Swastika. Who Invented the Fascist Cross? Swastika - solar symbol

There is one graphic sign that has ancient history and the deepest meaning, but which was very unlucky with fans, as a result of which it was discredited for many decades, if not forever. In this case, we are talking about the swastika, which occurred and separated from the image of the symbol of the cross in deep-deep antiquity, when it was interpreted as an exclusively solar, magical sign.

Solar symbols.

Sun Sign

The very word "swastika" is translated from Sanskrit as "well-being", "well-being" (the Thai greeting "Savatdiya" comes from the Sanskrit "su" and "asti"). This ancient solar sign is one of the most archaic, and therefore one of the most effective, since it is imprinted in the deep memory of mankind. The swastika is a sign visible movement Sun around the Earth and the division of the year into 4 seasons. In addition, it includes the idea of ​​the four cardinal directions.

This sign was associated with the cult of the Sun among many peoples and is found already in the Upper Paleolithic and even more often in the Neolithic, primarily in Asia. Already from the 7th - 6th centuries BC. e. he enters Buddhist symbolism where means the secret doctrine of the Buddha.

Even before our era, the swastika is actively used in symbolism in India and Iran and ends up in China. This sign was also used in Central America by the Maya, where it symbolized the cycle of the Sun. Around the time of the Bronze Age, the swastika reaches Europe, where it becomes especially popular in Scandinavia. Here it is used as one of the attributes of the supreme god Odin. Almost everywhere, in all corners of the Earth, in all cultures and traditions swastika used as a solar sign and a symbol of well-being. And only when it came to Ancient Greece from Asia Minor, it was changed so that its meaning also changed. By turning the swastika, which was alien to them, counterclockwise, the Greeks turned it into a sign of evil and death (in their opinion).

Swastika in the symbols of Russia and other countries

In the Middle Ages, the swastika was somehow forgotten and remembered closer to the beginning of the twentieth century. And not only in Germany, as one might assume. For some, this may be surprising, but the swastika was used in official symbols in Russia. In 1917, in April, new banknotes were issued in denominations of 250 and 1000 rubles, on which there was an image of a swastika. The swastika was also present on Soviet banknotes in denominations of 5 and 10 thousand rubles and were in use until 1922. Yes, and in some parts of the Red Army, for example, among the Kalmyk formations, the swastika was integral part sleeve badge pattern.

During the First World War, the swastika was applied to the fuselages of the aircraft of the famous American squadron "Lafayette". Her images were also on the R-12 Briefings, which were in service with the US Air Force from 1929 to 1941. Additionally, the symbol was featured on the chevron of the US Army's 45th Infantry Division from 1923 to 1939.

It is especially worth talking about Finland. Today this country is the only one in the world in which the swastika is present in the official symbols. It is included in the presidential standard, and is also included in the military and naval flags of the country.

Modern flag of the Finnish Air Force Academy in Kuahava.

According to the explanation given on the website of the Finnish Defense Forces, the swastika, as an ancient symbol of happiness for the Finno-Ugric peoples, was adopted as a symbol of the Finnish Air Force as early as 1918, that is, before it was used as fascist sign. And although under the terms of the peace treaty after the end of the Second World War, the Finns had to refuse to use it, this was not done. In addition, the explanation on the website of the Finnish Defense Forces emphasizes that, unlike the Nazi, the Finnish swastika is strictly vertical.

AT modern India the swastika is found everywhere.

Note that there is modern world one country where images of the swastika can be seen almost at every turn. This is India. In it, this symbol has been used in Hinduism for more than one millennium, and no government can prohibit it.

Nazi swastika

It is worth mentioning the widespread myth that the Nazis used an inverted swastika. Where he came from is completely incomprehensible, since german swastika the most common is in the direction of the sun. Another thing is that it was depicted at an angle of 45 degrees, and not vertically. As for the inverted swastika, it is used in the Bon religion, which is followed by many Tibetans in our time. Note that the use of an inverted swastika is not such a rare occurrence: its image is found in ancient Greek culture, in pre-Christian Roman mosaics, medieval coats of arms, and even in the logo of Rudyard Kipling.

An inverted swastika in the Bon monastery.

As for the Nazi swastika, it became the official emblem of the Nazi fascist party in 1923, on the eve of the “beer putsch” in Munich. Since September 1935, it has become the main state emblem of Nazi Germany, included in its coat of arms and flag. And for ten years, the swastika was associated directly with fascism, turning from a symbol of goodness and prosperity into a symbol of evil and inhumanity. Not surprisingly, after 1945, all states, with the exception of Finland and Spain, in which the swastika was in symbolism until November 1975, refused to use this symbol as compromised by fascism.

