From the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website:
The swastika has an extensive history. It was used at least 5,000 years before Adolf Hitler designed the Nazi flag. 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 Neolithic Eurasia, perhaps representing the movement of the sun through the sky. To this day it is a sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Odinism. It is a common sight on temples or houses in India or Indonesia. Swastikas also have an ancient history in Europe, appearing on artifacts from pre-Christian European cultures.
The symbol experienced a resurgence in the late nineteenth century, following extensive archeological work such as that of the famous archeologist Heinrich Schliemann. Schliemann discovered the hooked cross on the site of ancient Troy. He connected it with similar shapes found on pottery in Germany and speculated that it was a "significant religious symbol of our remote ancestors."
In the beginning of the twentieth century the swastika was widely used in Europe. It had numerous meanings, the most common being a symbol of good luck and auspiciousness. However, the work of Schliemann soon was taken up by völkisch movements, for whom the swastika was a symbol of "Aryan identity" and German nationalist pride
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.
The Nazi party, however, was not the only party to use the swastika in Germany. After World War I, a number of far-right nationalist movements adopted the swastika. As a symbol, it became associated with the idea of a racially "pure" state. By the time the Nazis gained control of Germany, the connotations of the swastika had forever changed.
In Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler wrote: "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. After long trials I also found a definite proportion between the size of the flag and the size of the white disk, as well as the shape and thickness of the swastika."
The swastika would become the most recognizable icon of Nazi Propaganda, appearing on the flag referred to by Hitler in Mein Kampf as well as on election posters, arm bands, medallions, and badges for military and other organizations. A potent symbol intended to elicit pride among Aryans, the swastika also struck terror into Jews and others deemed enemies of Nazi Germany.
Despite its origins, the swastika has become so widely associated with Nazi Germany that contemporary uses frequently incite controversy.
Further reading
Heidtmann, Horst. "Swastika." In Encyclopedia of the Third Reich, 937-939. New York: Macmillan, 1991.
Heller, Steven. The Swastika: Symbol Beyond Redemption?New York: Allworth Press, 2000.
Quinn, Malcolm. The Swastika: Constructing the Symbol.London: Routledge, 1994.
The swastika is an ancient symbol, and has been used by many different countries, cultures, and other groups. It was used by ancient Greeks, Indians (including Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains), ancient Celts, and Vikings. Even before and during World War II, it was used by the military of Finland, totally unrelated to the Nazi usage.
The Nazis adopted it as their symbol in 1920. They said they started using it because the ancient Aryans (who lived in India thousands of years ago) had used it; the Nazis believed that Germans are descended from the ancient Aryans.
The swastika comes from far eastern religions, the term aryan also comes from the east, therefore it was a good match.
It was an ancient religious symbol he found from ancient North Indian (Aryan) texts that Hitler found.
It's a matter of it looking good, I suppose. I think hitler believed it looked fairly "Hip".
They chose the star because it was already a Jewish symbol. It was not chosen to resemble a Jew. It was chosen to mark a Jew.
The Nazis had many seals and emblems, however the most common is the swastika, which is essentially a perverted version of the Budhist solar cross. Hitler was an occult fanatic, and many of the symbols used by the Nazis can be traced back to occult or religious symbols.
neither, it was first used by Hindus by as a good luck symbol
Easily. Have a swastika as body art does not mean that person is not Christian. Swastikas were used as religious symbols long before the Nazis adopted them. Furthermore, a tattoo does not necessarily reflect a person's current beliefs. Many people have gotten tattoos that they have later regretted.
Hate is an extreme dislike for something or someone. Hate only symbolizes hate. There are symbols, like the swastika, that symbolize hate.
Hitler took the Swastika from Hindu mythology. It symbolizes peace and prosperity. Ironic, no?
The symbol of Hitler's political party, the Nazis, was the swastika.
The Swastika.
Swastika
The 卐, or Swastika It is actually a tilted Swastika. The Swastika is actually a Hindu symbol. If you take the symbol and tilt it 45, so that the vertices and diagonals are vertical and horizontal, you get the Nazi Swastika.
The symbol of Hitler's political party, the Nazis, was the swastika.
Swastika
Nazis symbol is swastika Jews symbol is 6-pointed star
It was a symbol of power and strength, making it the obvious choice for the Nazis.
because iit was a bent cross
Until the Nazis used this symbol, the swastika was used by many cultures throughout the past 3,000 years to represent life, sun, power, strength, and good luck. Because of the Nazis' flag, the swastika soon became a symbol of hate, antisemitism, violence, death, and murder.
The Swastika was a symbol of honor in Germany since the early 1000's before WWII. then Hitler decided it to use it as the Nazi party symbol/flag as a way to earn support.
The SwastikaThere were many Nazi Symbols, but the official symbol of the National Socialist party, and the one you are probably thinking of is the swastika. The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing (卐) form or its mirrored left-facing (卍) form. Archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates from the Neolithic period. It occurs mainly in the modern day culture of India, sometimes as a geometrical motif and sometimes as a religious symbol. It remains widely used in Eastern religions / Dharmic religion, such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.Because of its iconic usage in Nazi Germany the symbol has become stigmatized in the Western world, and outlawed in Germany.It also used to be a symbol for the sun in some places, but the Nazis took it.