The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
, 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a
gesture
A gesture is a form of non-verbal communication or non-vocal communication in which visible bodily actions communicate particular messages, either in place of, or in conjunction with, speech. Gestures include movement of the hands, face, or ot ...
that was used as a
greeting
Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship (usually cordial) or social status (formal or informal) between indivi ...
in
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 ...
. The salute is performed by extending the right arm from the shoulder into the air with a straightened hand. Usually, the person offering the salute would say "''Heil Hitler!''" (lit. 'Hail Hitler!', ), ''"Heil, mein
Führer
( ; , spelled or ''Fuhrer'' when the Umlaut (diacritic), umlaut is not available) is a German word meaning "leader" or "guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with the Nazi Germany, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
Nazi Germany ...
!"'' ('Hail, my leader!'), or ''"Sieg Heil!"'' ('Hail victory!'). It was adopted in the 1930s by the Nazi Party to signal obedience to the party's leader,
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 ...
, and to glorify the German nation (and later the German war effort). The salute was mandatory for civiliansKershaw (2001), p. 60 but mostly optional for
military personnel
Military personnel are members of the state's armed forces. Their roles, pay, and obligations differ according to their military branch (army, navy, marines, air force, space force, and coast guard), rank (officer, non-commissioned officer, or e ...
, who retained a traditional
military salute
A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Boy Sco ...
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 ...
(
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 ...
) and
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 ...
(
Verbotsgesetz 1947
The Verbotsgesetz 1947 (Prohibition Act 1947), abbreviated VerbotsG, is an Austrian constitutional law originally passed on 8 May 1945 (Victory in Europe Day) and amended multiple times, most significantly in February 1947 and in 1992. It banned t ...
), and is also considered a criminal offence in modern-day
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 populous ...
and
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
. The use of any Nazi phrases associated with the salute is also forbidden. In
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, it is a criminal offence only if used with the intent to "reinstate the defunct
National Fascist Party
The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The ...
", or to exalt or promote its ideology or members. In
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and most of Europe (including the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
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 ...
, and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
), displaying the salute is not in itself a criminal offence, but constitutes
hate speech
Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...
if used for propagating the
Nazi ideology
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) in Na ...
.
Description
The salute was executed by extending the right arm stiff to an upward 45° angle and then straightening the hand so that it is parallel to the arm. Usually, an utterance of "''Sieg Heil''", "''Heil Hitler!''", or "''Heil!''" accompanied the gesture.
If one saw an acquaintance at a distance, it was enough to simply raise the right hand. If one encountered a superior, one would also say "''Heil Hitler''". If physical disability prevented raising the right arm, it was acceptable to raise the left.
Hitler gave the salute in two ways. When reviewing his troops or crowds, he generally used the traditional stiff armed salute. When greeting individuals who saluted he used a modified version of the salute, bending his right arm at a 90° angle with the elbow facing forward while holding an open hand with the bottom of the palm facing towards those greeted at shoulder height and the face of the palm parallel with the sky. It was also adopted by those with rank who would themselves be saluted.
Origins and adoption
The spoken
greeting
Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship (usually cordial) or social status (formal or informal) between indivi ...
''"Heil"'' became popular in the pan-German movement around 1900. It was used by the followers of
Georg Ritter von Schönerer
Georg Ritter von Schönerer (17 July 1842 – 14 August 1921) was an Austrian landowner and politician of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A major exponent of pan-Germanism and German nationalism in ...
, head of the Austrian ''Alldeutsche Partei'' ("Pan-German Party") who considered himself leader of the Austrian Germans, and who was described by
Carl E. Schorske
Carl Emil Schorske (March 15, 1915 – September 13, 2015), known professionally as Carl E. Schorske, was an American cultural historian and professor emeritus at Princeton University. In 1981 he won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for ...
as "The strongest and most thoroughly consistent anti-Semite that Austria produced" before the coming of Hitler. Hitler took both the "Heil" greeting – which was popularly used in his "hometown" of
Linz
Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846.
In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...
when he was a boy – and the title of "Führer" for the head of the Nazi Party from Schönerer, whom he admired.
The extended arm saluting gesture is widely, and erroneously, believed to be based on an ancient Roman custom, but no known Roman work of art depicts it, nor does any extant Roman text describe it.
Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...
's 1784 painting ''
Oath of the Horatii
''Oath of the Horatii'' (french: Le Serment des Horaces), is a large painting by the French artist Jacques-Louis David painted in 1784 and now on display in the Louvre in Paris. The painting immediately became a huge success with critics and the p ...
