The Nazi Swastika: The Main Secrets
No ideology, no political party, no army, no state can ever do without symbols. Flags, coats of arms, seals, standards, chevrons, documents – all this and much more is necessary for people to feel belonging to this or that system. At one time, the leadership of the Third Reich paid special attention to visual propaganda and agitation. Adolf Hitler was personally involved in the development of the symbols of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. The Nazis reinterpreted German history in their own way, resolutely rejecting the state attributes associated with the recent past – the black, white and red flag of the German Empire and the black, red and gold cloth of the republic. In an effort to revive the primordial Aryan traditions, the ideologists of fascism sought symbols for the new country in antiquity. Therefore, their appeal to the swastika was logically justified. Candidate of Historical Sciences Yuri Makovsky in the article “Symbols of the Nazi Movement in Germany in the 1920s-1940s” (published in the journal “Bulletin of Omsk State Pedagogical University”, No. 1, 2013) He also stressed that the Nazis attached great importance to visual agitation. “Hitler believed that the symbols of the party should influence the consciousness of the masses in order to convince the people of the prospects of the Nazis, to evoke nostalgia for the ancient heroic times, the desire to return to the heroics of the Nordic principles, to link them with support for the Nazi movement,” says Y. Makovsky. Various Masonic, nationalist, and Pochvennik organizations in Germany have been using the swastika as their emblem since the late 19th century. The Nazis first demonstrated it in August 1922 at a rally in Munich. Many researchers note that the swastika is a very ancient sign found in almost all Indo-European peoples, including the Slavs. But now it is perceived sharply negatively all over the world, having become, as a result of the criminal acts of the Third Reich, the embodiment of fascism, death and destruction. In general, the word “swastika” is translated from Sanskrit as “associated with good”. It is believed that this symbol was brought to India by representatives of the Aryan tribe. In Vedic culture, it is a sign of the eternal cycle of life, rebirth and renewal. Ancient Germans and Scandinavians often carved swastikas on children’s cradles, posthumous tombstones, maiden jewelry, weapon handles, etc. In this way, pagans protected themselves from the forces of evil, the evil eye and corruption, and hoped to enlist the support of higher powers. Sorcerers used this symbol in battle magic and during peaceful rituals. In manuscripts preserved from pre-Christian times, this sign is often associated with the legendary hammer of the god Thor. Sergei Zubkov, the author of The Third Reich Under the Banner of Occultism (2007), believes that the Nazis considered the swastika to be an Aryan symbol, supposedly opposed to the mystical signs of the Jews. “It is interesting that in the area inhabited by Semitic tribes, in upper Mesopotamia and Phoenicia, the swastika is almost entirely absent. Back in 1891, archaeologist Ernst Kraus gave rise to the thesis that this symbol is inherent only in the peoples of the Indo-European root,” wrote S. V. Zubkov. E. Kraus’s theory was also supported by the famous occultist Guido von List, who was engaged in the translation of runic texts. He called the swastika a symbol of the Aryan race, Nordic science, and magical knowledge. Another famous mystic, Karl Haushofer, believed that the swastika represented fire and fertility among the ancient Germanic druid magicians. Various positive qualities were ascribed to her: solar polarity, creative power, activity, unity of the material and spiritual worlds, perfection. The German politician Hermann Rauschning, in his book Conversations with Hitler, attributed the following definition to the Führer: “The swastika is the struggle for the victory of the Aryan movement, and at the same time the swastika symbolizes creativity.” Many researchers are of the opinion that this emblem has a pronounced anti-Semitic character. They quote lines from Adolf Hitler’s book Mein Kampf that the swastika means “the mission of struggle for the victory of Aryan man and at the same time the victory of creative productive labor, which has always been alien to the Jews.” “The Hoe-Shaped Cross” Candidate of Historical Sciences Sergey Kormilitsyn in his book “The Order of the SS. The Jesuits of the Empire. What It Is Not Customary to Talk About” (2008) noted that at the beginning of the 20th century, the swastika was already strongly associated in Germany with nationalist ideology. So there was no question of choosing a party symbol, representatives of the nascent fascist movement even organized a competition to create the most successful version of its image. Hitler confessed that he had to reject “all the innumerable projects” sent to him “from all over by young supporters of the movement, because all these projects boiled down to only one theme: they took old colors and painted a hoe-shaped cross against this background in various variations.” A researcher of occult practices, hiding under the pseudonym Lin von Pahl, writes in his book “All the Secrets of the Third Reich” (2010) that in the end, A. Hitler approved his own, self-invented party emblem. On a red quadrangular background, he placed a white circle with a black swastika in the center. Subsequently, this emblem became the official flag of Nazi Germany. According to Hitler himself, the red color symbolized the social ideas of the movement, the white color symbolized nationalism, and the “hoe-shaped cross” symbolized the coming victory of the Aryans. It is noteworthy that the colors of the new flag coincided with the