Nazi iconography
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The 20th-century German
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
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 Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
in 1933, and the sole national flag in 1935. A very similar flag had represented the Party beginning in 1920.


Swastika

The Nazis' principal symbol was the swastika, which the newly established
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
formally adopted in 1920. The emblem was a black swastika (卐) rotated 45 degrees on a white circle on a red background. This insignia was used on the party's flag, badge, and armband. Similar shaped swastikas were seen in United States postcards wishing people good luck in the early 1900s. The black-white-red motif is based on the colours of the flags of the German Empire. This colour scheme was commonly associated with anti-
Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...
German nationalists German nationalism () is an ideological notion that promotes the unity of Germans and German-speakers into one unified nation state. German nationalism also emphasizes and takes pride in the patriotism and national identity of Germans as one ...
, following the fall of the German Empire. Hilmar Hoffmann, John Broadwin, Volker R. Berghahn. ''The Triumph of Propaganda: Film and National Socialism, 1933–1945''. Berghahn Books, 1997. Pp. 16. The Nazis denounced the
black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
-
red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
-
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
flag of the Weimar republic (the current
flag of Germany The national flag of Germany is a tricolour consisting of three equal horizontal bands displaying the national colours of Germany: black, red, and gold (german: Schwarz-Rot-Gold). The flag was first sighted in 1848 in the German Confederat ...
). In ',
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
described the symbolism of the Nazi flag: "The
red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
expressed the
social thought Social theories are analytical frameworks, or paradigms, that are used to study and interpret social phenomena.Seidman, S., 2016. Contested knowledge: Social theory today. John Wiley & Sons. A tool used by social scientists, social theories rela ...
underlying the movement.
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
the national thought. And the swastika signified the
mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
allotted to us—the struggle for the
victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...
of Aryan mankind and at the same time the triumph of the ideal of
creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, and composition. Legal definitions Creative works require a cre ...
..." Today, certain countries such as
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
(see section 86a),
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, Lithuania, Latvia,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
,
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, China and
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
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."


Heraldry

Under the Nazi regime, government bodies were encouraged to remove religious symbolism from their heraldry. Symbols such as crosses, saints, etc. were seen as upsetting to the Nazis; however, few German councils actually changed their often ancient symbols. Some, however, did, including
Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...
, which replaced the
Maure A Moor's head, since the 11th century, is a symbol depicting the head of a black moor. Origin The precise origin of the Moor's head is a subject of controversy. But the most likely explanation is that it is derived from the heraldic war flag ...
on their arms with a sword and swastika, and
Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...
, which added a swastika to the paws of their lion. Nazi occultist
Karl Maria Wiligut Karl Maria Wiligut (alias Weisthor, Jarl Widar, Lobesam; 10 December 1866 – 3 January 1946) was an Austrian occultist and SS-Brigadeführer. Early life Wiligut was baptised a Roman Catholic in Vienna. At the age of 14, he joined the ''Kadetten ...
believed that heraldry began in the world of the Germanic gods, and was created by Wotan, the god of war. This was influenced by the pre-Nazi occultist
Guido von List Guido Karl Anton List, better known as Guido von List (5 October 1848 – 17 May 1919), was an Austrian occultist, journalist, playwright, and novelist. He expounded a modern Pagan new religious movement known as Wotanism, which he claimed was ...
, who held the same belief about heraldry.