'' displayed a raised arm salutatory gesture in an ancient Roman setting.Winkler (2009), p. 55 ''The raised arm, first stretched out as a symbol of righteous fervor-as the Horatii evince it-and later as a symbol of political allegiance and religious-political unity between a people and its leader, becomes an important part of the iconography of new societies. In addition to its specific contemporary use the gesture comes to express, in a fashion that appears timeless and even mystical, an appeal to a higher being and to a heroic ancient past that had served as a model for most of Western civilization for centuries, although often in ways not supported by historical fact. David’s Oath of the Horatii provided the starting point for an arresting gesture that progressed from oath-taking to what will become known as the Roman salute.'' Boime states: "The brothers stretch out their arms in a salute that has since become associated with tyranny. The 'Hail Caesar' of antiquity (although at the time of the Horatti a Caesar had yet to be born) was transformed into the 'Heil Hitler' of the modern period. The fraternal intimacy brought about by the Horatii's dedication to absolute principles of victory or death ... is closely related to the establishment of the fraternal order ... In the total commitment or blind obedience of a single, exclusive group lies the potentiality of the authoritarian state." The gesture and its identification with
ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
Francis Bellamy
Francis Julius Bellamy (May 18, 1855 – August 28, 1931) was an American Christian socialism, Christian socialist Baptist minister and author. He is best known for writing the original version of the Pledge of Allegiance in 1892.
Early life
Fr ...
introduced the American
Pledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is a patriotic recited verse that promises allegiance to the flag of the United States and the republic of the United States of America. The first version, with a text different from the one used ...
, which was to be accompanied by a visually similar saluting gesture, referred to as the
Bellamy salute
The Bellamy salute is a palm-out salute created by James B. Upham as the gesture that was to accompany the American Pledge of Allegiance, which had been written by Christian socialist minister, Francis Bellamy. It was also known as the "flag sa ...
.Because of the resemblance between the American Bellamy salute and the Nazi salute, it was replaced in 1942 by a hand-over-the-heart gesture to be used by civilians during the Pledge of Allegiance and the
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...
. See:
*
* A raised arm gesture was then used in the 1899 American stage production of '' Ben-Hur'', and its 1907 film adaptation. The gesture was further elaborated upon in several early Italian films. Of special note was the 1914
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
''
Cabiria
''Cabiria'' is a 1914 Italian epic silent film, directed by Giovanni Pastrone and shot in Turin. The film is set in ancient Sicily, Carthage, and Cirta during the period of the Second Punic War (218–202 BC). It follows a melodramatic main p ...
'', whose screenplay had contributions from the Italian ultra-nationalist Gabriele d'Annunzio, arguably a forerunner of Italian Fascism. In 1919, when he led the occupation of Fiume, d'Annunzio used the style of salute depicted in the film as a neo-Imperialist ritual and the Italian Fascist Party quickly adopted it.
By autumn 1923, some members of the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
were using the rigid, outstretched right arm salute to greet Hitler, who responded by raising his own right hand crooked back at the elbow, palm opened upwards, in a gesture of acceptance. In 1926, the ''Nazi'' salute was made compulsory for all party members. It functioned as a display of commitment to the Party and a declaration of principle to the outside world.Allert (2009), p. 55
Gregor Strasser
Gregor Strasser (also german: Straßer, see ß; 31 May 1892 – 30 June 1934) was an early prominent German Nazi Party, Nazi official and politician who was murdered during the Night of the Long Knives in 1934. Born in 1892 in Bavaria, Strasse ...
wrote in 1927 that the greeting in and of itself was a pledge of loyalty to Hitler, as well as a symbol of personal dependence on the Führer. Even so, the drive to gain acceptance did not go unchallenged.
Some party members questioned the legitimacy of the so-called Roman salute, employed by Fascist Italy, as un- Germanic. In response, efforts were made to establish its pedigree by inventing a tradition after the fact. In June 1928,
Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, Hess held that position unt ...
published an article titled "The Fascist Greeting", which claimed that the gesture was used in Germany as early as 1921, before the Nazis had heard about the Italian Fascists.Allert (2009), pp. 55–56 He admits in the article: "The NSDAP's introduction of the raised-arm greeting approximately two years ago still gets some people's blood boiling. Its opponents suspect the greeting of being un-Germanic. They accuse it of merely aping the
talian Talian may refer to:
*Talian dialect, a dialect spoken in Brazil
*Talian, Iran
Talian ( fa, طاليان, also Romanized as Tālīān and Ţālīān) is a village in Baraghan Rural District, Chendar District, Savojbolagh County, Alborz Province, ...
