“I myself, meanwhile, after innumerable attempts, had laid down a final form a flag with a red background, a white disk, and a black swastika in the middle. By the time the Nazis gained control of Germany, the connotations of the swastika had forever changed. As a symbol, it became associated with the idea of a racially “pure” state. After World War I, a number of far-right nationalist movements adopted the swastika. The Nazi Party was not the only party to use the swastika in Germany. This conjecture of Aryan cultural descent of the German people is likely one of the main reasons why the Nazi Party formally adopted the swastika or Hakenkreuz (Ger., hooked cross) as its symbol in 1920. However, the work of European linguists and other scholars was taken up by racist groups, for whom the swastika was a symbol of “Aryan identity” and German nationalist pride.

The Appropriation of the Swastika as a Nazi Symbol It had numerous meanings, the most common being a symbol of good luck and auspiciousness. In the beginning of the twentieth century the swastika was widely used in Europe.

He connected it with similar shapes found on pottery in Germany and speculated that it was a “significant religious symbol of our remote ancestors.” Other European scholars and thinkers linked the symbol to a shared Aryan culture that spanned Europe and Asia. During his extensive excavations, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered the hooked cross on the site of ancient Troy. The symbol experienced a resurgence in the nineteenth century, as a result of growing European interest in the ancient civilizations of the Near East and India. Its “Discovery” and Meanings in Modern Europe Swastikas also have an ancient history in Europe, appearing on artifacts from pre-Christian European cultures. It is a common sight on temples or houses in India or Indonesia. To this day, it is a sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Odinism. The word swastika comes from the Sanskrit svastika, which means “good fortune” or “well-being.' The motif (a hooked cross) appears to have first been used in Eurasia, as early as 7000 years ago, perhaps representing the movement of the sun through the sky.

German serenity symbol