No, this is not a fake and not a lure with a provocative headline. Here we will talk literally about fascist symbols, literally on the emblem of the Russian public service.
So, my dear readers, I present to your attention the emblem of the Federal Bailiffs Service of Russia

We are interested in objects that hold double-headed eagle in paws, because these are not just objects - these are symbols! Let's ask Wikipedia what it has to say about these subjects?
We look here https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_FSSP_Russia and what do we see there?
Golden double-headed eagle with raised wings, crowned with one large and two small crowns. The crowns are connected by a dark green ribbon. In the right paw of the eagle is a silver scroll with a seal, in the left is a silver lictor bundle. On the chest of the eagle there is a figured shield with a field dark green color. In the field of the shield is a golden "pillar of the Law". Well, everything is clear: the “pillar of the Law” is a worthy symbol, a silver scroll, and even with a seal, is also quite worthy, a bunch of lictors ... And what is this?
Isn't this the same bunch that the ancient Roman lictors wore? A bundle of birch twigs tied with a ribbon, symbolizing the right of the lictor to enforce decisions by force? So this is fascia, or as FASCIA taught me at school !!! The very fascia that became the symbol of the political radical organization of Benito Mussolini - Fascio di combattimento - "Union of Struggle"


Those same fascists, thanks to which the members of that party began to be called fascists, and everything they did was fascism!

Here people come to you in a graphite-black uniform with fascist symbols on their sleeves ... Do you think these are the Gestapo, or some other SS men? No, they are civil servants Russian Federation. No, you are not dreaming! These are not extremists, not neo-Nazis - these are civil servants, they are here on business, on a serious matter, they are at work. At work, you know? And with all their appearance they should personify the state. The same state, which at the cost of tens of millions of ruined lives, through it is impossible, through ... So they, that's it, they should look the right way. Vanya Pupkin can walk drunk with a swastika around the city. Ziganut a couple of times until they give in the face. He may have put on this swastika for this, in order to get punched in the face, to serve a day for propaganda Nazi symbols, and then tell everyone what a hero he is, how he held a stand against the bloody gebni. But these are in the public service ... In the form approved by no less than the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 540 of July 26, 2010.

In accordance with the decisions of the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, among others, the National Fascist Party of Italy (Partito Nazionale Fascista), the Fascist Republican Party of Italy (Partito Fascista Republicano) and the previously described Fasci di Combattimento were classified as criminal organizations, and the leadership of these organizations was recognized as war criminals. Taking into account the decisions of the Nuremberg Tribunal, the attributes of all the above organizations can be attributed to the Nazi (fascist) symbols. And if this is so, then why is literally fascist symbols, literally, literally a symbol of the Russian civil service. Yes, not one! Here is the emblem of the Federal Penitentiary Service, the Federal Penitentiary Service.

The same bundle in the paw of an eagle ... But how to relate to this? How is this to be understood, provided that we are talking about a state that considers itself an ardent opponent, the antipode of fascism?

Half a century has passed since the end of the Second World War, but until now, the two letters SS (more precisely, of course, SS), for the majority, are synonymous with horror and terror. Thanks to the mass production of Hollywood and the Soviet film factories trying to keep up with it, almost all of us are familiar with the uniforms of the SS men and their death-head emblem. But the actual history of the SS is much more complex and multifaceted. You can find heroism and cruelty, nobility and meanness, selflessness and intrigue, deep scientific interests and a passionate craving for the ancient knowledge of distant ancestors in it.

The head of the SS Himmler, who sincerely believed that the Saxon king Henry I "Birdcatcher" was spiritually reincarnated in him - the founder of the First Reich, elected in 919 the king of all Germans. In one of his speeches in 1943 he said:

"Our order will enter the future as a union of an elite that has united the German people and all of Europe around itself. It will give the world leaders of industry, Agriculture as well as political and spiritual leaders. We will always obey the law of elitism, choosing the superior and discarding the inferior. If we stop following this fundamental rule, then we will condemn ourselves to and disappear from the face of the earth like any other human organization.

His dreams, as you know, were not destined to come true for completely different reasons. FROM young years Himmler showed an increased interest in " ancient heritage of our ancestors". Associated with the Thule Society, he was fascinated by the pagan culture of the Germans and dreamed of its revival - of the time when it would replace "malodorous Christianity." In the intellectual depths of the SS, a new "moral" was being developed, based on pagan ideas.

Himmler considered himself the founder of a new pagan order, which was "destined to change the course of history", carry out "cleansing of rubbish accumulated over millennia" and return humanity to "the path prepared by Providence." In connection with such grandiose plans for a "return", it is not surprising that the ancient one was widely used on the SS order. On the uniforms of the SS men, they stood out, testifying to the elitism and camaraderie that prevails in the organization. From 1939 they went to war singing a hymn that included the following line: "We are all ready for battle, we are inspired by runes and a dead head."

