as a symbol originally presented a left-sided cross. But the Fuehrer insisted on replacing him with a right-handed one.

• The meaning of the swastika among the fascists is diametrically opposite to that of the Slavs. According to one version, it meant the purity of Germanic blood. Hitler himself said that the black cross itself symbolizes the struggle for the victory of the Aryan race, creative work. In general, the Fuhrer considered the swastika an ancient anti-Semitic sign. In his book, he writes that the white circle is a national idea, the red rectangle is social idea Nazi movement.
• And where was it used fascist swastika? First, on the legendary flag of the Third Reich. Secondly, the military had it on the belt buckles, as a patch on the sleeve. Thirdly, the swastika "adorned" the official buildings, the occupied territories. In general, it could be on any attributes of the fascists, but these were the most common.

So in this way, the swastika of the Slavs and the swastika of the fascists have colossal differences. This is expressed not only in external features, but also in semantic ones. If among the Slavs this sign personified something good, noble, high, then among the Nazis it was true nazi sign... Therefore, when you hear something about the swastika, you should not immediately think about fascism. After all slavic swastika was lighter, more humane, more beautiful.

The swastika and the six-pointed star are stolen Slavic symbols.