What does the symbolism of Nazism look like? Fascist symbols in the emblem of the Russian public service.

Symbols were powerful weapons in the Nazi transformation of society. Neither before nor after this in history did symbols play such an important role in political life and were not used so consciously. The national revolution, according to the Nazis, not only had to be carried out - it had to be seen.

The Nazis not only destroyed all those democratic social institutions established during the Weimar Republic, they also nullified all the external signs of democracy in the country. The National Socialists absorbed the state even more than Mussolini managed to do in Italy, and party symbols became part of the state symbols. The black-red-yellow banner of the Weimar Republic was replaced by the Nazi red-white-black with a swastika. The German national coat of arms was replaced by a new one, and the swastika took center stage.

The life of society at all levels was saturated with Nazi symbols. It was not for nothing that Hitler was interested in methods of influencing the mass consciousness. Based on the opinion of the French sociologist Gustave Le Bon that it is best to control large groups of people with the help of propaganda aimed at feelings, not intellect, he created a gigantic propaganda apparatus that was supposed to convey to the masses the ideas of National Socialism in simple terms, understandable and emotional. Many official symbols appeared, each of which reflected a part of the Nazi ideology. Symbols worked the same way as the rest of the propaganda: uniformity, repeatability, and mass production.

The desire of the Nazis for total power over citizens was also manifested in the insignia that were to be worn by people from various spheres. Members of political organizations or administrations wore cloth patches, badges of honor, and pinned badges with symbols that were approved by Goebbels' Ministry of Propaganda.

The insignia was also used to separate the "unworthy" to participate in the construction of the new Reich. Jews, for example, were stamped with the letter J (Jude, Jew) in their passports to control their entry and exit from the country. The Jews were ordered to wear stripes on their clothes - a yellow six-pointed "Star of David" with the word Jude ("Jew"). Such a system was most widespread in concentration camps, where prisoners were divided into categories and forced to wear stripes indicating their belonging to a particular group. Often the stripes were triangular, like warning road signs. Different colors of stripes corresponded to different categories of prisoners. Blacks were worn by the mentally disabled, alcoholics, lazy people, gypsies and women sent to concentration camps for so-called antisocial behavior: prostitution, lesbianism, or contraceptive use. Gay men were required to wear pink triangles, members of the sect of Jehovah's Witnesses were required to wear purple. The red color of socialism, so hated by the Nazis, was worn by “enemies of the state”: political prisoners, socialists, anarchists and masons. Stripes could be combined. For example, a gay Jew was forced to wear a pink triangle on a yellow triangle. Together they created the two-color Star of David.

Swastika

The swastika is the most famous symbol of German National Socialism. It is one of the oldest and most common symbols in the history of mankind, which has been used in many cultures, at different times and in different parts of the world. Its origin is controversial.

The most ancient archaeological finds with the image of the swastika are rock paintings on ceramic shards found in southeastern Europe, their age is more than 7 thousand years. The swastika is found there as part of the "alphabet" that was used in the Indus Valley in the Bronze Age, that is, 2600-1900 BC. Similar finds from the Bronze and Early Iron Age were also found during excavations in the Caucasus.

Archaeologists have found the swastika not only in Europe, but also on objects found in Africa, South and North America. Most likely, in different regions this symbol was used completely independently.

The meaning of the swastika can differ depending on the culture. In ancient China, for example, the swastika meant the number 10,000 and then infinity. In Indian Jainism, it denotes four levels of being. In Hinduism, the swastika, in particular, symbolized the fire god Agni and the sky god Diaus.

Its names are also numerous. In Europe, the symbol was called "four-legged", or cross gammadion, or even just gammadion. The word "swastika" itself comes from Sanskrit and can be translated as "something that brings happiness."

Swastika as an Aryan symbol

The transformation of the swastika from an ancient symbol of the sun and good luck to one of the most hated signs in the Western world began with the excavations of the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann. In the 70s of the XIX century, Schliemann began excavating the ruins of ancient Troy near Hisarlik in the north of modern Turkey. In many of the finds, the archaeologist discovered a swastika, a symbol familiar to him from ancient pottery found during excavations in Koningswald in Germany. Therefore, Schliemann decided that he had found the missing link connecting the Germanic ancestors, Greece of the era of Homer and the mythical India, sung in the Mahabharata and Ramayana.

Schliemann consulted with an orientalist and racial theorist Emil Burnauf, who argued that the swastika was a stylized top view of the burning altar of the ancient Aryans. Since the Aryans worshiped fire, the swastika was their main religious symbol, Burnauf concluded.

The find caused a sensation in Europe, especially not long before the reunified Germany, where the ideas of Burnauf and Schliemann met with a warm response. Gradually, the swastika lost its original meaning and began to be considered an exclusively Aryan symbol. Its distribution was considered a geographical indication of exactly where the ancient "supermen" were in a particular historical period. More sober-minded scientists resisted such a simplification and pointed to cases when the swastika was found outside the region of distribution of Indo-European languages.

Gradually, the swastika began to be given an increasingly anti-Semitic meaning. Burnauf argued that the Jews did not accept the swastika. The Polish writer Mikael Zmigrodski published in 1889 the book Die Mutter bei den Völkern des arischen Stammes, which portrayed the Aryans as a pure race that did not allow mixing with Jews. In the same year, at the World's Fair in Paris, Zmigrodski organized an exhibition of archaeological finds with a swastika. Two years later, the German scholar Ernst Ludwig Krause wrote the book Tuisko-Land, der arischen Stämme und Götter Urheimat, in which the swastika appeared as an apparently anti-Semitic symbol of popular nationalism.

Hitler and the swastika flag

The National Socialist Party of Germany (NSDAP) formally adopted the swastika as its party symbol in 1920. Hitler was not yet the chairman of the party, but was responsible for propaganda issues in it. He understood that the party needed something that would distinguish it from competing groups and at the same time attract the masses.

After making several sketches of the banner, Hitler opted for the following: a black swastika in a white circle on a red background. The colors were borrowed from the old imperial banner, but expressed the dogma of National Socialism. In his autobiography, Mein Kampf, Hitler then explained: “Red is a social thought in motion, white represents nationalism, and the swastika is a symbol of the struggle of the Aryans and their victory, which is thus the victory of the idea of ​​creative work, which in itself has always been anti-Semitic and will always be anti-Semitic. "

Swastika as a national symbol

In May 1933, just a few months after Hitler came to power, a law was passed to protect "national symbols." According to this law, the swastika should not be depicted on foreign objects and commercial use of the sign was also prohibited.

In July 1935, the German merchant ship Bremen entered the port of New York. A Nazi flag with a swastika fluttered next to the national flag of Germany. Hundreds of unionists and members of the American Communist Party gathered on the pier for an anti-Nazi rally. The demonstration escalated into riots, excited workers boarded the Bremen, tore off the swastika flag and threw it into the water. The incident led to the fact that four days later, the German ambassador to Washington demanded an official apology from the American government. The Americans refused to apologize, citing the fact that disrespect was shown not to the national flag, but only to the flag of the Nazi party.

The Nazis were able to use this incident to their advantage. Hitler called it "the humiliation of the German people." And to prevent this from happening in the future, the status of the swastika was raised to the level of a national symbol.

On September 15, 1935, the first of the so-called Nuremberg Laws came into force. It legalized the colors of the German state: red, white and black, and the swastika flag became the state flag of Germany. In November of the same year, this banner was introduced to the army. During World War II, it spread to all Nazi-occupied countries.

Swastika cult

However, in the Third Reich, the swastika was not a symbol of state power, but above all an expression of the worldview of National Socialism. During their reign, the Nazis created a cult of the swastika that resembled a religion rather than the usual political use of symbols. The grandiose mass gatherings organized by the Nazis were like religious ceremonies, in which Hitler was assigned the role of high priest. During party days in Nuremberg, for example, Hitler exclaimed from the stage "Heil!" - and hundreds of thousands of Nazis answered in chorus: "Heil, my Fuhrer"! With bated breath, the huge mass watched as huge banners with swastikas slowly unfurled to the solemn drumbeat.

This cult also included a special veneration for the banner, preserved from the time of the "beer coup" in Munich in 1923, when several Nazis were shot by the police. Legend claimed that a few drops of blood fell on the cloth. Ten years later, after coming to power, Hitler ordered the delivery of this flag from the archives of the Bavarian police. And since then, every new army standard or flag with a swastika underwent a special ceremony, during which a new banner touched this blood-sprinkled banner, which became a relic of the Nazis.