Fascists",Allert (2009), p. 56 but goes on to ask, "and even if the decree from two years ago ess' order that all party members use itis seen as an adaption of the Fascist gesture, is that really so terrible"?
Ian Kershaw
Sir Ian Kershaw (born 29 April 1943) is an English historian whose work has chiefly focused on the social history of 20th-century Germany. He is regarded by many as one of the world's leading experts on Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, and is pa ...
points out that Hess did not deny the likely influence from Fascist Italy, even if indeed the salute had been used sporadically in 1921 as Hess claimed.Kershaw (1999), pp. 294, 689
On the night of 3 January 1942, Hitler said of the origins of the salute:
Nazi chants
Nazi chants like ''"Heil Hitler!"'' and ''"Sieg Heil!"'' were prevalent across
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 ...
, sprouting in mass rallies and even regular greetings alike.
In Nazi Germany, the Nazi chants ''"Heil Hitler!"'' and ''"Sieg Heil!"'' were the formulas used by the regime: when meeting someone it was customary to greet with the words ''"Heil Hitler!"'', while ''"Sieg Heil!"'' was a verbal salute used at mass rallies. Specifically to the cry of an officer of the word ''Sieg'' ('victory'), the crowd responded with ''Heil'' ('hail'). For example, at the 1934 Nuremberg Rally,
Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, Hess held that position unt ...
ended his climactic speech with the words "The Party is Hitler. But Hitler is Germany, just as Germany is Hitler. Hitler! Sieg Heil!"Kershaw (2001), p. 69 At his
total war speech
The ''Sportpalast'' speech (german: link=no, Sportpalastrede) or Total War speech was a speech delivered by German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels at the Berlin Sportpalast to a large, carefully selected audience on 18 February 1943, as t ...
delivered in 1943, audiences shouted ''"Sieg Heil!"'', as
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...
solicited from them "a kind of plebiscitary 'Ja to total warKershaw (2000), pp. 561–562. (''ja'' meaning 'yes' in German).
On 11 March 1945, less than two months before the capitulation of Nazi Germany, a memorial for the dead of the war was held in
Marktschellenberg
Marktschellenberg is a municipality in the district of Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe ...
, a small town near Hitler's Berghof residence.Kershaw (2000), p. 766 The British historian
Ian Kershaw
Sir Ian Kershaw (born 29 April 1943) is an English historian whose work has chiefly focused on the social history of 20th-century Germany. He is regarded by many as one of the world's leading experts on Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, and is pa ...
remarks that the power of the Führer cult and the "Hitler Myth" had vanished, which is evident from this report:
The Swing Youth (german: link=no, Swingjugend) were a group of middle-class teenagers who consciously separated themselves from Nazism and its culture, greeting each other with ''"Swing-Heil!"'' and addressing one another as "old-hot-boy". This playful behaviour was dangerous for participants in the subculture; on 2 January 1942,
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 ...
ordered that the leaders be put in concentration camps to be drilled and beaten.
The form ''"Heil, mein Führer!"'' ('Hail, my Leader!') was for direct address to Hitler, while ''"Sieg Heil"'' was repeated as a chant on public occasions. Written communications would be concluded with either ''"mit deutschem Gruß"'' ("with German regards"), or with ''"Heil Hitler"''. In correspondence with high-ranking Nazi officials, letters were usually signed with ''"Heil Hitler"''.
From 1933 to 1945
Under a decree issued by Reich
Minister of the Interior
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
Wilhelm Frick
Wilhelm Frick (12 March 1877 – 16 October 1946) was a prominent German politician of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), who served as Reich Minister of the Interior in Adolf Hitler's cabinet from 1933 to 1943 and as the last governor of the Protectorate ...
on 13 July 1933 (one day before the ban on all non-Nazi parties), all German public employees were required to use the salute. The decree also required the salute during the singing of the
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...
and the "
Horst-Wessel-Lied
The "" ("Horst Wessel Song"; ), also known by its opening words "" ("Raise the Flag", ), was the anthem of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) from 1930 to 1945. From 1933 to 1945, the Nazis made it the co-national anthem of Germany, along with the first sta ...
". It stipulated that "anyone not wishing to come under suspicion of behaving in a consciously negative fashion will therefore render the Hitler Greeting," and its use quickly spread as people attempted to avoid being labelled as a dissident. A rider to the decree, added two weeks later, stipulated that if physical disability prevented raising of the right arm, "then it is correct to carry out the Greeting with the left arm."Kershaw (2001) On 27 September, prison inmates were forbidden to use the salute, as were Jews by 1937.
