exchemist
Veteran Member
Yes I know: that was why the Nazis appropriated it of course. (I've even seen swastikas on the roof tiles of shrines in Japan.)But it does have an interesting history aside from Nazism.
The swastika has come to be feared and despised because of its association with the Nazis in World War II. Yet historically, the swastika was widely used as a religious symbol. To some ancient peoples, it was a pictograph of the sun revolving in the universe. American Indians used it to symbolize the workings of the winds and the waters. To the Norse, the swastika represented Thor's hammer. Early Christians used it as a disguised cross on tombs during the time when it was dangerous to display a Christian cross. Hindus use the swastika, considered a symbol of good fortune, to decorate doorways and books.
Cross - Myth Encyclopedia - Greek, god, story, legend, names, ancient, war, norse, world, Roman, represent
But where are where we are. In modern Germany, it is indelibly associated with nazism - and indeed is used by neonazis. It is hardly surprising that they prioritise control of far-right violent political groups over the original associations of the symbol.