The cult of the swastika as a symbol of the Aryan race was to eventually replace Christianity. Since Nazi ideology represented the world as a struggle between races and peoples, Christianity, with its Jewish roots, was in their eyes further proof that the Aryan regions had previously been "conquered" by the Jews. Towards the end of World War II, the Nazis had developed ambitious plans to transform the German church into a "national" one. All Christian symbols were to be replaced by Nazi ones. Party ideologist Alfred Rosenberg wrote that all crosses, Bibles and images of saints should be removed from churches. Instead of the Bible, the altar should be "Mein Kampf", and to the left of the altar - a sword. Crosses in all churches should be replaced by "the only invincible symbol - the swastika."

Post-war time

After World War II, the swastika in the Western world was so associated with the atrocities and crimes of Nazism that it completely overshadowed all other interpretations. Today in the West, the swastika is associated primarily with Nazism and right-wing extremism. In Asia, the swastika sign is still considered positive, although some Buddhist temples from the middle of the 20th century began to decorate only with left-handed swastikas, although signs of both directions were previously used.

National symbols

Just as the Italian fascists presented themselves as the modern heirs of the Roman Empire, the Nazis sought to prove their connection to ancient Germanic history. It was not for nothing that Hitler called the state he had conceived as the Third Reich. The first large-scale state formation was the German-Roman Empire, which existed in one form or another for almost a thousand years, from 843 to 1806. The second attempt to create a German empire, undertaken in 1871, when Bismarck united the North German lands under the rule of Prussia, failed with the defeat of Germany in the First World War.

German National Socialism, like Italian fascism, was an extreme form of nationalism. This was expressed in their borrowing of signs and symbols from the early history of the Germans. These include a combination of red, white and black colors, as well as symbols that were used by the militarist power during the Prussian Empire.

Scull

The skull is one of the most common symbols in human history. In different cultures, it had different meanings. In the West, the skull is traditionally associated with death, over time, with the finiteness of life. Skull drawings existed in ancient times, but became more noticeable in the 15th century: they appeared in abundance in all cemeteries and mass graves associated with the plague epidemic. In Sweden, church murals depicted death as a skeleton.

Skull associations have always been an appropriate symbol for those factions that either wanted to scare people or emphasize their own contempt for death. A well-known example is the pirates of the West Indies of the 17th and 18th centuries, who used black flags with the image of a skull, often combining it with other symbols: a sword, hourglass or bones. For the same reasons, the skull and bones were used to indicate danger in other areas. For example, in chemistry and medicine, a skull with bones on the label means the drug is poisonous and life-threatening.

The SS men wore metal badges with skulls on their headdresses. The same sign was used in the life-hussar units of the Prussian guard back in the time of Frederick the Great, in 1741. In 1809, the "Black Corps" of the Duke of Braunschweig wore a black uniform with a skull without a lower jaw.

Both of these variants - a skull and bones or a skull without a lower jaw - existed in the German army during the First World War. In the elite units, these symbols meant fighting courage and contempt for death. When in June 1916 the sapper regiment of the First Guard received the right to wear a white skull on the sleeve, the commander addressed the soldiers with the following speech: "I am convinced that this insignia of the new detachment will always be worn as a sign of contempt for death and fighting spirit."

After the war, German units that refused to recognize the Peace of Versailles chose the skull as their symbol. Some of them joined Hitler's personal bodyguard, which later became the SS. In 1934, the SS leadership officially approved the version of the skull, which is still used by neo-Nazis today. The skull was also the symbol of the SS Panzer Division "Death's Head". This division was originally recruited from concentration camp wardens. The ring with a "dead head", that is, with a skull, was also an honorary award that Himmler presented to distinguished and honored SS men.

For both the Prussian army and the soldiers of the imperial units, the skull was a symbol of blind loyalty to the commander and the willingness to follow him to death. This meaning also passed to the SS symbol. “We wear a skull on black caps as a warning to the enemy and as a sign of willingness to sacrifice our lives for the sake of the Fuhrer and his ideals,” - such a statement belongs to the SS man Alois Rosenwink.

Since the image of the skull was widely used in various fields, in our time it turned out to be the least associated with Nazi ideology as a symbol. The most famous modern Nazi organization that uses the skull in their symbolism is the British Combat 18.

iron Cross

Initially, the "Iron Cross" was the name of the military order established by the Prussian king Frederick William III in March 1813. Now both the order itself and the image of the cross on it are called so.

The "Iron Cross" of various degrees was awarded to the soldiers and officers of the four wars. First in the war of Prussia against Napoleon in 1813, then during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871, and then during the First World War. The order symbolized not only courage and honor, but was closely associated with Germanic cultural tradition. For example, during the Prussian-Austrian War of 1866, the Iron Cross was not awarded, since it was considered a war between two fraternal peoples.

With the outbreak of World War II, Hitler revived the order. A cross was added to the center and the ribbon colors were changed to black, red and white. Nevertheless, the tradition has remained to indicate the year of issue. Therefore, the Nazi versions of the Iron Cross are stamped with the year 1939. During the Second World War, approximately 3.5 million Iron Crosses were awarded. In 1957, when the wearing of Nazi symbols was banned in West Germany, war veterans were given the opportunity to surrender the orders and get back the same ones, but without the swastika.

The symbolism of the order has a long history. The Christian cross, which began to be used in ancient Rome in the 4th century BC, originally meant the salvation of mankind through the martyrdom of Christ on the cross and the resurrection of Christ. When, during the era of the Crusades in the XII and XIII centuries, Christianity was militarized, the meaning of the symbol expanded and began to cover such virtues of the crusaders as courage, loyalty and honor.

One of the many orders of knighthood that arose at that time was the Teutonic Order. In 1190, during the siege of Acre in Palestine, merchants from Bremen and Lübeck established a field hospital. Two years later, the Teutonic Order received formal status from the Pope, who endowed it with a symbol: a black cross on a white background called a cross patté. The cross is equilateral, its beams are curved and widen from the center to the ends.

Over time, the Teutonic Order grew in number and its importance increased. During the 13th and 14th century crusades to Eastern Europe, the Teutonic knights conquered large territories in the place of modern Poland and Germany. In 1525, the order was secularized, and the lands belonging to it became part of the Duchy of Prussia. The black and white cross of the knights existed in the heraldry of Prussia until 1871, when its stylized version with straight lines of crossbeams became the symbol of the German war machine.

Thus, the iron cross, like many other symbols that were used in Nazi Germany, is not a Nazi political symbol, but a military one. Therefore, it is not banned in modern Germany, in contrast to purely fascist symbols, and is still used in the Bundeswehr army. However, neo-Nazis began to use it during their gatherings instead of the banned swastika. And instead of the banned banner of the Third Reich, they use the military flag of imperial Germany.

The iron cross is also common among biker groups. It is also found in popular subcultures, for example, among surfers. Variants of the iron cross are found in the logos of various companies.

Wolf hook

In 1910, German writer Hermann Lons published a historical novel called Werewolf (Werewolf). The book is set in a German village during the Thirty Years' War. We are talking about the struggle of the peasant son of Garm Wolf against the legionnaires, who, like insatiable wolves, terrorize the population. The hero of the novel makes his symbol a "wolf hook" - a crossbar with two sharp hooks at the ends. The novel became extremely popular, especially in nationalist circles, because of the romantic image of the German peasants.

Lens was killed in France during the First World War. However, its popularity continued into the Third Reich. By order of Hitler in 1935, the remains of the writer were transferred and buried on German soil. The Werewolf novel was reprinted several times, and the cover often featured this sign, which was one of the state-sanctioned symbols.

After the defeat in the First World War and the collapse of the empire, the "wolf hook" became a symbol of national resistance against the policies of the victors. It was used by various nationalist groups - the Jungnationalen Bundes and the Deutschen Pfadfinderbundes, and one volunteer corps even took the name of the novel Werewolf.

The Wolfsangel sign has existed in Germany for many hundreds of years. Its origin is not entirely clear. The Nazis claim that the sign is pagan, citing its resemblance to the Old Norse rune i, but there is no evidence of this. The "Wolf Hook" was carved on buildings by members of the medieval workshop of masons, who traveled around Europe and built cathedrals back in the XIV century (from these artisans, Masons or "free masons" were then formed). Later, starting from the 17th century, the sign was included in the heraldry of many noble families and city coats of arms. According to some versions, the shape of the sign resembles a tool that was used to hang wolf carcasses after hunting, but this theory is probably based on the name of the symbol. The word Wolfsangel itself was first mentioned in the 1714 Wapenkunst heraldic dictionary, but it denotes a completely different symbol.

