The swastika is a cross with four arms of equal length, with the ends of each arm

bent at a right angle. Sometimes the crossing lines are horizontal and vertical and other
times they are an angle, forming a central "x" shape. Sometimes dots are added between
each arm. The swastika is an ancient symbol that has been found worldwide, but it is
especially common in India. Its name comes the Sanskrit word svasti (sv = well; asti = is),
meaning good fortune, luck and well-being. This original meaning of the swastika is a far
cry from Western associations of the symbol, which are largely negative. At first swastika
was good, and then everything went bad, and that's what it became.
"For the Hindus and Buddhists in India and other Asian countries, the
swastika was an important symbol for many thousands of years and, to this day, the
symbol can still be seen in abundance" (USHMM 1). It can found on temples, buses,
taxis, and on the cover of books. It was also used in Ancient Greece and can be found
in the remains of the ancient city of Troy, which existed 4,000 years ago. The ancient
Druids and the Celts also used the symbol, reflected in many artifacts that have been
discovered. It was used by Nordic tribes and even early Christians used the Swastika as
one of their symbols, including the Teutonic Knights, a German medieval military order,
which became a purely religious Catholic Order. The swastika has an extensive
history. "It was used at least 5000 years before Adolf Hitler designed the Nazi flag"
(USHMM 1). The word swastika comes from the sanskrit swastika, which means "good
fortune" or "well- being." The motif (a hooked cross) appears to have first been
used in Neolithic Eurasia, perhaps representing the movement of the sun through the sky.
To this day it is a sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Odinism. It is a
common sight on temples or houses in India or Indonesia. Swastikas also have an ancient

history in Europe, appearing on artifacts from pre-Christian European cultures. "The

symbol experienced resurgence in the late nineteenth century, following extensive
archeological work such as that of the famous archeologist Heinrich Schliemann"
(USHMM 1). Schliemann discovered the hooked cross on the site of ancient Troy. He
connected it with similar shapes found on pottery in Germany and speculated that it was a
significant religious symbol of our remote ancestors. In the beginning of the twentieth
century the swastika was widely used in Europe. It had numerous meanings, the most
common being a symbol of good luck and auspiciousness. However, the work of
Schliemann soon was taken up by Vlkisch movements, for whom the swastika was a
symbol of Aryan identity and German nationalist pride.
"When Adolph Hitler, the frustrated artist, was placed in charge of
propaganda for the fledgling National Socialist Party in 1920, he realized that the
party needed a vivid symbol to distinguish it from rival groups" (Holocaust-TRC
2). He sought a design, therefore, that would attract the masses. Hitler selected the
swastika as the emblem of racial purity displayed on a red background to win over the
worker. Hitler had a convenient but spurious reason for choosing the Hakenkreuz or
hooked cross. It had been used by the Aryan nomads of India in the Second Millennium
B.C. In Nazi theory, the Aryans were the Germans ancestors, and Hitler concluded that the
swastika had been eternally anti-Semitic. In spite of its fanciful origin the swastika flag
was a dramatic one and it achieved exactly what Hitler intended from the first day it was
unfurled in public. "Anti-Semites and unemployed workers rallied to the banner, and
even Nazi opponents were forced to acknowledge that the swastika had a 'hypnotic
effect'" (Holocaust-TRC 2). The hooked cross wrote American correspondent William

Shirer seemed to beckon to action the insecure lower-middle classes which had been
floundering in the uncertainty of the first chaotic postwar years. The swastika flag had a
suggestive sense of power and direction. It embodied all of the Nazi concepts within
simple symbol. As Adolph Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf, In red we see the social idea of
the movement, in white the Nationalist idea, and in the swastika the vision of the struggle
for the victory of the Aryan man. "One of the first actions Hitler carried or after
becoming Chancellor in 1933 was to abolish the Weimar Republic flag" (HolocaustTRC 2). On April 22, 1933 he decreed that the national flags of German would be the old
Imperial red, white, and black tricolor and flown in conjunction with the swastika flag.
These flags were to be flown together on all merchant ships, which led to a serious
incident with diplomatic consequences. "Since the rise of the National Socialist German
Workers Party, the swastika has been associated with fascism, racism, World War II,
and the Holocaust in much of the western world" (BIBLIOTECAPLEYADES 3).
Before this, it was particularly well-recognized in Europe from the archaeological work
of Heinrich Schliemann, who discovered the symbol in the site of ancient Troy and who
associated it with the ancient migrations of Indo-European (Aryan) peoples. Nazi use
derived from earlier German vlkisch nationalist movements, for which the swastika was a
symbol of "Aryan" identity, a concept that came to be equated by theorists like Alfred
Rosenberg with a Nordic master race originating in northern Europe. The swastika remains
a core symbol of Neo-Nazi groups. Since the end of World War II, the traditional uses
of swastika in the western world were discouraged. Many innocent people or products
were wrongly persecuted (BIBLIOTECAPLEYADES 3). Many innocent people or
products were wrongly persecuted. There have been failed attempts by individuals and

groups to educate Westerners to look past the swastikas recent association with the Nazis
to its prehistoric origins. The swastika appears in art and design from pre-history
symbolizing, in various contents: luck, the sun, Brahma, or the Hindu concept of
samsara. "In antiquity, the swastika was used extensively by Celts and Greeks, among
others" (BIBLIOTECAPLEYADES 3). It occurs in other Asian, European, African and
Native American cultures sometimes as a geometrical motif, sometimes as a religious
symbol. Today, the swastika is a common symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism,
among others. The ubiquity of the swastika has been explained by three main theories:
independent development, cultural diffusion, and external event.
When swastika first came around it stood for good, and then Hitler came along and
made it a bad thing, so thats what its known as now. Back then it could be found on
everything, from temples to buses and more. It had been used 5000 years before Hitler and as
soon as Hitler came and made the swastika flag it was given a bad reputation. In many Western
countries, the Swastika has been highly rejected because of its use and association with the
Nazis. The word swastika will never be the same, it will never be good again, it will always stand
for evil.