Runic letters

Letters of the historical
runic alphabet Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...
and the modern Armanen runes have been used by
Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...
and neo-Nazi groups that associate themselves with Germanic traditions, mainly the Sigel,
Eihwaz Eiwaz or Eihaz is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the rune , coming from a word for "yew". Two variants of the word are reconstructed for Proto-Germanic, ''*īhaz'' (''*ē2haz'', from Proto-Indo-European '), continued in Old English as ...
, Tyr; c.f. Odal (see Odalism) and
Algiz Algiz (also Elhaz) is the name conventionally given to the "''z''-rune" of the Elder Futhark runic alphabet. Its transliteration is ''z'', understood as a phoneme of the Proto-Germanic language, the terminal ''*z'' continuing Proto-Indo-Europ ...
runes. The fascination that runes seem to have exerted on the Nazis can be traced to the occult and author , one of the important figures in Germanic mysticism and runic revivalism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1908, List published in ' ("The Secret of the Runes") a set of 18 so-called " Armanen Runes", based on the
Younger Futhark The Younger Futhark, also called Scandinavian runes, is a runic alphabet and a reduced form of the Elder Futhark, with only 16 characters, in use from about the 9th century, after a "transitional period" during the 7th and 8th centuries. The ...
, which were allegedly revealed to him in a state of temporary blindness after a cataract operation on both eyes in 1902. In Nazi contexts, the ''s''-rune is referred to as "Sig" (after List, probably from Anglo-Saxon '). The ", while not a rune historically, has the shape of List's "Gibor" rune. Runic "SS" was the symbol of the Schutzstaffel.


Food as symbol

In 1997, Wolfgang Fröhlich,
Holocaust denier Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: * ...
and former district council member for the Freedom Party, alleged that
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's favorite food was egg dumplings. Some restaurants in Austria started advertising the dish as a "daily special" for the 20th of April, which is Hitler's date of birth. Accordingly, many neofascists have taken to celebrate Hitler's birthday by eating '' Eiernockerl'', though the allegation about the dish has never been historically confirmed.


Other symbols

Other symbols employed by the Nazis include: * The eagle atop swastika (German: Reichsadler), the formal symbol of the Nazi Party * The SS bolts, the runic insignia of the * Various runes from the runic script, such as the Odal/Othala, Algiz/Leben, Tyr/Tiwaz runes and other rune-like symbols such as the * The black SS uniform * The brown shirts of the * The
death's head Death's Head is the name of several fictional characters appearing in British comics and American comic books both published by Marvel Comics. The original Death’s Head is a robotic bounty hunter (or rather, as he calls himself, a "freelance ...
insignia of the and
concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...
units * The Black Sun (German: Schwarze Sonne/Sonnenrad) used by
Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...
of the SS. * The crossed hammer and sword of
Strasserism Strasserism (german: Strasserismus or ''Straßerismus'') is a strand of Nazism calling for a more radical, mass-action and worker-based form of the ideology, espousing economic antisemitism above other antisemitic forms, to achieve a national ...
, a strand of Nazism that has a
Third Position The Third Position is a set of neo-fascist political ideologies that were first described in Western Europe following the Second World War. Developed in the context of the Cold War, it developed its name through the claim that it represented a ...
ist ideology. * The broken
sun cross A sun cross, solar cross, or wheel cross is a solar symbol consisting of an equilateral cross inside a circle. The design is frequently found in the symbolism of prehistoric cultures, particularly during the Neolithic to Bronze Age periods of ...
swastika. *The Celtic cross, which was originally a symbol used to represent pre-Christian and Christian European groups such as the
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
, has been used since World War II by many neo-Nazi groups.


Usages by neo-Nazi groups

Many symbols used by the Nazis have further been appropriated by neo-Nazi groups, including a number of runes. Neo-Nazis however also employ various number symbols such as: * 18, code for
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
. The number comes from the position of the letters in the alphabet: A = 1, H = 8. * 88, code for '' 88 Precepts''. A manifesto written by David Lane, a late 20th-century American
white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...
, on the proper organization of a white nationalist nation, 88 Precepts is a treatise on natural law, religion and politics. However, according to the Anti-Defamation League, it is code for
Heil Hitler The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the Nazi Party , 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. T ...
. Again, the number comes from the position of the letter H in the Latin alphabet. * 14, from the Fourteen Words coined by David Lane: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children." * 14 and 88 are sometimes combined with each other (i.e. 14/88, 8814, 1488). They are also sometimes depicted on dice.