Different versions of the symbol were used by young "wolf cubs" from the Hitler Youth and in the military apparatus. The most famous examples of the use of this symbol: the wolf hook patches were worn by the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, the 8th Panzer Regiment, the 4th SS Motorized Infantry Division, and the Dutch SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Landstorm Nederland. In Sweden this symbol was used in the 1930s by the youth wing of the Lindholm movement "Youth of the North" (Nordisk Ungdom).

At the end of World War II, the Nazi regime began to create a kind of partisan group that had to fight the enemy who entered German soil. Influenced by Löns' novels, these groups also began to be called "Werewolf", and in 1945 the "wolf hook" became their distinctive sign. Some of these groups continued to fight against the Allied troops after the surrender of Germany, for which today's neo-Nazis began to mythologize them.

The Wolfhook can also be drawn vertically, with points pointing up and down. In this case, the symbol is called Donnerkeil - "lightning".

Working class symbols

Before Hitler got rid of the socialist faction of the NSDAP during the "Night of Long Knives", the party also used the symbols of the labor movement - primarily in the SA assault detachments. In particular, like the Italian fascist militants a decade earlier, in the early 1930s, a revolutionary black banner was encountered in Germany. Sometimes it was completely black, sometimes it was combined with symbols such as a swastika, a "wolf's hook" or a skull. Nowadays, black banners are found almost exclusively among anarchists.

Hammer and sword

In the Weimar Republic of the 1920s, there were political groups that tried to combine socialist ideas with the Völkische ideology. This was reflected in attempts to create symbols that combined elements of these two ideologies. The most common among them were the hammer and the sword.

The hammer was drawn from the symbolism of the developing labor movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The symbols that celebrated the workers were taken from a set of common tools. The most famous were, of course, the hammer and sickle, which in 1922 were adopted as symbols of the newly formed Soviet Union.

The sword has traditionally served as a symbol of struggle and power, and in many cultures it was also an integral part of various gods of war, for example, the god Mars in Roman mythology. In National Socialism, the sword became a symbol of the struggle for the purity of a nation or race and existed in many variations.

In the symbol of the sword was laid the idea of ​​the future "unity of the people", which the workers and soldiers were to achieve after the revolution. For several months in 1924, the left-wing radical and later nationalist Sepp Erter published a newspaper called Hammer and Sword, whose logo used the symbol of two crossed hammers intersecting with a sword.

And in Hitler's NSDAP there were left-wing movements - primarily represented by the brothers Gregor and Otto Strasser. The Strasser brothers published books at the Rhine-Ruhr and Kampf publishing houses. Both firms used a hammer and a sword as their emblems. The symbol was also found in the early stages of the Hitler Youth, before Hitler cracked down on all socialist elements in the Nazi movement in 1934.

Gear

Most of the symbols used in the Third Reich have existed in one form or another for hundreds and sometimes thousands of years. But the gear refers to much later symbols. It began to be used only after the industrial revolution of the 18th and 18th centuries. The symbol denoted technology in general, technical progress and mobility. Due to its direct connection with industrial development, the gear has become a symbol of factory workers.

The first in Nazi Germany to use the gear as its symbol was the Technical Department (Technische Nothilfe, TENO, TENO), founded in 1919. This organization, where the letter T in the shape of a hammer and the letter N were placed inside a gear, provided technical support to various right-wing extremist groups. TENO was responsible for the operation and protection of important industries such as water supply and gas. Over time, TENO joined the German war machine and became directly subordinate to Himmler.

After Hitler came to power in 1933, all trade unions were banned in the country. Instead of trade unions, the workers were united in the German Labor Front (DAF, DAF). The same gear was chosen as a symbol, but with a swastika inside, and the workers were obliged to wear these badges on their clothes. Similar badges, a gear with an eagle, were awarded to aviation maintenance workers - the Luftwaffe.

The gear itself is not a Nazi symbol. It is used by workers' organizations from different countries - both socialist and non-socialist. Among the skinhead movement dating back to the British labor movement of the 1960s, it is also a common symbol.

Modern neo-Nazis use the gear when they want to emphasize their working origins and oppose themselves to the "cuffs", that is, the slickness of the employees. In order not to be confused with the left, neo-Nazis combine a gear with purely fascist, right-wing radical symbols.

Hammerskins, an international skinhead organization, is a prime example. In the center of the gear, they place the numbers 88 or 14, which are used exclusively in Nazi circles.

Symbols of the ancient Germans

Many of the Nazi symbols were borrowed from the occult neo-pagan movement that existed in the form of anti-Semitic sects even before the formation of the Nazi parties in Germany and Austria. In addition to the swastika, this symbolism included signs from the pre-Christian era of the history of the ancient Germans, such as "irminsul" and "hammer of the god Thor".

Irminsul

In the pre-Christian era, many pagans had a tree or pillar in the center of the village, around which religious rites were performed. The ancient Germans called such a pillar "Irminsul". This word consists of the name of the ancient German god Irmin and the word "sul", which means a pillar. In northern Europe, the name Jörmun, consonant with "Irmin", was one of the names of the god Odin, and many scholars suggest that the Germanic "Irminsul" is associated with the World Tree Yggdrasil in Old Norse mythology.

In 772, Christian Charlemagne razed the cult center of the pagans in the sacred grove of Externstein in present-day Saxony to the ground. In the 20s of the XX century, at the suggestion of the German Wilhelm Teudt, a theory arose that the most important Irminsul of the ancient Germans was located there. A relief carved in stone by monks of the 12th century was cited as evidence. The relief shows the Irminsul, bent under the image of Saint Nicodemus and the cross - a symbol of the victory of Christianity over paganism.

In 1928, Toidt founded the Society for the Study of Ancient Germanic History, the symbol of which was the "straightened" Irminsul from the relief in Externstein. After the Nazis came to power in 1933, the Society fell into the sphere of interests of Himmler, and in 1940 it became part of the German Society for the Study of Ancient German History and Ancestral Heritage (Ahnenerbe).

The Ahnenerbe, founded by Himmler in 1935, studied the history of the Germanic tribes, but research results that did not fit into the National Socialist doctrine of race purity could not be published. Irminsul became the symbol of "Ahnenerbe", and many employees of the institute wore small silver jewelry that reproduced the relief image. This sign is still used by neo-Nazis and neo-pagans to this day.

Runes

The Nazis considered the Third Reich a direct successor of ancient German culture, and it was important for them to prove the right to be called the heirs of the Aryans. In pursuit of evidence, their attention was drawn to the runes.

Runes are writing signs of the pre-Christian era of the peoples who inhabited the north of Europe. Just as the letters of the Latin alphabet correspond to sounds, each runic sign corresponds to a specific sound. Runic scripts of various variants have survived, carved on stones at different times and in different regions. It is assumed that each rune, like each letter of the alphabet, had its own name. However, everything that we know about runic writing was obtained not from primary sources, but from later medieval records and even later Gothic script, so it is not known whether this information is correct.

One of the problems for Nazi studies of runic signs was that there are not too many such stones in Germany itself. The research was mainly based on the study of stones with runic inscriptions found in the European North, most often in Scandinavia. Scientists, who were supported by the Nazis, found a way out: they argued that the half-timbered buildings widespread in Germany with their wooden posts and braces, giving the building a decorative and expressive look, repeat the way of writing runes. The implication was that in this "architectural and construction method" the people allegedly kept the secret of runic inscriptions. This trick led to the discovery in Germany of a huge number of "runes", the meaning of which could be interpreted in the most fantastic way. However, beams or logs in half-timbered structures, of course, cannot be "read" as text. The Nazis solved this problem as well. Without any reason, it was announced that each individual rune in ancient times had some hidden meaning, "image", which could only be read and understood by initiates.

Serious researchers who studied runes only as a written language lost their subsidies because they became "renegades", apostates from Nazi ideology. At the same time, quasi-scientists who adhered to the theory sanctioned from above received significant funds at their disposal. As a result, almost all research work was aimed at finding evidence of the Nazi view of history and, in particular, on the search for the ritual meaning of the runic signs. In 1942, the runes became the official holiday symbols of the Third Reich.

Guido von List

The main representative of these ideas was the Austrian Guido von List. A supporter of the occult, he devoted half his life to the revival of the "Aryan-German" past and was at the beginning of the 20th century a central figure among anti-Semitic societies and associations engaged in astrology, theosophy and other occult activities.

