The swastika was the first symbol of Nazism and remains strongly associated with it in the Western world.
The 20th-century German Nazi Party made extensive use of graphic symbols, especially the swastika, notably in the form of the swastika flag, which became the co-national flag of Nazi Germany in 1933, and the sole national flag in 1935. A very similar flag had represented the Party beginning in 1920.
Nazi symbols and additional symbols have subsequently been used by neo-Nazis.
The Nazis' principal symbol was the swastika, which the newly established Nazi Party formally adopted in 1920.[1] The formal symbol of the party was the Parteiadler, an eagle atop a swastika.
Today, certain countries such as Austria, Brazil, China, France, Germany (see Strafgesetzbuch section 86a), Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and other countries have banned Nazi symbols and it is considered a criminal offence if they are displayed publicly for non-educational purposes. On August 9, 2018, Germany lifted the ban on the usage of swastikas and other Nazi symbols in video games. "Through the change in the interpretation of the law, games that critically look at current affairs can for the first time be given a USK age rating", USK managing director Elisabeth Secker told CTV. "This has long been the case for films and with regards to the freedom of the arts, this is now rightly also the case with computer and videogames."[3][4]
Heraldry
Nazi era coat of arms of Thuringia with the lion holding a swastika. The swastika was removed in 1945.
The ancient arms of Coburg (left) featured the head of Saint Maurice, a symbol looked down upon by the Nazi party. In 1934, it was replaced by a coat of arms featuring a sword with a swastika on the pommel (right). The original coat of arms was restored in 1945.
Under the Nazi regime, government bodies were encouraged to remove religious symbolism from their heraldry. Few German councils actually changed their often ancient symbols. Some, however, did, including Coburg, which replaced the Moor's head representing Saint Maurice on their arms with a sword and swastika, and Thuringia, which added a swastika to the paws of their lion.[5]
Other symbols and insignia
Letters of the Armanen runes invented by Guido von List were used by the SS, particularly the Doppel Siegrune, based on the historical sowilo rune reinterpreted by List to signify 'victory' instead of the sun. Other Armanen runes used by the Nazis and subsequently by neo-Nazis include forms derived from Eihwaz, Tiwaz, Algiz[6] and Othala.[7]
Strasserism, a strand of Nazism with a Third Positionist ideology, used a crossed hammer and sword as its emblem.
Usages by neo-Nazi groups
Many symbols used by the Nazis have further been appropriated by neo-Nazi groups, including a number of runes; the so-called Black Sun, derived from a mosaic floor in Himmler's remodel of Wewelsburg; and the Celtic cross, originally a symbol used to represent pre-Christian and Christian European groups such as the Irish.[citation needed]
Neo-Nazis also employ various number symbols:
18, code for Adolf Hitler. The number comes from the position of the letters in the alphabet: A = 1, H = 8.[11]
14, from the Fourteen Words coined by David Lane: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children."[13]
14 and 88 are sometimes combined with each other (i.e. 14/88, 8814, 1488).[14] They are also sometimes depicted on dice.[15]
In 1997, Wolfgang Fröhlich, a Holocaust denier[16] and former district council member for the Freedom Party of Austria, alleged that Adolf Hitler's favorite food was egg dumplings (Eiernockerl).[17] Some restaurants in Austria started advertising the dish as a "daily special" for the 20th of April, which is Hitler's date of birth,[17] and although the allegation about the dish has never been historically confirmed, some neofascists began eating it as a symbolic food to celebrate Hitler's birthday.[18]
^ abHilmar Hoffmann, John Broadwin, Volker R. Berghahn. The Triumph of Propaganda: Film and National Socialism, 1933–1945. Berghahn Books, 1997. Pp. 16.
^Slater, Stephen (2003). The Complete Book of Heraldry: An International History Of Heraldry And Its Contemporary Uses. London: Anness Publishing. p. 212. ISBN0754810623.
^Wichert, Lasse (2018). Personale Mythen des Nationalsozialismus: Die Gestaltung des Einzelnen in literarischen Entwürfen. Genozid und Gedächtnis (in German). Wilhelm Fink. p. 154. ISBN978-3-7705-6342-5.
^Kovaleski, Serge; Turkewitz, Julie; Goldstein, Joseph; Barry, Dan (10 December 2016). "An Alt-Right Makeover Shrouds the Swastikas". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
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![SS death's head insignia[19]](File:Totenkopf.svg)
![Horizontally aligned Wolfsangel, used by the 2nd SS Panzer Division[20]](File:Wolfsangel.svg)
![Odal rune with feet,[7] used by the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division (also used by the American-based "National Socialist Movement" from November 2016 until 2019)[21]](File:Nazi_Odal_rune.svg)
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![The broken sun cross used by the German Faith Movement and the 5th SS Panzer Division, also used by the Thule Society[22]](File:Sun_Cross_Swastika.svg)