Gallery

File:Parteiadler Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (1933–1945).svg, The ' of the Nazi Party (1933–1945) File:Totenkopf.svg, SS death's head insignia File:Wolfsangel.svg, Horizontally aligned , used by the 2nd SS Panzer Division File:Wolfsangel 1.svg, Vertical File:Odal_rune.svg, Odal rune (also used by the American-based "National Socialist Movement" since November 2016) File:Schutzstaffel_SS.svg, SS '' Doppel Sigrune'' File:Algiz.svg,
Algiz Algiz (also Elhaz) is the name conventionally given to the "''z''-rune" of the Elder Futhark runic alphabet. Its transliteration is ''z'', understood as a phoneme of the Proto-Germanic language, the terminal ''*z'' continuing Proto-Indo-Europ ...
rune File:Celtic-style crossed circle.svg, A simplified version of the Celtic cross is used by various neo-Nazi groups File:Sun Cross Swastika.svg, The broken
sun cross A sun cross, solar cross, or wheel cross is a solar symbol consisting of an equilateral cross inside a circle. The design is frequently found in the symbolism of prehistoric cultures, particularly during the Neolithic to Bronze Age periods of ...
used by the
German Faith Movement The German Faith Movement (''Deutsche Glaubensbewegung'') was a religious movement in Nazi Germany (1933–1945), closely associated with University of Tübingen professor Jakob Wilhelm Hauer. The movement sought to move Germany away from ...
and the 5th SS Panzer Division, also used by the
Thule Society The Thule Society (; german: Thule-Gesellschaft), originally the ''Studiengruppe für germanisches Altertum'' ("Study Group for Germanic Antiquity"), was a German occultist and '' Völkisch'' group founded in Munich shortly after World War I, n ...
File:Strasserism_Hammer_and_Sword.svg, The Hammer and Sword utilized by adherents of
Strasserism Strasserism (german: Strasserismus or ''Straßerismus'') is a strand of Nazism calling for a more radical, mass-action and worker-based form of the ideology, espousing economic antisemitism above other antisemitic forms, to achieve a national ...
File:Black_Sun.svg, The Black Sun used by Esoteric Nazi circles and other neo-Nazi groups


See also

*
Fascist symbolism Fascist symbolism is the use of certain images and symbols which are designed to represent aspects of fascism. These include national symbols of historical importance, goals, and political policies. The best-known are the fasces, which was the or ...
* Rising Sun Flag#Controversy * Flags of Germany * Fylfot *
Germanic Paganism Germanic paganism or Germanic religion refers to the traditional, culturally significant religion of the Germanic peoples. With a chronological range of at least one thousand years in an area covering Scandinavia, the British Isles, modern Germ ...
*
List of symbols designated by the Anti-Defamation League as hate symbols This is a list of hate symbols, including acronyms, numbers, phrases, logos, flags, gestures and other miscellaneous symbols used for hateful purposes, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Some of these items have been appropriated by hate g ...
* Nazi memorabilia *
Runes Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...
*
Runic insignia of the Schutzstaffel The runic insignia of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (known in German as the ''SS-Runen'') were used from the 1920s to 1945 on ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) flags, uniforms and other items as symbols of various aspects of Nazi ideology and Germanic mysticism. Th ...
*
Strafgesetzbuch section 86a The German (StGB; en, Criminal Code, link=no) in section § 86a outlaws "use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations" outside the contexts of "art or science, research or teaching". The law does not name the individual symbols to be o ...
* Bans on Nazi symbols * Swastika * Symbols of Francoism * Symbols of Germany *
Uniforms and insignia of the Schutzstaffel The uniforms and insignia of the ''Schutzstaffel'' served to distinguish the Nazi Germany paramilitary ranks, Nazi paramilitary ranks of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) between 1925 and 1945 from the ranks of the ''Wehrmacht'' (the regular German arme ...
*
Western use of the swastika in the early 20th century The swastika (from Sanskrit ''svástika'') is an ancient Eurasian religious symbol that generally takes the form of an equilateral cross with four legs each bent at 90 degrees in either right-facing (卐) form or left-facing (卍) form. It is ...


References


External links


Hate on Display: A Visual Database of Extremist Symbols, Logos and Tattoos

A collection of forbidden Nazi symbols and emblems of various groups

Symbols used by white supremacists




{{DEFAULTSORT:Nazi Symbolism Fascist symbols Swastika