Von List was engaged in what in occult circles was called "medium writing": with the help of meditation he plunged into a trance and in this state "saw" fragments of ancient German history. Coming out of his trance, he wrote down his "visions." Von List argued that the belief of the Germanic tribes was a certain mystical "natural religion" - Wotanism, which was served by a special caste of priests - "Armanns". In his opinion, these priests used runic signs as magical symbols.

Further, the "medium" described the Christianization of Northern Europe and the expulsion of the Armans, who were forced to hide their faith. However, their knowledge has not disappeared, and the secrets of runic signs have been preserved by the German people for centuries. With the help of his “supernatural” abilities, von List was able to find and “read” these hidden symbols everywhere: from the names of German settlements, coats of arms, Gothic architecture and even the names of different types of pastries.

After an ophthalmic operation in 1902, von List saw nothing for eleven months. It was at this time that the most powerful visions visited him, and he created his own "alphabet" or runic series of 18 characters. In this series, which had nothing in common with the scientifically accepted, runes from different times and localities were included. But, despite his antiscientific nature, he strongly influenced the perception of runic signs not only by Germans in general, but also by Nazi "scientists" who studied runes in the Ahnenerbe.

The magical meaning that von List attributed to runic letters is used by the Nazis from the time of the Third Reich to the present day.

Rune of life

"Rune of life" - the Nazi name of the fifteenth in the Old Norse series and the fourteenth in the series of Viking runes of the rune sign. The ancient Scandinavians called the sign "mannar" and meant a man or a person.

For the Nazis, it meant life and was always used when it came to health, family life or the birth of children. Therefore, the "rune of life" became the emblem of the women's branch of the NSDAP and other women's associations. In combination with a cross inscribed in a circle and an eagle, this sign was the emblem of the Union of German Families, and together with the letter A, the symbol of pharmacies. This rune replaced the Christian star in newspaper birth announcements and near the date of birth on headstones.

The "Rune of Life" was widely used on stripes, which were awarded for achievements in various organizations. For example, girls in the Health Service wore this emblem as an oval patch with a red rune on a white background. The same sign was given to members of the Hitler Youth who received medical training. All physicians initially used the international symbol of healing: the snake and the cup. However, in the desire of the Nazis to reform society down to the smallest detail in 1938, this sign was also replaced. The "Rune of Life", but on a black background, could also be received by the SS.

Rune of death

This rune sign, the sixteenth in a series of Viking runes, became known among the Nazis as the "rune of death." The symbol was used to glorify the killed SS men. It replaced the Christian cross in newspaper obituaries and death announcements. He began to be depicted on gravestones instead of a cross. They also put it on the sites of mass graves on the fronts of the Second World War.

This sign was also used by Swedish right-wing extremists in the 1930s and 1940s. For example, the "rune of death" is printed in the announcement of the death of a certain Hans Linden, who fought on the side of the Nazis and was killed on the Eastern Front in 1942.

Modern neo-Nazis naturally follow the traditions of Hitlerite Germany. In 1994, an obituary to the death of the fascist Per Engdahl was published under this rune in a Swedish newspaper called "The Torch of Freedom". A year later, an obituary to the death of Eskil Ivarsson, who in the 1930s was an active member of the Swedish fascist party of Lindholm, was published under this symbol in the newspaper Walhall and the Future, which was published by the Western Swedish Nazi movement NS Gothenburg. The 21st century Nazi organization "Salem Foundation" still sells stripes with images of the "rune of life", "rune of death" and a torch in Stockholm.

Rune Hagal

The rune, meaning the sound "x" ("h"), looked different in the ancient runic series and in the newer Scandinavian. The Nazis used both signs. Hagal is an old form of Swedish hagel, which means hail.

The Hagal rune was a popular symbol of the Völkishe movement. Guido von List put into this sign a deep symbolic meaning - the connection between man and the eternal laws of nature. In his opinion, the sign called on a person "to embrace the Universe in order to master it." This meaning was borrowed by the Third Reich, where the Hagal rune personified absolute belief in Nazi ideology. In addition, an anti-Semitic magazine called Hagal was published.

The rune was used by the SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen" on flags and badges. In the Scandinavian form, the rune was depicted on a high award - the SS ring, and also accompanied the SS weddings.

In our time, the rune was used by the Swedish party "Hembyugd", the right-wing extremist group "Heimdal" and a small Nazi group "People's Socialists".

Rune Odal

Rune Odal is the last, 24th rune of the Old Norse series of runic signs. Its sound corresponds to the pronunciation of the Latin letter O, and the shape goes back to the letter "omega" of the Greek alphabet. The name is derived from the name of the corresponding sign in the Gothic alphabet, which resembles the Old Norse "property, land". This is one of the most common signs in Nazi symbols.

Nationalist romanticism of the 19th century idealized the simple and close to nature life of the peasants, emphasizing the love for the native village and the homeland in general. The Nazis continued this romantic line, and the Odal rune gained special significance in their ideology of "blood and soil".

The Nazis believed that there was a mystical connection between the people and the land where they lived. This idea was formulated and developed in two books written by SS member Walter Darre.

After the Nazis came to power in 1933, Darre was appointed Minister of Agriculture. Two years earlier, he headed the SS subdivision, which in 1935 became the state Central Office for Race and Resettlement Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt (RuSHA), which was tasked with the practical application of the main idea of ​​Nazism about racial purity. In particular, in this institution they checked for the purity of the race of SS members and their future wives, here they determined which children in the occupied territories were "Aryan" enough to kidnap them and take them to Germany, here they decided which of the "non-Aryans" should be killed after sexual relations with a German or a German woman. The Odal rune was the symbol of this department.

Odal was worn on collars by soldiers of the SS volunteer mountain division, where both volunteers were recruited and taken by force "ethnic Germans" from the Balkan Peninsula and from Romania. During the Second World War, this division operated in Croatia.

Runa Zig

Runa Zig was considered by the Nazis as a sign of strength and victory. The ancient Germanic name for the rune was sowlio, which means "sun". The Anglo-Saxon name for the rune sigel also means "sun", but Guido von List mistakenly associated this word with the German word for "victory" - "Sieg". From this error arose the meaning of the rune, which still exists among neo-Nazis.

"Zig-rune", as it is called, is one of the most famous signs in the symbolism of Nazism. First of all, because this double sign was worn on the collars of the SS. In 1933, the first such patches, designed in the early 1930s by SS man Walter Heck, were sold by Ferdinand Hoffstatter's textile factory to SS units at a price of 2.50 Reichsmarks apiece. The honor of wearing a double "zig-rune" on the collars of the uniform was first awarded to a part of Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguards.

They wore a double "zig-rune" in combination with the image of the key and in the SS Panzer Division "Hitler Youth" formed in 1943, which recruited young people from the organization of the same name. The single "zig-rune" was the emblem of the Jungfolk organization, which taught the basics of Nazi ideology to children from 10 to 14 years old.

Rune Tyr

Runa Tyr is another sign that was borrowed by the Nazis from the pre-Christian era. The rune is pronounced as the letter T and also denotes the name of the god Tyr.

The god Tyr was considered traditionally as the god of war, therefore, the rune symbolized struggle, battle and victory. Graduates of the officers' school wore a bandage with the image of this sign on their left hand. The symbol was also used by the January 30 Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division.

A special cult around this rune was created in the Hitler Youth, where all activities were aimed at individual and group rivalry. The Tyr rune reflected this spirit - and the meetings of the Hitler Youth members were decorated with Tyr runes of colossal proportions. In 1937, the so-called "Adolf Hitler Schools" were created, where the most capable students were trained for important positions in the administration of the Third Reich. The pupils of these schools wore the double "Tyr rune" as an emblem.

In 1930s Sweden, this symbol was used by the Youth of the North, a division of the Swedish Nazi Party NSAP (NSAP).

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 the 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 XVII 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. This has a 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 of the swastika - 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 belonging 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 of 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 a ring with a swastika on his right hand, into which a ruby ​​was set. Ossendovsky saw this ring on the hand of the Mongol governor. Currently, this magic symbol is 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 on 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. 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 the 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 North, Central and South America, the swastika is found in Mayan and Aztec art. In 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 was forced 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; a 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, it symbolized "the struggle for the triumph of the 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 Erhardt's 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 side, and rotated 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, of course, other options were also used for decorative purposes, including by the Nazis).