By the end of 1934, special courts were established to punish those who refused to salute.Allert (2009), p. 61 Offenders, such as Protestant preacher Paul Schneider, faced the possibility of being sent to a concentration camp. Foreigners were not exempt from intimidation if they refused to salute. For example, the Portuguese
Consul General
A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
was beaten by members of the ''
Sturmabteilung
The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi ral ...
'' for remaining seated in a car and not saluting a procession in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
. Reactions to inappropriate use were not merely violent but sometimes bizarre.Allert (2009), p. 60 For example, a memo dated 23 July 1934 sent to local police stations stated: "There have been reports of traveling vaudeville performers training their monkeys to give the German Greeting. ... see to it that said animals are destroyed."
The salute soon became part of everyday life, a historically unique phenomenon that politicised all communication in Germany for twelve years, superseding all prior forms of greeting, such as ''"
Grüß Gott
The expression grüß Gott (; from ''grüß dich Gott'', originally '(may) God bless (you)')Hans Ulrich SchmidBairisch: Das Wichtigste in Kürze(in German) is a greeting, less often a farewell, in Southern Germany and Austria (more specifically the ...
"'' ("Hello"), ''"Guten Tag"'' ("Good day"), and ''"Auf Wiederseh(e)n"'' ("Goodbye").Allert (2009), p. 33 Postmen used the greeting when they knocked on people's doors to deliver packages or letters. Small metal signs that reminded people to use the Hitler salute were displayed in public squares and on telephone poles and street lights throughout Germany.Allert (2009), p. 34 Department store clerks greeted customers with "Heil Hitler, how may I help you?" Dinner guests brought glasses etched with the words "Heil Hitler" as house gifts. The salute was required of all persons passing the ''
Feldherrnhalle
The Feldherrnhalle (Field Marshals' Hall) is a monumental loggia on the Odeonsplatz in Munich, Germany. Modelled after the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, it was commissioned in 1841 by King Ludwig I of Bavaria to honour the tradition of the ...
'' in Munich, site of the climax of the 1923
Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch,Dan Moorhouse, ed schoolshistory.org.uk, accessed 2008-05-31.Known in German as the or was a failed coup d'état by Nazi Party ( or NSDAP) leader Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff and othe ...
, which the government had made into a shrine to the Nazi dead; so many pedestrians avoided this mandate by detouring through the small ''Viscardigasse'' behind that the passage acquired the nickname "Dodgers' Alley" (''Drückebergergasse''). The daughter of the American Ambassador to Germany,
Martha Dodd
Martha Eccles Dodd (October 8, 1908 – August 10, 1990) was an American journalist and novelist. The daughter of William Edward Dodd, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first Ambassador to Germany, Dodd lived in Berlin from 1933–1937 an ...
, describes the first time she saw the salute:
Children were indoctrinated at an early age.Allert (2009), p. 35 Kindergarten children were taught to raise their hand to the proper height by hanging their lunch bags across the raised arm of their teacher. At the beginning of first grade primers was a lesson on how to use the greeting. The greeting found its way into fairy tales, including classics like ''
Sleeping Beauty
''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
''. Students and teachers would salute each other at the beginning and end of the school day, between classes, or whenever an adult entered the classroom.
In 1935, at the end of
Hans Spemann
Hans Spemann (; 27 June 1869 – 9 September 1941) was a German embryologist who was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1935 for his student Hilde Mangold's discovery of the effect now known as embryonic induction, an influence, e ...
’s acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize, he gave a Nazi salute.
Some athletes used the Nazi salute in the opening ceremony of the
1936 Berlin Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...
as they passed by Hitler in the reviewing stand. This was done by delegates from Afghanistan, Bermuda, Bulgaria, Bolivia, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy and Turkey. The Bulgarian athletes performed the Nazi salute and broke into a
goose-step
The goose step is a special marching step which is performed during formal military parades and other ceremonies. While marching in parade formation, troops swing their legs in unison off the ground while keeping each leg rigidly straight.
The ...
; Turkish athletes maintained the salute all around the track. There is some confusion over the use of the salute, since the stiff-arm Nazi salute could have been mistaken for an
Olympic salute
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags and symbols to elevate the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competition—such as the flame, fanfare and theme—as well as those used throughout ...
