swfchan: History Of the Swastika.swf (info)

Text

"Swastika"

The swastika is an ancient symbol. Dating back 3,000 years, the swastika
predates the ancient Egyptian symbol, the Ankh . Approximately 3,000
years ago (1000 BCE), the swastika was commonly used; swastikas have
been found on many artifacts such as pottery and coins dating from
ancient Troy.

By the Middle Ages, the swastika was a well
known, if not commonly used, symbol but was
called by many different names:
China - wan
England - fylfot
Germany - Hakenkreuz
Greece - tetraskelion and gammadion
India - swastika

Until the Nazis used this symbol, the swastika
was used by many cultures throughout the past
and good luck.

In the 1800s, countries around Germany were
growing much larger, forming empires; yet
Germany was not a unified country until 1871. To
counter the feeling of vulnerability and the stigma
of youth, German nationalists in the
mid-nineteenth century began to use the
swastika, because it had ancient Aryan/Indian
origins, to represent a long Germanic/Aryan
history.

In the beginning of the twentieth century, the
swastika was a common symbol of German
nationalism and could be found in a multitude of
places such as the emblem for the Wandervogel,
a German youth movement; on Jörg Lanz von
Liebenfels' antisemitic periodical Ostara; on
various Freikorps units; and as an emblem of the
Thule Society.

In 1920, Adolf Hitler decided that the Nazi Party
needed its own insignia and flag. For Hitler, the
new flag had to be "a symbol of our own
struggle" as well as "highly effective as a poster."
(Mein Kampf, pg. 495)
On August 7, 1920, at the Salzburg Congress, this
flag became the official emblem of the Nazi
Party.

In Mein Kampf, Hitler described the Nazis' new
flag: "In red we see the social idea of the
movement, in white the nationalistic idea, in the
swastika the mission of the struggle for the
victory of the Aryan man, and, by the same
token, the victory of the idea of creative work,
which as such always has been and always will
be anti-Semitic." (pg. 496-497)

There is a great debate as to what the swastika means now. For 3,000
years, the swastika meant life and good luck. But because of the Nazis, it
has also taken on a meaning of death and hate.

These conflicting meanings are causing problems in today's society. For
Buddhists and Hindus, the swastika is a very religious symbol that is
commonly used.
Unfortunately, the Nazis were so effective at their use of the swastika
emblem, that many do not even know any other meaning for the swastika.
Can there be two completely opposite meanings for one symbol?

Flash Presentation Created By:
Myles Borins

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