As conceived by the Reichsführer SS, the runes were to play a special role in the symbols of the SS: on his personal initiative, within the framework of the Ahnenerbe program - the "Society for the Study and Dissemination cultural heritage ancestors" - the Institute of Runic Writing was established. Until 1940, all recruits of the SS order underwent mandatory instruction regarding runic symbolism. By 1945, 14 basic runic symbols were used in the SS. The word "rune" means "secret script." Runes are the basis alphabets carved on stone, metal and bone, and spread mainly in pre-Christian Northern Europe among the ancient Germanic tribes.

"... The great gods - Odin, Ve and Willy carved a man from ash, and a woman from willow. The eldest of the children of Bor, Odin, breathed soul into people and gave life. To bestow them with new knowledge, Odin went to Utgard, the Land of Evil ", to the World Tree. There he tore out his eye and brought it to, but this seemed not enough to the Guardians of the Tree. Then he gave his life - he decided to die in order to resurrect. For nine days he hung on a branch pierced by a spear. Each of the eight nights of Initiation opened him new secrets of being. On the ninth morning, Odin saw runes-letters inscribed on a stone. His mother's father, the giant Belthorn, taught him to carve and color runes, and the World Tree became known since then - Yggdrasil ... "

So talks about the acquisition of runes by the ancient Germans "Snorrieva Edda" (1222-1225), perhaps the only complete review heroic epic ancient Germans, based on legends, divinations, spells, sayings, cult and rituals of the Germanic tribes. In the Edda, Odin was revered as the god of war and the patron of the dead heroes of Valhalla. He was also considered a necromancer.

The famous Roman historian Tacitus in his book "Germany" (98 BC) described in detail how the Germans were engaged in predicting the future with the help of runes.

Each rune had a name and a magical meaning that went beyond purely linguistic boundaries. The inscription and composition changed over time and acquired magical significance in Teutonic astrology. At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. the runes were remembered by various "folkische" (folk) groups spread in Northern Europe. Among them was the Thule Society, which played a significant role in the early days of the Nazi movement.

Hakenkreutz

SWASTIKA - the Sanskrit name of the sign depicting a hook cross (among the ancient Greeks, this sign, which became known to them from the peoples of Asia Minor, was called "tetraskele" - "four-legged", "spider"). This sign was associated with the cult of the Sun among many peoples and is found already in the Upper Paleolithic era and even more often in the Neolithic era, primarily in Asia (according to other sources, the oldest swastika image was found in Transylvania, it dates back to the late stone age; the swastika was also found in the ruins of the legendary Troy, this bronze age). Already from the 7th-6th centuries BC. e. it enters into symbolism, where it means the secret doctrine of the Buddha. The swastika is reproduced on the oldest coins of India and Iran (before our era it penetrates from there to); in Central America, it is also known among the peoples as a sign indicating the cycle of the Sun. In Europe, the distribution of this sign refers to a relatively late time - to the bronze and iron age. In the era of the migration of peoples, he penetrates through the Finno-Ugric tribes to the north of Europe, to Scandinavia and the Baltic, and becomes one of the supreme norse god Odin (Wotan in German mythology), who suppressed and absorbed the previous solar (solar) cults. Thus, the swastika, as one of the varieties of the image of the solar circle, was practically found in all parts of the world, as the solar sign served as an indication of the direction of rotation of the Sun (from left to right) and was also used as a sign of well-being, “turning away from the left side”.

It is precisely because of this that the ancient Greeks, who learned about this sign from the peoples of Asia Minor, changed the turn of their “spider” to the left and at the same time changed its meaning, turning it into a sign of evil, sunset, death, since for them it was “alien” . Since the Middle Ages, the swastika has been completely forgotten and only occasionally met as a purely ornamental motif without any meaning and significance.

Only in the late XIX century, probably based on the erroneous and hasty conclusion of some German archaeologists and ethnographers that the swastika sign can be an indicator for identifying the Aryan peoples, since it is allegedly found only among them, in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century they began to use the swastika as an anti-Semitic sign (for the first time in 1910), although later, at the end of the 20s, the works of English and Danish archaeologists were published, who discovered the swastika not only in the territories inhabited by Semitic peoples (in Mesopotamia and Palestine), but also directly on the Hebrew sarcophagi.