, with the right arm held out at a slight angle to the right from the shoulder. According to the American sports writer Jeremy Schaap, only half of the athletes from Austria performed a Nazi salute, while the other half gave an Olympic salute. According to the historian Richard Mandell, there are conflicting reports on whether athletes from France performed a Nazi salute or an Olympic Salute. In
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
, the
England football team
The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affiliat ...
bowed to pressure from the British
Foreign Office
Foreign may refer to:
Government
* Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries
** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government
** Foreign office and foreign minister
* Unit ...
and performed the salute during a
friendly match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
on 14 May 1938.
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
came into conflict with the Nazi regime because they refused to salute
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 ...
with the Nazi salute, believing that it conflicted with their worship of God. Because refusing to salute Hitler was considered a crime, Jehovah's Witnesses were arrested, and their children attending school were expelled, detained and separated from their families.King, Christine. "Leadership Lessons from History: Jehovah's Witnesses". ''The International Journal of Leadership in Public Services'' 7, no. 2 (2011): 178–185.
Military use
The ''
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
'' refused to adopt the Hitler salute officially and was able for a time to maintain its customs.Allert (2009) pp. 80–82 A compromise edict from the Reich Defense Ministry, issued on 19 September 1933, required the Hitler salute of soldiers and uniformed civil servants while singing the "
Horst-Wessel-Lied
The "" ("Horst Wessel Song"; ), also known by its opening words "" ("Raise the Flag", ), was the anthem of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) from 1930 to 1945. From 1933 to 1945, the Nazis made it the co-national anthem of Germany, along with the first sta ...
" and
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...
, and in non-military encounters both within and outside the ''Wehrmacht'' (for example, when greeting members of the civilian government). At all other times they were permitted to use their traditional salutes. However, according to (pre-Nazi) ''
Reichswehr
''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...
'' and ''Wehrmacht'' protocol, the traditional military salute was prohibited when the saluting soldier was not wearing a uniform headgear (helmet or cap). Because of this, all bareheaded salutes used the Nazi salute, making it ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' mandatory in most situations.
Full adoption of the Hitler salute by the military was discussed in January 1944 at a conference regarding traditions in the military at Hitler's headquarters. Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, head of the Armed Forces, had expressed a desire to standardize the salute across all organizations in Germany. On 23 July 1944, several days after the failed assassination attempt, Goebbels suggested to Hitler that the military be ordered to fully adopt the Hitler salute as a show of loyalty, since Army officers had been responsible for the assassination attempt. Hitler approved the suggestion without emotion, and the order went into effect on 24 July 1944.Allert (2009), p. 82
On the night of 3 January 1942, Hitler stated the following about the compromise edict of 1933:
Satiric responses
Despite indoctrination and punishment, the salute was ridiculed by some people. Since ''heil'' is also the imperative of the German verb ''heilen'' ('to heal'), a common joke in Nazi Germany was to reply with, "Is he sick?" "Am I a doctor?" or "You heal him!"Allert (2009), p. 44 Jokes were also made by distorting the phrase. For example, ''"Heil Hitler"'' might become ''"Ein Liter"'' ('One liter'). Cabaret performer
Karl Valentin
Karl Valentin (born Valentin Ludwig Fey, 4 June 1882 in Munich – 9 February 1948 in Planegg) was a Bavarian comedian. He had significant influence on German Weimar culture. Valentin starred in many silent films in the 1920s, and was sometimes c ...
would quip, "It's lucky that Hitler's name wasn't ' Kräuter'. Otherwise, we'd have to go around yelling Heilkräuter ('medicinal herbs')". Similar puns were made involving ''"-bronn"'' (rendering ''"
Heilbronn
Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. With over 126,000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state.
From the late Mid ...
"'', the name of a German city), and ''"-butt"'' (rendering ''"Heilbutt"'', the German word for '
halibut
Halibut is the common name for three flatfish in the genera '' Hippoglossus'' and ''Reinhardtius'' from the family of right-eye flounders and, in some regions, and less commonly, other species of large flatfish.
The word is derived from ''h ...
').
Satirical use of the salute dates back to anti-Nazi propaganda in Germany before 1933. In 1932, photomontage artist John Heartfield used Hitler's modified version, with the hand bent over the shoulder, in a poster that linked Hitler to
Big Business
Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly kn ...
. A giant figure representing right-wing capitalists stands behind Hitler, placing money in his hand, suggesting "backhand" donations. The caption is, "the meaning of the Hitler salute" and "Millions stand behind me". Heartfield was forced to flee in 1933 after the Nazi seizure of power in Germany.
Another example is a cartoon by New Zealand political cartoonistDavid Low, mocking the Night of the Long Knives. Run in the ''
Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
'' on 3 July 1934, it shows Hitler with a smoking gun grimacing at terrified SA men with their hands up. The caption reads: "They salute with both hands now". When
Achille Starace
Achille Starace (; 18 August 1889 – 29 April 1945) was a prominent leader of Fascist Italy before and during World War II.