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 in use 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

The forest swastika is 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. In the latter case, as a rule, 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 of 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. Kuftin B.A. Material culture of the Russian Meshchera. Part 1. Women's clothing: shirt, ponyov, 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). -

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 before the new era and has a very rich history. It received wide distribution in the Slavic culture, where there were many of its modifications. 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 an important distinguishing feature is the consistency 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. Additional elements may appear on its lines, 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 the following:

• 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 meaning. 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 the national idea, the red rectangle is the social idea of ​​the Nazi movement.
• And where was the fascist swastika used? 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 fascists it was a truly Nazi sign. Therefore, when you hear something about the swastika, you should not immediately think about fascism. After all, the Slavic swastika was lighter, more humane, more beautiful.

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

What is a swastika? Many, without hesitation, will answer - the Nazis 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 a swastika was depicted on the very shield that Prophetic Oleg nailed to the doors of Constantinople.

What is a swastika?

The swastika is the oldest symbol that appeared before our era and has a rich history. Many peoples dispute each other's right to invent it. Images of the swastika were found in China, India. This is a very significant symbol. What does the swastika mean - creation, 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 point 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 represent the eternal rotation of the galaxy. The swastika is a symbol of the sun, all ancient peoples have a mention of it: at the excavations of Inca settlements, fabrics with the image of a swastika were found, 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 draw a cross with four rays to the circle. However, the picture turned out to be static - and the universe is eternal 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 for our ancestors in the year - the days of the summer / winter solstice, the spring and autumn equinox. 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-handed and right-handed

We see how comprehensive this sign is. It is very difficult to explain in monosyllables what the swastika means. It is multifaceted and polysemantic, 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 right and left. Many people confuse and consider the direction of rotation as the direction in which the ends of the rays are looking. It is not right. The side of rotation is determined by the bending angles. Compare with a person's leg - the movement is directed to where the bent knee is directed, and not at all the heel.

Left side swastika

There is a theory that says that clockwise rotation is a correct swastika, and against a bad, dark swastika, vice versa. However, it would be too commonplace - right and left, black and white. In nature, everything is justified - day gives way to night, summer to 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 left-sided and right-sided.

Left-handed swastika - rotates counterclockwise. This is the meaning of purification, restoration. Sometimes it is called a sign of destruction - in order to build something light, you need to destroy the old and the 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 ancestors of the clan and the protection of heavenly forces. The left-sided swastika was considered a sign of the autumn sun - collective.

Right side swastika

The right-sided swastika rotates clockwise and denotes the beginning of all that exists - birth, development. This is a symbol of the spring sun - creative energy. It was also called the Novorodnik or the Solar Cross. He symbolized the power of the sun and the prosperity of the family. The sun sign and the swastika in this case are equal. It was believed that he gives the greatest strength to the priests. Prophetic Oleg, about whom they spoke 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, theories went, proving the ancient Slavic origin of the swastika.

Slavic swastika

The left-sided and right-sided swastika of the Slavs are called - and Posolon. The swastika Kolovrat fills with light, protects from darkness, Salting gives hard work and spiritual stamina, the sign serves as a reminder that a person was created for development. These names are just two of a large group of Slavic swastika signs. In common they had crosses with curved beams. 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 protective function. The main swastika symbols among the Slavs are 144. In addition to the above, the Slavs had:

• Solntsevrat;
• Inglia;
• Svarozhich;
• Wedding man;
• Perunov light;
• Heavenly boar and many more types of variations based on the solar elements of the swastika.

Swastika of Slavs and fascists - differences

Unlike the fascist, the Slavs did not have strict canons in the depiction 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 denotes the struggle 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 a German swastika:

1. The ends of the cross should be bent to the right;
2. All lines intersect strictly at an angle of 90 °;
3. The cross must be in a white circle on a red background.
4. It is correct to say not "swastika", but Hakkenkreyz

Swastika in Christianity

In early Christianity, the image of the swastika was often resorted to. It was called the "gamma cross" because of its similarity to the Greek letter gamma. The swastika was used to disguise the cross during the 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 the swastika crosses, calling the latter a "whirling cross".

The swastika in Orthodoxy was actively used before the revolution: as part of the ornament of priestly vestments, in icon painting, in frescoes, which are painted on the walls of churches. However, there is also 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" means the versatility of the world order. The horizontal line is opposed to the vertical line, as the ratio of heaven / earth to the relationship between masculine and feminine. 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 strength, 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-sided swastikas. Clockwise rotation symbolizes the male yin energy, against the female yang. Sometimes this sign denotes all gods and goddesses in Hinduism, then, on the line of intersection of the rays, the sign "om" is added - a symbol of the fact that all gods have a common origin.

1. Right rotation: denotes the sun, its movement from east to west - the development of the universe.
2. Left rotation personifies the goddess Kali, magic, night - the folding of the universe.

Is the swastika banned?

The swastika sign 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 - no surname begins with this letter. There are known cases when the most valuable specimens containing images of the swastika in embroidery, on jewelry, ancient Slavic and early Christian amulets were seized and destroyed from museums.

Many European countries have laws that prohibit fascist 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.

1. In 2015, Roskomnazor allowed the use of swastika images without propaganda purposes.
2. Germany has tough legislation regulating the image of the swastika. There are several court decisions that prohibit or permit images.
3. France has passed a law prohibiting the public display of Nazi symbols.

After the First World War, Europe was in a state of economic and cultural crisis. Hundreds of thousands of young people went to war, naively dreaming of heroic deeds on the battlefield for the sake of honor and glory, and returned disabled in all respects. From the spirit of optimism that marked the first years of the 20th century, only memories remain.

It was during these years that a new political movement entered the political arena. Fascists in different European countries were united by the fact that they were all ultranationalists. The fascist parties, organized according to a strictly hierarchical principle, were joined by people of different social classes, eager for active action. They all argued that their own country or ethnic group was in danger and saw themselves as the only political alternative that could counter that threat. Dangerous declared, for example, democracy, foreign capitalism, communism, or, as it was in Germany, Romania and Bulgaria, other nations and races. The purpose of creating such an imaginary threat was to organize a mass movement capable of uniting the country and forcibly crushing competing ideas and external forces, allegedly seeking to destroy the nation. The state had to completely take control of every member of society, and the industry had to be organized in such a way as to achieve maximum labor productivity.

Within the general framework of such a strategy, naturally, there were different variants of ideologies - depending on the historical, cultural and political background of each country. In countries with a strong Catholic Church, fascism was often combined with elements of Catholicism. In some European countries, the fascist movement degenerated into small marginal groups. In others, the fascists managed to come to power, and then the development was distinguished by the cult of the fascist leader, disregard for human rights, control over the press, glorification of militarism and the suppression of the labor movement.

Italy and "a bunch of rods", or "a bunch of brushwood"

The word "fascism" was originally used to refer to the ideology of the Partito Nazionale Fascista party in Italy. Former journalist Benito Mussolini became the leader of the Italian fascists. For many years Mussolini was fond of the socialist movement, but during the First World War he became a nationalist.

After World War I, Italy's economy collapsed, unemployment reached record highs, and democratic traditions fell into decay. The war cost the lives of over 600,000 Italians, and although Italy was on the winning side, the country was in crisis. Many believed that Italy had lost as a result of the Treaty of Versailles.

On May 23, 1919, the first fascist group, Fasci di Combattimenti, was formed. Skillfully using the social unrest in the country, Mussolini turned his group into a mass organization. When in the fall of 1921 it was transformed into a political party, it already had 300,000 members. Six months later, the movement had 700 thousand members. In the 1921 elections, the fascist party received 6.5% of the vote and entered parliament.

However, the National Fascist Party (Partito Nazionale Fascista) was not an ordinary political party. The fascist movement attracted, first of all, young men. Many of them were war veterans, knew how to obey discipline and handle weapons. Militant groups emerged in the movement, where the right of the strong was extolled, and gradually violence became an important part of the entire party ideology. With their bloody attacks on communists and other members of the labor movement, the Nazis sided with employers during the strikes, and the Conservative government used them to suppress the socialist opposition.

In 1922, the Nazis took power in Italy. Mussolini threatened to march with his militants to Rome. Following this threat, on October 31, he was invited to an audience with King Victor Emmanuel III, who offered Mussolini the post of prime minister in the Conservative coalition government. It was a peaceful seizure of power, but in the mythology of fascism, the event was called "the march on Rome" and was described as a revolution.

Mussolini was in power for 22 years, until July 25, 1943, when the Allied forces entered Italy and the king removed the dictator. Mussolini was arrested, but released by a German parachute assault, giving him the opportunity to flee to northern Italy, where on September 23, the Duce proclaimed the notorious "Republic of Salo" - a German protectorate. The "Republic of Salo" existed until April 25, 1945, when the Allied troops occupied this last bastion of Italian fascism. On April 28, 1945, Benito Mussolini was captured by the partisans and was executed.