For the first time as a political sign-symbol, the swastika was used on March 10-13, 1920 on the helmets of the militants of the so-called “Erhard Brigade”, which formed the core of the “Volunteer Corps” - a monarchist paramilitary organization led by Generals Ludendorff, Seeckt and Lutzow, who carried out the Kapp putsch - counter-revolutionary the coup that planted the landowner V. Kapp as “premier” in Berlin. Although Bauer's Social Democratic government fled shamefully, the Kapp putsch was liquidated in five days by the 100,000-strong German Army created under the leadership of the Communist Party of Germany. The authority of the militaristic circles was then severely undermined, and the sign of the swastika from that time began to mean a sign of right-wing extremism. Since 1923, on the eve of Hitler's "beer coup" in Munich, the swastika has become the official emblem of the Nazi Party, and since September 1935 - the main state emblem of Nazi Germany, included in its coat of arms and flag, as well as in the emblem of the Wehrmacht - an eagle holding in its claws wreath with swastika.

Under the definition of "Nazi" symbols, only a swastika standing on an edge at 45 °, with the ends directed to the right, can fit. It was this sign that was on the state banner of National Socialist Germany from 1933 to 1945, as well as on the emblems of the civil and military services of this country. It is also desirable to call it not "swastika", but Hakenkreuz, as the Nazis themselves did. Most accurate reference books consistently distinguish between Hakenkreuz (" Nazi swastika”) and traditional types of swastikas in Asia and America, which stand on the surface at an angle of 90 °.

Share the article with your friends!

Symbols of the Third Reich

https://website/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ger-axn-150x150.png

Half a century has passed since the end of the Second World War, but until now, the two letters SS (more precisely, of course, SS), for the majority, are synonymous with horror and terror. Thanks to the mass production of Hollywood and the Soviet film factories trying to keep up with it, almost all of us are familiar with the black uniforms of the SS men and their death-head emblem. But the actual history of the SS is much...

Today, many people, having heard the word "swastika", immediately imagine Adolf Hitler, concentration camps and the horrors of the Second World War. But, in fact, this symbol appeared even before new era and has very rich history. It has also become widespread in Slavic culture, where there were many of its modifications. A synonym for the word "swastika" was the concept of "solar", that is, sunny. Were there any differences in the swastika of the Slavs and the Nazis? And, if so, what were they expressed in?

First, let's recall what a swastika looks like. This is a cross, each of the four ends of which is bent at a right angle. Moreover, all corners are directed in one direction: to the right or to the left. Looking at such a sign, a feeling of its rotation is created. There are opinions that the main difference between the Slavic and fascist swastikas lies in the direction of this very rotation. The Germans have it right-hand traffic(clockwise), and our ancestors - left-hand (counterclockwise). But this is not all that distinguishes the swastika of the Aryans and Aryans.

External differences

Also important hallmark is the constancy of color and shape in the sign of the Fuhrer's army. The lines of their swastika are quite wide, absolutely straight, black. The underlying background is a white circle on a red canvas.

But what about the Slavic swastika? First, as already mentioned, there are many swastika signs that differ in shape. The basis of each symbol, of course, is a cross with right angles at the ends. But the cross may not have four ends, but six or even eight. On his lines may appear additional elements, including smooth, rounded lines.

Secondly, the color of the swastika signs. There is also diversity here, but not so pronounced. The predominant symbol is red on a white background. The red color was not chosen by chance. After all, he was the personification of the sun among the Slavs. But there are also blue yellow colors on some of the signs. Thirdly, the direction of movement. Earlier it was said that among the Slavs it is the opposite of fascist. However, this is not quite true. We meet both right-handed swastikas among the Slavs, and left-handed ones.

We have considered only the external distinctive attributes of the swastika of the Slavs and the swastika of the Nazis. But much more important facts are the following:

• Approximate time of sign appearance.
• The value given to it.
• Where and under what conditions was this symbol used.

Let's start with the Slavic swastika

It is difficult to name the time when it appeared among the Slavs. But, for example, among the Scythians, it was recorded in the fourth millennium BC. And since a little later the Slavs began to stand out from the Indo-European community, then, for sure, they were already used by them at that time (the third or second millennium BC). Moreover, among the Proto-Slavs they were fundamental ornaments.

Swastika signs abounded in the everyday life of the Slavs. And therefore it is impossible to attribute the same meaning to all of them. In fact, each symbol was individual and carried its own semantic load. By the way, the swastika could be either an independent sign or be part of more complex ones (moreover, most often it was located in the center). Here are the main meanings of the Slavic swastika (solar symbols):

• Sacred and Sacrificial fire.
• Ancient wisdom.
• Unity of the Genus.
• Spiritual development, self-improvement.
• The patronage of the gods in wisdom and justice.
• In the sign of Valkykria, it is a talisman of wisdom, honor, nobility, justice.

That is, in general, we can say that the meaning of the swastika was somehow sublime, spiritually high, noble.