Early life and career
Starace was born in Sannicola, province of Lecce, in southern Apulia. His father was a wine and oi ...
proposed that Italians should write in letters,
Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
wrote an editorial in ''
Il Popolo d'Italia
''Il Popolo d'Italia'' ("The People of Italy") was an Italian newspaper published from 15 November 1914 until 24 July 1943. It was founded by Benito Mussolini as a pro-war newspaper during World War I, and it later became the main newspaper of ...
'' mocking the idea.
Post-1945
Today in Germany, Nazi salutes in written form, vocally, and even straight-extending the right arm as a saluting gesture (with or without the phrase), are illegal.Allert (2009), pp. 94–95 The offence is punishable by up to three years in prison (
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 ...
). Usage for art, teaching and science is allowed unless "the existence of an insult results from the form of the utterance or the circumstances under which it occurred." Use of the salute, or any phrases associated with the salute, has also been illegal in Austria since the end of World War II.
In Germany, usage that is "ironic and clearly critical of the Hitler Greeting" is exempt, which has led to legal debates as to what constitutes ironic use.Allert (2009), p. 95 One case involved Prince Ernst August of Hanover who was brought to court after using the gesture as a commentary on the behavior of an unduly zealous airport baggage inspector. On 23 November 2007, the AmtsgerichtCottbus sentenced
Horst Mahler
Horst Mahler (born 23 January 1936) is a German former lawyer and political activist. He once was a far-left militant and a founding member of the Red Army Faction who later became a Maoist, before switching to neo-Nazism. Between 2000 and 2003, ...
to six months of imprisonment without parole for having, according to his own claims, ironically performed the Hitler salute when reporting to prison for a nine-month term a year earlier. The following month, a pensioner named Roland T was given a prison term of five months for, amongst other things, training his dog Adolf to raise his right paw in a Nazi salute every time the command "Heil Hitler!" was uttered.
The Supreme Court of Switzerland ruled in 2014 that Nazi salutes do not breach
hate crime
A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...
laws if expressed as one's personal opinion, but only if they are used in attempt to propagate Nazi ideology.
Modified versions of the salute are sometimes used by neo-Nazis. One such version is the so-called " Kühnen salute" with extended thumb,
index
Index (or its plural form indices) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* Index (''A Certain Magical Index''), a character in the light novel series ''A Certain Magical Index''
* The Index, an item on a Halo megastru ...
and middle finger, which is also a criminal offence in Germany. In written correspondence, the number 88 is sometimes used by some neo-Nazis as a substitute for "Heil Hitler" ("H" as the eighth letter of the alphabet).Allert (2009), p. 94
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
neo-Nazis were reported to use a variant of the Kühnengruss, though extending one's right arm over their head and extending said three fingers has a different historical source for Switzerland, as the first three
Eidgenossen
''Eidgenossenschaft'' () is a German word specific to the political history of Switzerland.
It means "oath commonwealth" or "oath alliance" in reference to the "eternal pacts" formed between the Eight Cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy of the ...
or ''confederates'' are often depicted with this motion.
Hezbollah
Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...
supporters in Lebanon often raise their arms in a Nazi-style salute.
The Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging, a South African neo-Nazi organization known for its militant advocacy of white separatism, has espoused brown uniforms as well as Nazi German-esque flags, insignia, and salutes at meetings and public rallies. Hundreds of supporters in 2010 delivered straight-arm salutes outside the funeral for AWB leader
Eugène Terre'Blanche
Eugène Ney Terre'Blanche (, 31 January 1941Terre'Blanche's year of birth is alternately given as 1941 or 1944. The majority of sources indicates 1941; sources that claim 1944 as his year of birth includ''The Star''
On 28 May 2012,
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
current affairs programme ''
Panorama
A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...
'' examined the issues of racism,
antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
and football hooliganism, which it claimed were prevalent among Polish and Ukrainian football supporters. The programme, titled ''Euro 2012: Stadiums of Hate'', included footage of Ukrainian supporters giving the Nazi salute and shouting "Sieg Heil". The two countries hosted the international football competition
UEFA Euro 2012
The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
.
On 16 March 2013, Greek footballer
Giorgos Katidis
Georgios Katidis ( el, Γεώργιος Κατίδης; born 12 February 1993) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder.
Club career
Aris
Katidis rose through the youth ranks at Aris and managed to make his debut ...
of
AEK Athens F.C.