black, white and red cloth of the German Empire, which hinted at heraldic continuity and was supposed to stir up patriotic feelings among the population. Hitler opted for a four-pointed swastika, the rays of which were bent to the right at right angles, while the German occult organizations of those years chose for themselves the opposite version, with the rays bent to the left. The latter generally accepted swastika denoted movement along with the sun and had an overtly creative meaning, while the Nazi sign, according to some researchers, has negative connotations. The national emblem is practically the only symbol that has not been revised by the Nazis. The eagle was a symbol of Germany when it was an empire, and now it is emblazoned on the coat of arms of this country. A formidable and strong eagle soaring high in the sky has been revered by representatives of many nations since ancient times. The ancient Greeks perceived this bird as a manifestation of the will of the god Zeus, and Roman legionnaires went into battle under standards crowned with eagle wings. The Indians worshipped the warlike spirit of the winged predator and revered it in India. Hitler understood that the heraldic eagle was an ancient Germanic symbol that had a special meaning for the people, so the bird was often depicted with a swastika, which it held in its paws. For the Germans, the eagle was a kind of Aryan of the celestial world, the embodiment of the warrior spirit of the god Wotan (Odin). Another ancient national emblem that the Nazis used in their propaganda was the oak tree, revered by German pagans as a model of stability, strength, and strength. During sacrifices, they often hung gifts intended for the gods on the branches of this tree. Ancient druids ascribed magical powers to oak, they carved staves from its wood for themselves. The wreath woven from oak leaves was called the very first symbol of power known in Germany by German mystics of the early twentieth century. Allegedly, such wreaths decorated the heads of chiefs during solemn ceremonies. In an effort to revive national symbols that had been lost since the Roman Empire, the Nazis often depicted the swastika on propaganda posters framed by oak leaves. “Death’s Head” The Waffen-SS was originally created as Hitler’s personal guard. Members of this organization wore black uniforms, always tied a ribbon with the image of a swastika on their sleeves, and covered their heads with a cap with a silver emblem of the “Death’s Head” (“Adam’s Head”). In general, the skull with crossbones underneath is also much older than the Nazi ideology. Wolfgang Akunov, a well-known publicist, author of numerous studies on military history, wrote about this in his book “SS Division “Reich”. History of the Second Waffen-SS Panzer Division. 1939-1945″. Akunov emphasized that the skull and bones in many cultures originally symbolized not death, but the ability of vital energy to regenerate and the strength of the spirit that resists decay. This is not surprising, because the skeleton is the strongest organic tissue in the human body. “Throughout human history, the Death’s Head emblem has been used in British, French, Finnish, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Austrian, Italian and Polish troops, mainly in cavalry, aviation, flamethrower, assault and tank units, in special forces units of the US Army,” says V. Akunov. For example, the Prussian “Hussars of Death” and the “Black Legion” of the Duke of Brunswick also adopted this symbol at one time. But for the Nazis, it had a special significance. The fact is that the “Death’s Head” was the emblem of the Freikorps – volunteer corps mobilized by the government of the German Republic after the November Revolution of 1918 to fight the local Bolsheviks. And by the time the supporters of communist ideology were completely suppressed, many members of the volunteer corps joined the ranks of the SS to continue their service under the same emblem. That is, for the Nazis, the “Death’s Head” symbolized, first of all, the fight against Bolshevism. Another sinister symbol of the Waffen-SS is the two Sieg runes, which were used to write the name of this organization. The well-known historian and Germanist Nikolai Lavrov, under the pseudonym Nick Warwol, published a book “Waffen-SS. Bloody Trail” (Rostov-on-Don, 2000). In it, the author noted that German occultists considered ancient runic writing to be a powerful magical tool with which to influence the future. “An attribute of the god of war, Thor. A sign of power, energy, struggle, and death. In 1933, SS-Hauptsturmführer Walter Heck, a graphic artist in Ferdinand Hofstatter’s workshop in Bonn, combined two Sieg runes to design a new badge. The expressive lightning-like shape made an impression on Himmler, who chose the double lightning bolt as the emblem of the SS,” N. N. Lavrov described the history of the symbol’s origin. Mystics believed that the double rune Sieg in the emblem of the SS guaranteed victory in any battle. In addition, German occultists attached great importance to two more runes: Hagalaz and Wolfsangel. The first, according to the ideologists of Nazism, symbolized an unshakable faith in the cause of the Führer. Along with the swastika, this sign was placed on the uniforms of all SS members, it was even used in engraving wedding rings if the newlyweds were members of this organization. Interestingly, the traditional meaning of the Hagalaz rune is destructive hail, purification through loss. And the Wolfsangel rune (wolf’s hook) served as a kind of talisman for the Nazis, protecting them from hostile forces. For a medieval German, though, this symbol meant freedom above all. Some Waffen SS panzer units used the Wolfsangel in their symbolism, hoping that the powerful rune would protect them during the battles on the Eastern Front.