Archaeological excavations have given us a lot of valuable information. It turned out that in ancient times the Slavs put similar signs on their weapons, embroidered on a suit (clothes) and textile accessories (towels, towels), carved on the elements of their homes, household items(dishes, spinning wheels and other wooden appliances). They did all this mainly for the purpose of protection, in order to protect themselves and their home from evil forces, from grief, from fire, from the evil eye. After all, the ancient Slavs were very superstitious in this regard. And with such protection, they felt much more secure and confident. Even the mounds and settlements of the ancient Slavs could have a swastika shape. At the same time, the ends of the cross symbolized a certain direction of the world.

Nazi swastika

• Adolf Hitler himself adopted this sign as a symbol of the National Socialist movement. But, we know that he did not come up with it. In general, the swastika was used by other nationalist groups in Germany even before the emergence of the National Socialist German Workers' Party. Therefore, let us take the time of appearance for the beginning of the twentieth century.

An interesting fact: the person who suggested to Hitler to take the swastika as a symbol initially presented a left-sided cross. But the Fuhrer insisted on replacing it with a right-hand one.

• The meaning of the swastika among the Nazis is diametrically opposed to that of the Slavs. According to one version, it meant the purity of German blood. Hitler himself said that the black cross itself symbolizes the struggle for the victory of the Aryan race, creative work. In general, the Fuhrer considered the swastika an ancient anti-Semitic sign. In his book, he writes that the white circle is the national idea, the red rectangle is the social idea of ​​the Nazi movement.
• Where was it used fascist swastika? First, on the legendary flag of the Third Reich. Secondly, the military had it on the belt buckles, as a patch on the sleeve. Thirdly, the swastika "decorated" official buildings, occupied territories. In general, it could be on any attributes of the Nazis, but these were the most common.

So in this way, the swastika of the Slavs and the swastika of the Nazis has tremendous differences. This is expressed not only in external features, but also in semantic ones. If among the Slavs this sign personified something good, noble, high, then among the Nazis it was a truly Nazi sign. Therefore, you should not, having heard something about the swastika, immediately think about fascism. After all Slavic swastika was lighter, more humane, more beautiful.

The swastika and the six-pointed star are stolen Slavic symbols.

The four-beam swastika is a hexagon, with axial symmetry of the 4th order. The correct -beam swastika is described by a point symmetry group (Schoenflies symbolism). This group is generated by rotation of the -th order and reflection in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation - the so-called "horizontal" plane in which the pattern lies. Due to the operation of reflecting the swastika achiral and does not have enantiomer(that is, a "double" obtained by reflection, which cannot be combined with the original figure by any rotation). As a result, in oriented space, right- and left-handed swastikas do not differ. The right- and left-handed swastikas differ only on the plane, where the pattern has purely rotational symmetry. For even, an inversion appears, where is a rotation of the 2nd order.

You can build a swastika for anyone; when you get a figure similar to the sign of the integral. For example, the symbol borjgali(see below) is a swastika with . A swastika-like figure will generally be obtained if we take any area on the plane and multiply it by rotating it times about the vertical axis , which does not lie in the vertical plane of symmetry of the area .

Origin and meaning

Illustration from ESBE.

The word "swastika" is a compound of two Sanskrit roots: सु, su, "good, good" and अस्ति, asti, "life, existence", that is, "well-being" or "well-being". There is another name for the swastika - "gammadion" (Greek. γαμμάδιον ), since the Greeks saw in the swastika a combination of four letters "gamma" (Γ).

The swastika is a symbol of the Sun, good luck, happiness and creation. In Western European medieval literature, the name of the sun god of the ancient Prussians Swiikstiks(Svaixtix) is first found in Latin-language monuments - the beginning of the 17th century: "Sudauer Buchlein"(mid-15th century), "Episcoporum Prussiae Pomesaniensis atque Sambiensis Constitutiones Synodales" (1530), "De Sacrificiis et Idolatria Veterum Borvssorvm Livonum, aliarumque uicinarum gentium" (1563), "De Diis Samagitarum" (1615) .

The swastika is one of the ancient and archaic solar signs - an indicator of the apparent movement of the Sun around the Earth and the division of the year into four parts - four seasons. The sign fixes two solstices: summer and winter - and the annual movement of the Sun.

Nevertheless, the swastika is considered not only as a solar symbol, but also as a symbol of the fertility of the earth. Has an idea four sides light centered around an axis. The swastika also suggests the idea of ​​movement in two directions: clockwise and counterclockwise. Like "Yin" and "Yang", a dual sign: rotating clockwise symbolizes male energy, counterclockwise - female. In ancient Indian scriptures, male and female swastikas are distinguished, which depicts two female, as well as two male deities.