AEK FC ( el, ΠΑΕ A.E.K. ; Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; ''Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos'', meaning ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a Greek professional football club based in Nea Filade ...
was handed a life ban from the Greek national team for performing the salute after scoring a goal against
Veria F.C.
Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of I ...
in Athens' Olympic Stadium.
On 18 July 2015, '' The Sun'' published an image of the British Royal Family from private film shot in 1933 or 1934, showing Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen, then a young girl) and the Queen Mother both performing a Nazi salute, accompanied by
Edward VIII
Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...
, taken from 17 seconds of home footage (also released by ''The Sun''). The footage ignited controversy in the UK, and there have been questions as to whether the release of this footage was appropriate.
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
described the release of this footage as "disappointing", and considered pursuing legal action against ''The Sun'', whereas Stig Abell (managing director of ''The Sun'') said that the footage was "a matter of national historical significance to explore what was going on in the
930s
The 930s decade ran from January 1, 930, to December 31, 939.
Significant people
* Al-Muqtadir
* Constantine VII
* Pope John XI
* Pope Leo VII
* Al-Qahir
* Al-Radi
* Al-Ash'ari
Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī (; full name: ''Abū al-Ḥa ...
ahead of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
". Abell responded to criticism by assuring that ''The Sun'' was not suggesting "anything improper on the part of the Queen or indeed the Queen Mum".
American
white supremacist
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...
Richard B. Spencer
Richard Bertrand Spencer (born May 1978) is an American neo-Nazi, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and white supremacist. A former editor, he is a public speaker and activist on behalf of the alt-right movement. He advocates for the ...
drew considerable media attention in the weeks following the
2016 U.S. presidential election
The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial United States presidential election, presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald ...
, where, at a
National Policy Institute
The National Policy Institute (NPI) is a white supremacist think tank and lobbying group which is based in Alexandria, Virginia. It lobbies for white supremacists and the alt-right. Its president is Richard B. Spencer.
It has been largely inac ...
conference, he quoted from
Nazi propaganda
The propaganda used by the German Nazi Party in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's dictatorship of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 to 1945 was a crucial instrument for acquiring and maintaining power, and for the implementation o ...
and denounced
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
. In response to his cry "Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory!", a number of his supporters gave the Nazi salute and chanted in a similar fashion to the ''Sieg Heil'' chant.
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
fired political commentator
Jeffrey Lord
Jeffrey Lord (born July 25, 1951) is an American author, and political strategist in Pennsylvania, who served as an associate political director in the administration of former United States President Ronald Reagan.Lord, Jeffrey, (July 14, 2015 ...
on 10 August 2017, after he tweeted "Sieg Heil!" to Angelo Carusone, president of Media Matters for America, suggesting Carusone was a fascist.
In August 2021, a Michigan man named Paul Marcum gave the Nazi salute during a dispute over mask mandates and was fired from his job as a tennis instructor after Birmingham Public Schools announced that it would not tolerate any acts of racism, disrespect, violence, or inequitable treatment of any person.
Incidents involving North American students
In May 2018, students at
Baraboo High School
Baraboo High School is a high school in Baraboo, Wisconsin, and is a part of the Baraboo School District. It serves more than 900 students in grades 9–12 from Baraboo, West Baraboo, North Freedom, and a portion of Lake Delton. The school's co ...
, in Baraboo, Wisconsin, appeared to perform a Nazi salute in a photograph taken before their junior prom. The image went viral on social media six months later, sparking outrage. The school decided the students could not be punished because of their
First Amendment
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
Garden Grove Unified School District
The Garden Grove Unified School District (GGUSD) is the 14th-largest school district in California. It includes boundaries in Anaheim, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Stanton, and Westminster.
The district includes forty ...
in California were shown in a video giving the Nazi salute and singing Erika. The incident took place at an after-hours off-campus student athletics banquet. The school administration did not learn about the incident until March 2019, at which time the students were disciplined. The school did not release details of what the discipline entailed, but released a statement saying that they would continue to deal with the incident "in collaboration with agencies dedicated to anti-bias education." On 20 August 2019, the school district announced that it was reopening the investigation into the incident because new photographs and another video has surfaced of the event, along with "new allegations" and "new claims". Parents and teachers criticized the school's administration for their initial secrecy about the incident, for which the school's principal apologized.
In March 2019, students from
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...
, attending a private party made a swastika from red-and-white plastic party cups and gave Nazi salutes over it. Some of the students may have been from Newport Harbor High School of
Newport-Mesa Unified School District
Newport-Mesa Unified School District is a school district in Orange County, California, United States, that mainly serves the cities of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. The district was founded on July 1, 1966. It currently serves approximately 18,6 ...
