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HAKENKREUZ - SWASTIKA
The swastika is an ancient symbol that has been used for over 3,000 years. (That even predates the ancient Egyptian symbol, the Ankh!) Artefacts such as pottery and coins from ancient Troy show that the swastika was a commonly used symbol as far back as 1000 BCE.
During the following thousand years, the image of the swastika was used by many cultures around the world, including in southern Europe, China, Japan and India. By the Middle Ages, the swastika was a well known, if not commonly used, symbol but was called by many different names:
England - fylfot
China - wan Though it is not known for exactly how long, Native Americans also have long used the symbol of the swastika.
The word "swastika" comes from the Sanskrit svastika - "su" meaning "good," "asti" meaning "to be," and "ka" as a suffix. This magnificent symbol has been used by many cultures throughout the past 3,000 years to represent life, sun, power, strength, and good luck.
In the early twentieth century, the swastika was a common decoration that often adorned cigarette cases, postcards, coins, and buildings. During World War I, the swastika could be found on the shoulder patches of the American 45th Division and on the Finnish air force until after World War II.
German nationalists in the mid-nineteenth century began to use the swastika, because it had ancient Aryan origins, to represent a long Germanic/Aryan history.
By the end of the nineteenth century, the swastika could be found on nationalist German volkisch periodicals and was the official emblem of the German Gymnasts' League.
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 Joerg 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 National Socialist 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)
On August 7, 1920, at the Salzburg Congress, this flag became the official emblem of the National Socialist Party.
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