Totalitarian state

Mussolini, like many of his associates, went to the front as a soldier during the First World War. Life in the trenches seemed to him an ideal society in miniature, where everyone, regardless of age or social origin, worked in the name of a common goal: the defense of the country from an external enemy. Having come to power, Mussolini conceived to change Italy to the ground, to create a country where the whole society would be involved in a gigantic production machine and where the fascists would have total control. The expression "totalitarian state" arose in the early years of the fascist regime in the ranks of its political opponents to describe just this type of government. Then Mussolini began to use this term to describe his own ambitious plans. In October 1925, he formulated the slogan: "Everything is in the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state."

All political power in society had to come personally from Mussolini, who was called "Duce", that is, "leader" or "leader". To motivate this concentration of power in the hands of one man, the Italian press began to praise Mussolini. He was described as the personification of the ideal of a man, such myths and such a cult of his personality were created around him, which seems ridiculous in the eyes of a modern person. For example, he was described as a "superman" who is able to work 24 hours a day, has fantastic physical strength and once allegedly stopped his gaze at the beginning of the eruption of Mount Etna.

The heirs of the Roman state

The Italian state was relatively young and socially and even linguistically heterogeneous. However, even before the Nazis came to power, nationalists sought to unite citizens around a single historical heritage - the history of Ancient Rome. Ancient Roman history has been an important part of schooling since the late 19th century. Even before the outbreak of the First World War, historical colossus films were made.

Naturally, in this atmosphere, Mussolini tried to present the fascists as the heirs of the Romans, fulfilling the historical task predetermined by fate - the return of the former power and splendor of the collapsed empire. During the reign of the Duce, the main attention was paid to the period of the emergence of the Roman Empire, its military superiority, and the social structure of that time was portrayed as similar to that which Mussolini sought to build. It is from Roman history that many of the symbols used by the fascists are borrowed.

"A bunch of brushwood" - "fascia"

The very word "fascism" has a common root with the party symbol of Mussolini and his henchmen. Fascio littorio, lictor fascia
- this was the name of a bundle of brushwood or rods with a bronze hatchet in the center. Such "bundles", or "sheaves", were carried by Roman lictors - low-ranking officials, clearing them in the crowd, even for important persons.

In ancient Rome, such a "bundle of brushwood" was a symbol of the right to hit, beat and, in general, punish. Later, she became a symbol of political power in general. In the 18th century, during the Age of Enlightenment, the fascia personified republican rule as opposed to monarchy. In the 19th century, it began to mean strength through unity, since the rods tied together are much stronger than the sum of each twig or whip. In the second half of the century, the words "fascina", "fascia", "bundle" began to mean small leftist groups in politics. And after the trade unions held several strikes in the mid-1890s in Sicily, the term took on a connotation of radicalism.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the word "fascists" was quite common. This was the name given to radical Italian political groups, both right and left. However, with the spread of the Fasci di Combattimenti party throughout the country, Mussolini monopolized the term. Gradually, the word "fascia" became associated with the ideology of the Italian fascists, and not with political authority in general, as before.

"A bunch of brushwood" or "bunch of roses" was not only a symbol of the fascists' perception of themselves as the heirs of Rome. Symbolism also meant the spiritual and physical "rebirth" of the Italian people, based on authority and discipline. The branches tied in one bunch became the personification of a unified Italy under the leadership of the Duce. In his manifesto "The Doctrine of Fascism" (Dottrina del fascismo, 1932) Mussolini wrote: "[Fascism] wants to transform not only the external forms of human life, but also its very content, man, characters, faith. This requires discipline and authority that impresses souls and conquers them completely. Therefore, they are marked by the lictor fascia, a symbol of unity, strength and justice. "

After Mussolini came to power, fascia filled the daily life of Italians. They were found on coins, banners, official documents, manhole covers, and postage stamps. They were used by private associations, organizations and clubs. Two enormous "sheaves" stood on the sides of Mussolini when he delivered speeches to the people in Rome.

Since 1926, members of the fascist party were obliged to wear this sign - the party emblem - and on civilian clothes. In December of the same year, a decree was issued giving the symbol of state significance. Three months later, the "sheaf" was included in the image of the national coat of arms of Italy, taking the place to the left of the coat of arms of the Italian royal house. In April 1929, the fascia replaced two lions on the shield of the royal dynasty. So the state and the fascist party merged into one. And the fascia became the visible symbol of the “new order.

Fascist "style"

Mussolini not only wanted to change society, but he also strove to transform the Italian people in accordance with the fascist ideal. Duce began with party members who were the first to dress and behave in accordance with the fascist model, which later became associated with right-wing extremist movements around the world. For the Nazis, the word "style" was not only a matter of taste in the choice of clothing. It was about closeness to the fascist ideal in everything: in habits, behavior, actions and attitude towards life.

Fascism was the ideology of war, and its supporters dressed like soldiers. They marched, sang wrestling songs, took oaths of allegiance, took the oath and wore uniforms. The uniform included boots, trousers, a special headdress, and a black shirt.

Originally, black shirts were worn by members of fascist militant groups who fought in the streets with communists and other political opponents. They looked like the elite troops of the First World War and were called "arditi". When Mussolini came to power in 1922, he disbanded the militants and organized a national militia in their place. But black shirts remained and over time acquired such a status that a person who donned it at an inappropriate time could be arrested and prosecuted.

In 1925, Mussolini said at a party congress: “The black shirt is not everyday clothes or uniforms. This is a military uniform that can only be worn by people who are pure in soul and heart. "

The "ten commandments" of fascism, which were formulated in October 1931, said: "Anyone who is not ready to sacrifice his body and soul for Italy and for the service of Mussolini without the slightest hesitation is not worthy to wear a black shirt - a symbol of fascism" ... After coming to power, civil servants of all departments began to wear black shirts. In 1931, all professors, and a few years later, teachers at all levels were obliged to wear black shirts at ceremonies. From 1932 to 1934, detailed rules were developed for wearing shirts (wearing starch collars was "absolutely forbidden") in combination with accessories - boots, belt and tie.

Roman greeting

The fascist style of behavior also included the so-called Roman salute. Greeting with an outstretched right hand palm down has been associated with Ancient Rome since the second half of the 18th century. It is not known if it was actually used, but there are images depicting similar gestures.

French artist Jacques-Louis David depicted the oath or oath of the Horatii on a 1784 canvas, where twins, three brothers, stretching out their arms, vow to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the Roman Republic. After the Great French Revolution, David painted another picture, where a new, revolutionary government swears allegiance to the new constitution with the same gesture, throwing its right hands forward and upward. Inspired by David's canvas, artists depicted a similar greeting in paintings on ancient Roman themes for a whole century.

In the middle of the 19th century, the outstretched right hand increasingly assumed the character of a military greeting, widespread both among different political groupings and at the level of the whole country. In the United States, for example, since the 1890s, schoolchildren have saluted with their right hand when the American flag is raised. This continued until 1942, when America entered the war against Italy and Germany and it became politically impossible to use the same gesture as the Nazis for greeting.

The Italian fascists considered this gesture a symbol of the legacy of ancient Rome, and propaganda described it as a salute to masculinity, as opposed to the usual handshake, which began to be considered a weak, feminine and bourgeois greeting.

Export style

The Italian fascists were considered the founders of a style that was adopted by all other groups of a similar ideological trend in Europe in the 20s and 30s. The habit of marching in dark-colored shirts has spread among the Nazis.

The Italians were blindly copied by members of the British Union of Fascists, the Dutch party Mussertpartiet and the Bulgarian National for the Fascist, all of whom were "black shirts." The Spanish phalangists in 1934 refused to introduce black shirts to distinguish them from the Italian fascists, and switched to blue uniforms. Also did the Portuguese national syndicalists, the Swedish supporters of Lindholm, the Irish in the Army Comrades Association and several French groups: Faisceau, Solidarité Française and Le Francisme. In Germany, members of the storm troopers of the National Socialist Party (NSDAP) wore brown shirts. Green shirts were worn by members of the Hungarian Arrow Cross Party (Nyilaskeresztes part) - the Nilashists, Croatian Ustashis and the Romanian Iron Guard. Gray shirts were worn by members of the Swiss National Front and Icelandic National Socialists. There was a small group in the United States who called themselves the "silver shirts."