, a very large district which encompasses 58 square miles and includes the cities of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. Officials from the district condemned the students' behavior, and said they were working with law enforcement to collect information on the incident.
On February 1, 2022, one of the pupils from
Charles H. Best Middle School
Charles H. Best Middle School is a middle school in North York, Ontario for Grade 4 to 8 students. It is located near Dufferin Street and Finch Avenue, in the Bathurst Manor residential area. The school was named Dufferin Heights Junior High until ...
in
North York
North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a popu ...
, a
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Ontario, Canada, performed a Nazi salute to a Jewish student while another who allegedly built a
swastika
The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...
, which led to the
Toronto District School Board
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franco ...
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
, the "Klan salute" is similar to the Nazi salute, the difference being that it is performed using the left arm and not the right, and that often the fingers of the hand are splayed and not held tightly together. The four fingers represent the four Ks in "Knights of the Ku Klux Klan". According to the
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
Hogan's Heroes
''Hogan's Heroes'' is an American television sitcom set in a Nazi German prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during World War II. It ran for 168 episodes (six seasons) from September 17, 1965, to April 4, 1971, on the CBS network, the longest broadcast ...
'',
Colonel Klink
The following is a list of characters from '' Hogan's Heroes'', an American sitcom television series which starred Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer and John Banner, and featured Robert Clary, Richard Dawson, Ivan Dixon, and Larry Hovis. It ran for s ...
often forgets to give the Hitler salute at the end of a phone call; instead, he usually asks, "What's that?" and then says, "Yes, of course, Heil Hitler". In the German-language version of the show, called ''Ein Käfig voller Helden'' (''A Cage Full of Heroes''), "Col. Klink and Sgt. Schultz have rural Gomer Pyle-type accents", and "stiff-armed salutes are accompanied by such witticisms as "this is how high the cornflowers grow". The "Heil Hitler" greeting was the variant most often used and associated with the series; "Sieg Heil" was rarely heard.
* A related gesture was used by the fictional Nazi-affiliated organization
Hydra
Hydra generally refers to:
* Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology
* ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria
Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to:
Astronomy
* Hydra (constel ...
from
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
, with both arms outstretched, clenched fists and the phrase "Hail Hydra" uttered by members of the organization.
* On the American animated TV sitcom ''
Family Guy
''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...
'', a " Cheesie Charlie's" worker dressed up as a devil welcomed both Peter and Chris to the "dungeon", who performs the Nazi salute shortly after welcoming the two characters ( Season 1, Episode 3, "
Chitty Chitty Death Bang
"Chitty Chitty Death Bang" is the third episode of the first season of the animated comedy series ''Family Guy''. It was originally shown on Fox in the United States on April 18, 1999. The episode follows Peter after he tries to make amends for ...
", first broadcast: April 18, 1999). In another episode, a previously-appearing unnamed character, Quahog's town librarian, is drafted by a committee of townspeople to run for mayor. None of them knows her name, and she introduces herself as "Elle Hitler" ("no relation," she says), and they all stand, extend their arms to salute her with their drinks, and say "Hi, Elle Hitler!" ( Season 19, Episode 7, "Wild Wild West", first broadcast: November 22, 2020).
Bellamy salute
The Bellamy salute is a palm-out salute created by James B. Upham as the gesture that was to accompany the American Pledge of Allegiance, which had been written by Christian socialist minister, Francis Bellamy. It was also known as the "flag sa ...
* ''
Bras d'honneur
A (), Iberian slap,, ; pt, manguito; ca, botifarra, . forearm jerk, Italian salute,, . or Kozakiewicz's gesture, or . is an obscene gesture that communicates moderate to extreme contempt, and is roughly equivalent in meaning to " fuck you", "s ...
Raised fist
The raised fist, or the clenched fist, is a long-standing image of mixed meaning, often a symbol of political solidarity. It is also a common symbol of communism, socialism, and other revolutionary social movements. It can also represent a salute ...
*
Roman salute
The Roman salute, alternatively called the Fascist salute, is a gesture in which the right arm is fully extended, facing forward, with palm down and fingers touching. In some versions, the arm is raised upward at an angle; in others, it is held ...
*
Zogist salute
The Zogist salute (), or the nationalist Albanian salute, is a military salute of Albania since used by civilians in other countries. The salute is a gesture whereby the right hand is placed over the heart, with the palm facing downwards.
The sal ...