Nazi symbolism explained

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.

Swastika

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 German: [[Parteiadler]], an eagle atop a swastika.

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 German nationalists, following the fall of the German Empire.[2] The Nazis denounced the black-red-gold flag of the Weimar Republic (the current flag of Germany).[2]

Today, certain countries such as Austria, Brazil, China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany (see German: Strafgesetzbuch|nocat=y section 86a), Hungary, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Ukraine 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

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] The death's head appears on the SS-Ehrenring presented by Heinrich Himmler to favored members of the SS, and was used as an insignia by the Death's Head Units of the SS that administered the concentration camps.[8]

Units of the Wehrmacht used insignia including the German: [[Wolfsangel]][9]

The Ahnenerbe research unit of the SS also used Wilhelm Teudt's neo-heathen Irminsul symbol.[10]

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.

Neo-Nazis also employ various number symbols:

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]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: History of the Swastika. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 9 May 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180412111646/https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007453. 12 April 2018. live.
  2. [Hilmar Hoffmann]
  3. News: Staff. Germany lifts ban on Nazi symbols in video games. The Telegraph. 9 August 2018. 9 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190109062836/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/09/germany-lifts-ban-nazi-symbols-video-games/. 9 January 2019. live.
  4. Web site: Chalk, Andy. 9 August 2018. Germany Lifts Ban on Swastikas in Videogames. PC Gamer. 9 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190109062601/https://www.pcgamer.com/germany-lifts-ban-on-swastikas-in-videogames/. 9 January 2019. live.
  5. Book: Slater, Stephen . 2003 . The Complete Book of Heraldry: An International History Of Heraldry And Its Contemporary Uses . London . Anness Publishing . 212 . 0754810623.
  6. Web site: Hate Symbols: Life Rune - From A Visual Database of Extremist Symbols, Logos and Tattoos . . 23 April 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130121040923/http://www.adl.org/hate_symbols/neo_nazi_life_rune.asp . 21 January 2013 .
  7. Web site: Hate Symbols: Othala Rune - From A Visual Database of Extremist Symbols, Logos and Tattoos . . 23 April 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130121000710/http://www.adl.org/hate_symbols/racist_odin_rune.asp . 21 January 2013 .
  8. Web site: Hate Symbols: Neo-Nazi Skull and Crossbones . 2008-12-17 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130121084719/http://www.adl.org/hate_symbols/neo-nazi_skull.asp . 2013-01-21 .
  9. Web site: Wolfsangel . 2008-12-17 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081217234148/http://www.adl.org/hate_symbols/Wolfsangel.asp . 2008-12-17 .
  10. Book: Wichert, Lasse . Personale Mythen des Nationalsozialismus: Die Gestaltung des Einzelnen in literarischen Entwürfen . Genozid und Gedächtnis . Wilhelm Fink . 2018 . 978-3-7705-6342-5 . de . 154.
  11. Web site: Hate Number Symbols: 18 . . 23 April 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121115180438/http://www.adl.org/hate_symbols/numbers_18.asp . 15 November 2012 .
  12. Web site: Hate Number Symbols: 88 . . 20 March 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180406170324/https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/1488 . 6 April 2018 . live .
  13. Web site: Hate Number Symbols: 14 (words) . . 23 April 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121026130724/http://www.adl.org/hate_symbols/numbers_14words.asp . 26 October 2012 .
  14. Web site: Hate Number Symbols: 14/88 . . 23 April 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121026125752/http://www.adl.org/hate_symbols/numbers_14-88.asp . 26 October 2012 .
  15. News: Willingham. A.J.. These are the new symbols of hate. 20 March 2018. CNN. 22 February 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20180320231921/https://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/21/us/hate-symbols-changing-trnd/index.html. 20 March 2018. live.
  16. Vessely. Rebecca. Germany restricts internet content. Wired. 12 November 1996. 30 August 2018. 21 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200921044121/https://www.wired.com/1996/12/germany-restricts-internet-content/. live.
  17. News: Some Austrians celebrated 4/20 by eating Hitler's favorite dish. The Jerusalem Post. 21 April 2016. 28 April 2022. 22 April 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220422075627/https://www.jpost.com/international/some-austrians-celebrate-420-by-eating-hitlers-favorite-dish-451938. live.
  18. News: Herbst . Hanna . Hanna Herbst . 20 April 2016 . Hitler-Verehrer servieren zur Feier des Tages Eiernockerl mit Salat . Hitler's admirers serve Eiernockerl with salad to celebrate the day . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180831035326/https://www.vice.com/de_at/article/yvkypj/eiernockerl-mit-gruenem-salat-an-hitlers-geburtstag . 31 August 2018 . 30 August 2018 . . de.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Nazi symbolism".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.