The Roman greeting with a raised hand was used by various nationalist groups in Europe even before Mussolini came to power in Italy. With the victorious march of the Italian fascists, this gesture began to spread more and more widely. The symbol of the fascia was adopted by other fascist associations inspired by the successes of Mussolini, for example, the British Union of Fascists, the Bulgarian National for the Fascists, the Swiss Fascismus and the Swedish Svenska fascistiska kampförbundet.

In the nature of fascism, however, lies the glorification of its own culture. Therefore, most groups in other countries, instead of the lictor fascia, began to use local national symbols or signs that better reflected the local version of fascist ideology.

Fascist groups and symbols in other countries

Belgium

In the period between the world wars, two parallel movements of the fascist direction arose in Belgium. The first of these attracted the Walloons for the most part, the Francophone Belgians. The leader of the movement was lawyer Leon Degrell, editor-in-chief of the Catholic and conservative magazine Christus Rex. The organization he created became the basis for the Rexistpartiet party formed in 1930. Rexism, as the ideology of this party began to be called, combined the theses of Catholicism with purely fascist elements, for example, corporatism and the abolition of democracy. Gradually, the Rexists became closer to German National Socialism, which led to the loss of the party's support for the church, and with it many of its supporters. During World War II, the Rexists supported the German occupation of Belgium, and Degrell volunteered for the SS.

In the emblem of the Rexist party, the letters "REX" were combined with a cross and a crown as symbols of Christ's kingdom on earth.

The second notable fascist movement in Belgium found supporters in the Flemish part of the population. Already in the 1920s, groups of Flemish nationalists became active in the country, and in October 1933 a significant part of them united into the Vlaamsch Nationaal Verbond (VNV) party under the leadership of Staf de Klerk. This party adopted many of the ideas of the Italian fascists. De Klerk was called "den Leiter", "leader." In 1940, his party collaborated with the occupation regime. It was banned immediately after the war.

The colors of the VNV party's emblem are borrowed from the coat of arms of the Dutch national hero, William of Orange. The triangle is the Christian symbol of the Trinity. In Christian symbolism, the triangle can also represent equality and unity. The circle in the emblem is also a Christian symbol of unity.

Finland

In Finland, fascism has spread more widely than in the rest of the Nordic countries. Nationalist currents were strong throughout the period between the two world wars. The country gained independence from Russia in 1917. After the Civil War of 1918, when the Whites defeated the Reds supported by Soviet Russia, fear of the communist revolution was strong. In 1932, the Isänmaallinen kansanliike (IKL) party was formed, which became a continuation of the anti-communist nationalist Lapua movement of the 1920s.

The IKL was a purely fascist party with the addition of its own extremely nationalist dream of an ethnically homogeneous Greater Finland, which was to include the territories of today's Russia and Estonia, as well as the requirements of a corporate structure of society. All this was presented against the background of the ideology of the "superman", in which the Finns were presented as biologically superior to neighboring peoples. The party existed until 1944. She managed to run for office in three elections and received just over 8% of the vote in the 1936 elections, and three years later the number of votes cast for her dropped to 7%.

Members of the IKL party wore uniforms: a black shirt and a blue tie. The party banner was also blue with an emblem: inside the circle - a man with a club, sitting on a bear.

Greece

After the 1936 elections, Greece was in a difficult situation. Fearing a growing trade union movement, the king appointed Defense Minister Ioannis Metaxas as prime minister. Metaxas used a series of strikes to declare a state of emergency and immediately overturn the country's democratic institutions. On August 4, 1936, he proclaimed the regime he called the "August 4th regime" and began to create an authoritarian dictatorship with elements of fascism, taking as a model the actions of the National Union, which was in power in Portugal. Troops were repeatedly sent to Greece, and in 1941 a government loyal to Hitler came to power in the country. The regime collapsed when Greece, despite Metaxa's pro-German sympathies, sided with the Allies in World War II.

Metaxa chose a stylized double-edged ax to symbolize the August 4th regime, as he considered it the oldest symbol of Hellenic civilization. Indeed, double axes, real and in images, in Greek culture for thousands of years, they are often found among the archaeological finds of the Minoan civilization in Crete.

Ireland

In 1932, the fascist Army Comrades Association (ACA) was formed in Ireland, originally created to guard the gatherings of the nationalist Cumann nan Gaedhael party. Soon, under the leadership of former General and Police Chief Owen O'Duffy, the ACA became independent and changed its name to National Guard.

Inspired by the Italian fascists, members of the organization in April 1933 began to wear "party" shirts of sky-blue color, for which they were nicknamed "Blue Shirts". They also adopted the Roman salute and threatened to march to Dublin in imitation of Mussolini's march to Rome. In the same year, 1933, the party was banned and O'Duffy relaxed the fascist rhetoric. Later, he was among the founders of the nationalist party Finne Gal.

The ACA banner, which later became the flag of the National Guard, was a version of the Irish Order of St. Patrick, introduced in 1783: a red St. Andrew's cross on a white background. The sky blue color goes back to the legend of how the white cross appeared in the sky in honor of St. Andrew (this motif also exists on the flag of Scotland).

Norway

Vidkun Quisling formed the nationalist National Accord Party (Nasjonal Samling) in 1933. The party soon adopted an orientation towards fascism and Nazism. Before World War II, National Accord was the fastest growing party in Norway, and after the German occupation of the country, Quisling became the country's minister-president. By 1943, the party had about 44,000 members. On May 8, 1945, the party was disbanded, and the name of Quisling became synonymous throughout the world with a traitor to the motherland.

The National Accord Party used the Scandinavian traditional flag, that is, a yellow cross on a red background, as a symbol. Local branches of the party designated themselves as "Olaf's cross" - a variant of the "solstice". This sign has been a symbol of Norway since the time of the Christianization of the country by St. Olaf in the 11th century.

Portugal

After the First World War, Portugal lay in ruins. After the military coup in 1926, the National Union party was formally created in 1930. In 1932, former finance minister Antonio Salazar, who soon became prime minister, took over the leadership of the party. Salazar, who was in power in Portugal until his death in 1970, introduced a complete dictatorship and an ultra-reactionary political system, some elements of which can be regarded as fascist. The party remained in power until 1974, when the regime was overthrown and democracy was introduced in the country.

The National Union used the so-called Mantuan cross in its symbolism. This cross, like the Fascist Iron Cross, is a black and white cross patté, but with narrower crossbeams. It was used, among others, by the Nazis in France.

Another group in Portugal in the 1930s was fascist in its purest form. It was formed in 1932 and was called the Movement of National Syndicalists (MNS). The leader of the movement was Roland Preto, who in the early 1920s admired Mussolini and saw the similarities between his fascism and his national syndicalism. Inspired by Italians, members of the movement wore blue shirts, for which they were nicknamed "blue shirts".

The MNS was more radical than the incumbent National Union and criticized the Salazar regime for being too timid in transforming Portuguese society. In 1934, the MNS was disbanded on the orders of Salazar, but continued its activities underground until its leadership was expelled from the country after an unsuccessful coup attempt in 1935. Preto settled in Spain, where he took part in the civil war on the side of Franco.

The MNS movement was heavily influenced by Catholicism. Therefore, the cross of the Portuguese Christ of the Order of the Knights-Crusaders of the XIV century was chosen as its symbol.

Romania

After the First World War, Romania, like other European countries, was overtaken by a depression. And just like in Germany and Italy, economic problems and fear of the communist revolution have led here to the emergence of extreme nationalist movements. In 1927, the charismatic leader Corneliu Codreanu created the Legion of Archangel Michael, or the Iron Guard. The Iron Guard combined religious mysticism with bestial anti-Semitism in their ideology. The members of the "guard" were recruited most often from among students. Codreanu's goal was the "Christian and racial cleansing" of the nation. Soon, from a tiny sect, the Legion of Archangel Michael turned into a party that received 15.5% of the vote in the 1937 parliamentary elections, thus becoming the third largest party in the country.

The Iron Guard was perceived as a threat by the regime of King Carol II. When the king instituted a dictatorship in 1938, Codreanu was arrested and then killed, allegedly while trying to escape. As a result, Codreanu became known as a "martyr of fascism" and is still revered by modern Nazis all over the world.

During the Second World War, members of the "Iron Guard", who were called "legionnaires", collaborated with the German occupation forces and became famous for their brutality.

The legionnaires greeted each other with a Roman or salute and wore green shirts, so they were called "green shirts" (green was supposed to symbolize renewal).

The symbol of the organization is a stylized version of a three-part intertwined Christian cross, reminiscent of a prison bars. This sign was intended to symbolize martyrdom. The symbol was sometimes called the "Cross of Michael the Archangel" - the guardian angel of the "Iron Guard".