About the meaning of the swastika, the Encyclopedia of Brockhaus F. A. and Efron I. A. writes as follows:

The swastika is "correct" and reverse. Accordingly, the swastika of the opposite direction symbolizes darkness, destruction. In ancient times, both swastikas were used simultaneously. This has a deep meaning: day replaces night, light replaces darkness, new birth replaces death - and this is the natural order of things in the Universe. Therefore, in ancient times there were no "bad" and "good" swastikas - they were perceived in unity.

One of the oldest forms of the swastika is Asia Minor and is an ideogram of the four cardinal points in the form of a figure with four cross-shaped curls. The swastika was understood as a symbol of the four main forces, the four cardinal points, the elements, the seasons and the alchemical idea of ​​the transformation of the elements.

Use in religion

In many religions, the swastika is an important religious symbol.

Buddhism

Other religions

Widely used by Jains and followers of Vishnu. In Jainism, the four arms of the swastika represent the four levels of existence.

Usage in history

Swastika - sacred symbol and is found as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The symbol is found in the culture of many nations. Ukraine, Egypt, Iran, India, China, Maverannahr, Russia, Armenia, Georgia, the Mayan state in Central America - this is the incomplete geography of this symbol. The swastika is presented in oriental ornaments, on monumental buildings and household utensils, on various amulets and Orthodox icons.

In the ancient world

The swastika was found on clay vessels from Samarra (the territory of modern Iraq), which date back to the 5th millennium BC, and in ornaments on ceramics of the South Ural Andronovo culture. Left-and right handed swastika found in the pre-Aryan culture of Mohenjo-Daro (Indus River Basin) and ancient China around 2000 BC.

One of the oldest forms of the swastika is Asia Minor and is an ideogram of the four cardinal points in the form of a figure with four cross-shaped curls. Back in the 7th century BC, images similar to the swastika were known in Asia Minor, consisting of four cross-shaped scrolls - rounded ends are signs of cyclic movement. There are interesting coincidences in the image of Indian and Asia Minor swastikas (dots between the branches of the swastika, jagged thickenings at the ends). Other early forms swastikas - a square with four plant-like roundings along the edges are a sign of the earth, also of Asia Minor origin.

In Northeast Africa, a stele of the kingdom of Meroe was discovered, which existed in the 2nd-3rd centuries AD. e. The fresco on the stele depicts a woman entering into afterworld, the swastika also flaunts on the clothes of the deceased. The rotating cross also adorns the golden weights for scales that belonged to the inhabitants of Ashanta (Ghana), and the clay utensils of the ancient Indians, and the carpets of the Persians. The swastika is often found on the charms of the Slavs, Germans, Pomors, Curonians, Scythians, Sarmatians, Mordovians, Udmurts, Bashkirs, Chuvashs and many other peoples. The swastika is found wherever there are traces of Buddhist culture.

In China, the swastika is used as a sign of all the deities worshiped in the Lotus School, as well as in Tibet and Siam. In ancient Chinese manuscripts, it included such concepts as "region", "country". Known in the form of a swastika are two curved mutually truncated fragments of a double helix, expressing the symbolism of the relationship "Yin" and "Yang". In maritime civilizations, the double helix motif was an expression of the relationship between opposites, a sign of the Upper and Lower Waters, and also signified the process of life becoming. On one of the Buddhist swastikas, each blade of the cross ends with a triangle indicating the direction of movement and crowned with an arch of a flawed moon, in which, like in a boat, the sun is placed. This sign represents the sign of the mystical arba, the creative quaternary, also called Thor's hammer. A similar cross was found by Schliemann during the excavations of Troy.

The swastika was depicted in pre-Christian Roman mosaics and on the coins of Cyprus and Crete. An ancient Cretan rounded swastika made of plant elements is known. The Maltese cross in the form of a swastika of four triangles converging in the center is of Phoenician origin. It was also known to the Etruscans. According to A. Ossendovsky, Genghis Khan wore right hand a ring with the image of a swastika, into which a ruby ​​was set. Ossendovsky saw this ring on the hand of the Mongol governor. At present, this magical symbol is known mainly in India and Central and East Asia.

Swastika in India

Swastika in Russia (and on its territory)

Various types of swastikas (3-beam, 4-beam, 8-beam) are present on the ceramic ornament of the Andronovo archaeological culture (Southern Urals of the Bronze Age).

The rhombus-meander swastika ornament in the Kostenkovskaya and Mezinskaya cultures (25-20 thousand years BC) was studied by V. A. Gorodtsov. So far, there is no reliable data on where the swastika was first used, but its earliest image was not registered in Russia.

The swastika was used in rituals and construction, in homespun production: in embroideries on clothes, on carpets. The swastika was used to decorate household utensils. She was also present on the icons. Embroidered on clothes, the swastika could have a certain protective meaning.