Switzerland

In the 1920s, small fascist groups began to form in Switzerland, following the example of neighboring Italy. In 1933, two such groups merged into a party called the National Front. This party was heavily influenced by the German Nazis; following their example, she founded a youth and women's organization, and in the mid-30s - and her own armed militia, which was called Harst or Auszug.

In the 1933 local elections, the Swiss National Front gained electoral support on a wave of nationalism inspired by the rise to power of the Nazis in Germany. The party reached its maximum number of more than 9 thousand members in 1935, receiving 1.6% of the vote and one seat in the Swiss parliament. The party was led by Ernst Biederman, Rolf Henie and Robert Tobler. In 1940, the Front was banned by the government, but continued its activities until 1943.

The National Front has created its own version of the Italian fascist style - with gray shirts. The members of the organization also adopted the Roman greeting. The Front's symbol was a variant of the Swiss flag, in which the white cross extended to the borders of the red background.

Spain

The Spanish Phalanx was created in 1933. At first, like the Italian fascists and German Nazis, the Phalangists tried to come to power through elections, but they failed to win over enough voters to vote for the conservative parties supported by the Catholic Church.

The next chance came after the victory of the Socialist Popular Front Party in the 1936 elections. The Spanish military, under the leadership of General Francisco Franco, refused to recognize the election results and began an armed uprising, which resulted in the civil war of 1936-1939. Initially Franco, however, he allowed Phalanx, whose membership had increased significantly after the elections, to become the most important part of the political apparatus, and accepted the political program of the party. With the help of Italy and Germany, Franco and the Phalangists won the civil war. However, despite the support, during the Second World War, the Phalangists did not take the side of Hitler, and thanks to this they managed to maintain power in the future.

After the war, Spain, like neighboring Portugal, became an authoritarian dictatorship. Franco's regime lasted until 1975. The phalanx was formally disbanded in 1977.

The Phalanx symbol is borrowed from the coat of arms during the reign of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, the unifiers of Spain in the 15th century. In 1931, the yoke and arrows were taken by the symbols of the Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista), which later merged with Phalanx. Since ancient times, the yoke has symbolized work for a common goal, and arrows - power. The red and black background is the colors of the Spanish syndicalists.

United Kingdom

The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was formed in 1932 by former Conservative MP and Labor minister, Sir Oswald Mosley. Mosley built his organization in the image and likeness of the Italian fascists and introduced the black uniform, for which the members of the Union were called "black shirts." The number of BUF reached 50 thousand people. In the mid-1930s, as its members were involved in numerous violent incidents, the party's popularity declined. In 1940, the organization was banned, and Mosley spent most of the Second World War in prison.

Oswald Mosley believed that the British colonial empire was the modern heir to the Roman Empire, and therefore initially used a variant of the Roman fascia as a party symbol. In 1936, the party adopted a new symbol: a lightning bolt inside a circle.

The colors were borrowed from the British flag. The circle is an ancient Christian symbol of unity. Lightning is a symbol of action, activity. In the post-war period, the same symbols were used by the American fascist group, the National Revival Party. It is still found among right-wing extremists today - for example, the British terrorist organization Combat 18, used lightning and a circle in the logo of The Order in the early 90s of the XX century.

Sweden

In Sweden, the Swedish Fascist Struggle Organization (Sveriges Fascistiska Kamporganisation, SFKO) was created in the year. The "bunch of rods" symbol was used both as a sign of the party and as the name of its main organ, Spöknippet.

After party leader Konrad Halgren and Sven Olaf Lindholm visited Germany, the party became close to National Socialism and in the fall of 1929 changed its name to the Swedish National Socialist People's Party.

In 1930, she merged with other Nazi parties: the National Socialist Peasant-Workers' Association of Birger Furugord and the "New Swedish Party". The new organization was initially called the New Swedish National Socialist Party, and soon became the Swedish National Socialist Party (SNSP). In the 1932 elections to the second chamber of the Riksdag, the party nominated itself in nine constituencies and gained 15,188 votes.

Over time, ideological differences between Furugord and Lindholm escalated to such an extent that on January 13, 1933, Lindholm and his supporters were expelled from the party. The next day, Lindholm formed the National Socialist Labor Party (NSAP). The parties began to be called "Lindholm" and "Furugord".

In October 1938, NSAP changed its name again to the Swedish Socialist Association (SSS). Lindholm attributed the lack of success in recruiting new members to the fact that the party was too close to German National Socialism and used the German swastika as a symbol. His party called its ideology "popular socialism" (folksocialism), and instead of the swastika took the "sheaf of the Vasa dynasty" (vasakärven) as the party symbol.

This heraldic symbol of the unifier of Sweden, King Gustav Vasa, is of great national importance in Sweden. The word vase in Old Swedish means a sheaf of ears. In the Middle Ages, different versions of such "sheaves" or "bundles" were used in the construction of significant buildings and the laying of roads. The "sheaf" depicted on the coat of arms of the Vasa dynasty served, in particular, to fill the ditches during the storming of fortresses. When Gustav Vasa ascended the Swedish throne in 1523, this symbol appeared on the coat of arms of the Swedish state. The king's slogan "Varer svensk" (roughly "be a Swede") was often quoted in Nazi and fascist circles.

Germany

The National Socialist Workers' Party (NSDAP) of Germany was formed in 1919. In the 1920s, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, the party turned into a mass movement, and by the time it came to power, its ranks numbered almost 900 thousand members.

German National Socialism was in many ways reminiscent of Italian fascism, but there were differences on several points. Both ideologies are marked by a pronounced cult of the leader's personality. Both of them sought to unite society into a single national movement. Both National Socialism and Fascism are clearly anti-democratic and both are anti-communist. But if the Nazis considered the state to be the most important part of society, then the Nazis instead talked about the purity of the race. In the eyes of the Nazis, the total power of the state was not a goal, but a means to achieve another goal: the benefit for the Aryan race and the German people. Where the fascists interpreted history as a constant process of struggle between different forms of state, the Nazis saw an eternal struggle between races.

This was reflected in the Nazi symbol of the swastika, an ancient sign that in the 19th century was combined with the myth of the Aryan race as the crown of creation. The Nazis adopted many of the outward signs of fascism. They created their own version of the fascist "style" and introduced the Roman greeting. For more information, see chapters 2 and 3.

Hungary

As in other European countries, fascist groups of various inclinations arose in Hungary during the interwar period. Some of these groups united in 1935 to form the Party of National Will. The party was banned two years later, but re-emerged in 1939 under the name Arrows Crossed. Hungarian Movement ". In May of the same year, it became the second largest party in the country and won 31 seats in parliament. With the outbreak of World War II, it was again banned, but in October 1944, the German occupation authorities put in power the so-called government of national unity, headed by the chairman of Arrow Cross, Ferenc Salasi. This regime lasted only a few months, until February 1945, but in a short time it sent about 80 thousand Jews to concentration camps.

Supporters of the "Salashists" (named after the leader of the party) took their name from the Christian pointed cross, a symbol used by the Hungarians in the 10th century. In the ideology of the Salashists, the Hungarians were the dominant nation, and the Jews were considered the main enemies. Therefore, the sign of crossed arrows is in second place after the swastika, among the most anti-Semitic symbols of fascism. The crossed arrows, like the custom of marching in green shirts, were borrowed from the early 1933 fascist group HNSALWP, which later became part of the National Will Party.

During the reign of the Salasi government in Hungary, a flag arose with a white circle in the center on a red background, and in it - black crossed arrows. Thus, the color scheme and structure of the German flag with a swastika was completely repeated. The SS troops, formed from Hungarian volunteers, also used this symbol for the Hungarian divisions No. 2 and No. 3. Today this symbol is banned in Hungary.

In addition, the "Salashists" used the red-white-striped flag from the coat of arms of the Arpad dynasty of Hungarian princes, which ruled the country from the end of the 9th century to 1301.

Austria

In 1933, Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dolphuss abolished parliamentary rule and introduced a one-party system led by the Fatherland Front party. The party combined in its program Italian fascism and elements of Catholicism, in other words, professed clerical fascism. The Fatherland Front was in opposition to German National Socialism, and in 1934, during a coup attempt, Dollfuss was killed. Clerical fascism dominated the country until 1938, when Austria was annexed to Nazi Germany.

The flag of the Patriotic Front party is a so-called crutch cross on a red and white background. The cross has the same ancient roots as the crosses of the knights-crusaders, and in the Christian tradition it is called cross potent. Its use in the 1930s in Austria was an attempt to compete with the Nazi swastika.