The swastika symbol was used as a personal sign and a talisman symbol by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Images of the swastika are found on hand-drawn postcards of the Empress. One of the first such "signs" was placed by the Empress after the signature "A." on a Christmas card drawn by her, sent on December 5, 1917 from Tobolsk to her friend Yu. A. Den.

The swastika was depicted on some banknotes of the Provisional Government of 1917 and on some Soviet signs printed with the cliché "Kerenok", which were in circulation from 1918 to 1922. .

In November 1919, the commander of the South-Eastern Front of the Red Army, V. I. Shorin, issued a statement that approved the distinctive sleeve insignia of the Kalmyk formations using a swastika. The swastika in the order is indicated by the word "lyungtn", that is, the Buddhist "Lungta", meaning - "whirlwind", "vital energy".

Also, the image of the swastika can be seen on some historical monuments in Chechnya, in particular, on ancient crypts in the Itum-Kalinsky district of Chechnya (the so-called "City of the Dead"). In the pre-Islamic period, the swastika was a symbol of the sun god among pagan Chechens (Dela-Malkh).

The swastika and censorship in the USSR

On the territory of modern Israel, images of the swastika were discovered during excavations in the mosaics of ancient synagogues. So, the synagogue on the site of the ancient settlement of Ein Gedi in the Dead Sea dates from the beginning of the 2nd century, and the synagogue on the site of the modern kibbutz Maoz Chaim in the Golan Heights operated between the 4th and 11th centuries.

In North, Central and South America the swastika is found in Maya and Aztec art. AT North America the Navajo, Tennessee, and Ohio tribes used the swastika symbol in ritual burials.

Thai greeting Swatdi! comes from the word svatdika(swastika).

The swastika as the emblem of the Nazi organizations

Nevertheless, I was forced to reject all the countless designs sent to me from all over by young supporters of the movement, since all these projects boiled down to only one theme: they took the old colors and on this background drew a hoe-shaped cross in various variations. […] After a series of experiments and alterations, I myself drew up a completed project: the main background of the banner is red; a white circle inside, and in the center of this circle is a black hoe-shaped cross. After much rework, I finally found the necessary ratio between the size of the banner and the size white circle, and finally settled on the size and shape of the cross.

In the view of Hitler himself, she symbolized "the struggle for the triumph of the Aryan race." This choice combined both the mystical occult meaning of the swastika, and the idea of ​​the swastika as an “Aryan” symbol (due to its prevalence in India), and the already established use of the swastika in the German extreme right tradition: it was used by some Austrian anti-Semitic parties, and in March 1920 during the Kapp putsch, it was depicted on the helmets of the Erhardt brigade that entered Berlin (here, perhaps, there was the influence of the Baltic states, since many fighters of the Volunteer Corps encountered a swastika in Latvia and Finland). Already in the 20s, the swastika became increasingly associated with Nazism; after 1933, it finally began to be perceived as a Nazi symbol par excellence, as a result of which, for example, it was excluded from the emblems of the scouting movement.

However, strictly speaking, not any swastika was a Nazi symbol, but a four-pointed one, with the ends pointing to the right side and rotated by 45 °. At the same time, it should be in a white circle, which in turn is depicted on a red rectangle. It was this sign that was on the state banner of National Socialist Germany from 1933 to 1945, as well as on the emblems of the civil and military services of this country (although in decorative purposes, of course, were used, including by the Nazis, and other options).

Actually, the Nazis used the term to designate the swastika that served as their symbol. Hakenkreuz ("Hackenkreuz", literally "hook cross", translation options also - "crooked" or "arachnid"), which is not a synonym for the word swastika (German. Swastika), also in circulation in German. It can be said that "Hackenkreuz"- the same national name for the swastika in German, as "solstice" or "kolovrat" in Russian or "hackaristi" in Finnish, and is usually used specifically to refer to the Nazi symbol. In Russian translation, this word was translated as "hoe-shaped cross".

On the poster Soviet graphics Moor "All on" G "" (1941) the swastika consists of 4 letters "G", symbolizing the first letters of the names of the leaders of the Third Reich written in Russian - Hitler, Goebbels, Himmler, Goering.

Geographical objects in the form of a swastika

forest swastika

Forest swastika - forest plantation in the form of a swastika. They are found both in open areas in the form of a corresponding schematic planting of trees, and in the forest area. In the latter case, as a rule, a combination of coniferous (evergreen) and deciduous (deciduous) trees is used.

Until 2000, a forest swastika existed northwest of the settlement of Zernick, in the district of Uckermark, in the state of Brandenburg in northwestern Germany.

On a hillside near the village of Tash-Bashat, in Kyrgyzstan, on the border with the Himalayas, there is a forest swastika "Eki Narin" ( 41.447351 , 76.391641 41°26′50.46″ N sh. 76°23′29.9″ E d. /  41.44735121 , 76.39164121 (G)).

Labyrinths and their images

Buildings in the shape of a swastika

Complex 320-325(English) Complex 320-325) - one of the buildings of the naval landing base in Coronado (Eng. Naval Amphibious Base Coronado ), in San Diego Bay, California. The base is operated by the US Navy and is the central training and operations base for the Special Forces and Expeditionary Forces. Coordinates 32.6761, -117.1578.

The building of the Complex was built between 1967 and 1970. The original design consisted of two central buildings for the boiler plant and a relaxation area and a threefold repetition of a 90-degree angle to the central buildings of the L-shaped barracks building. The completed building is shaped like a swastika when viewed from above.

Swastika computer symbol

The Unicode character table has the Chinese characters 卐 (U+5350) and 卍 (U+534D), which are swastikas.

Swastika in culture

In the Spanish TV series "Black Lagoon" (Russian version of "Closed School"), a Nazi organization developing in the depths of a secret laboratory under a boarding school had a coat of arms in which the swastika was encrypted.

Gallery

• Swastika in European culture



Swastika in a 2nd century AD Roman mosaic

see also

Notes

1. R. V. Bagdasarov. Radio program "Swastika: blessing or curse" on "Echo of Moscow".
2. Korablev L. L. Graphic magic of the Icelanders. - M.: "Veligor", 2002. - S. 101
3. http://www.swastika-info.com/images/amerika/usa/cocacola-swastika-fob.jpg
4. Gorodtsov V. A. Archeology. Stone period. M.; Pg., 1923.
5. Yelinek Jan. Large Illustrated Atlas primitive man. Prague, 1985.
6. Tarunin A. Past - Kolovrat in Russia.
7. Bagdasarov, Roman; Dymarsky Vitaly, Zakharov Dmitry Swastika: blessing or curse. "The Price of Victory". "Echo of Moscow". Archived from the original on August 23, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2010.
8. Bagdasarov, Roman.. - M .: M., 2001. - S. 432.
9. Sergei Fomin. Materials for the history of the Tsaritsyn Cross
10. Letters from the Royal Family from imprisonment. Jordanville, 1974, p. 160; Dehn L. The Real Tsaritsa. London, 1922. P. 242.
11. There. S. 190.
12. Nikolaev R. Soviet "credit cards" with a swastika? . Site "Bonistika". - the article was also published in the newspaper "Miniature" 1992 No. 7, p. 11. Archived from the original on August 23, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
13. Evgeny Zhirnov. To assign the right to wear a swastika to all Red Army soldiers // Vlast magazine. - 08/01/2000 - No. 30 (381)
14. http://www.echo.msk.ru/programs/victory/559590-echo/ Interview with historian and religious scholar Roman Bagdasarov
15. http://lj.rossia.org/users/just_hoaxer/311555.html LYUNGTN
16. Kuftin B. A. material culture Russian Meshchera. Part 1. Women's clothing: shirt, poneva, sundress. - M.: 1926.
17. W. Shearer. Rise and fall of the Third Reich
18. quote from R. Bagdasarov's book "Mysticism of the Fiery Cross", M., Veche, 2005
19. Discussion of the terms Hakenkreuz and Swastika in the LiveJournal community "Linguaphiles" (in English)
20. Adolf Hitler, "Mein Kampf"
21. Kern German. Labyrinths of the world / Per. from English. - St. Petersburg: Azbuka-klassika, 2007. - 432 p.
22. Azerbaijani Carpets
23. Li Hongzhi. Zhuan Falun Falun Dafa

Literature

In Russian

1. Wilson Thomas. Swastika. ancient famous symbol, its movement from country to country, with observations on the movement of some crafts in prehistoric times / Translated from English: A. Yu. Moskvin // The history of the swastika from ancient times to the present day. - Nizhny Novgorod: Books Publishing House, 2008. - 528 p. - S. 3-354. - ISBN 978-5-94706-053-9.
   (This is the first publication in Russian of the best fundamental work on the history of the swastika, written by Thomas Wilson, curator of the department of prehistoric anthropology of the US National Museum, and published for the first time in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution (Washington) in 1896).
2. Akunov V. The swastika is the oldest symbol of mankind (a selection of publications)
3. Bagdasarov R.V. Swastika: sacred symbol. Ethnoreligious Essays. - Ed. 2nd, corrected. - M .: White Alvy, 2002. - 432 p. - 3000 copies. - ISBN 5-7619-0164-1
4. Bagdasarov R.V. Mystic of the fiery cross. Ed. 3rd, add. and corrected - M.: Veche, 2005. - 400 p. - 5000 copies. - (Labyrinths of occult knowledge). -