Talk:Swastika

The common English language name for the symbol used by the Nazis is "swastika"

Although in German the symbol is called Hakenkreuz ("hooked cross"), per the Wikipedia policy WP:COMMONNAME, we use the word that is the common name in English, which is "swastika". This is not a comment of the use of the symbol by Hindus, Native American and other cultures, it is merely the name by which English-speaking people know it.

Please do not request that "swastika" be changed to "Hakenkreuz": any such request will be denied.

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Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

To view an answer, click the [show] link to the right of the question.

Q1: Why is the word swastika used for the Nazi symbol even though Adolf Hitler called it the Hakenkreuz?

A1: Because the English loan word for the symbol has been swastika since the 1870s–1880s when multiple English-speaking authors published analyses of the symbol written in English, establishing the English language name of the symbol as swastika. The German language word for the symbol is certainly Hakenkreuz (hooked cross), but here on English Wikipedia we call it the swastika because of longstanding practice starting about 50 years before Hitler wrote Mein Kampf.

Q2: Isn't the Nazi swastika different than the ancient and revered symbol from Asia?

A2: No. For several decades preceding the rise of Nazism, the swastika was adopted by writers of the Völkisch movement who associated German nationalism and then antisemitism with the swastika. Using this as his foundation, the swastika symbol was appropriated for Nazism by Hitler who explicitly equated the Nazi symbol with the same symbol of ancient Asia. Hitler wrote about the Nazi symbol: "You will find this cross as a swastika as far as India and Japan, carved in the temple pillars. It is the swastika, which was once a sign of established communities of Aryan Culture."[1]

Q3: But doesn't the 45-degree rotation make it different?

A3: It's true the Nazi flag used a swastika with a 45-degree rotation, but Hitler's personal standard flag –

– did not, and other unrotated swastikas appear elsewhere in Nazi usage. The Nazi swastika symbolized the same ideas regardless of rotation.

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Swastika is a former featured article. Please see the links under Article milestones below for its original nomination page (for older articles, check the nomination archive) and why it was removed.

This article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on May 1, 2005.

Article milestones
Date	Process	Result
December 3, 2003	Featured article candidate	Not promoted
April 2, 2005	Featured article candidate	Promoted
September 13, 2007	Featured article review	Demoted
June 13, 2010	Featured article candidate	Not promoted
June 16, 2010	Good article nominee	Not listed
A fact from this article was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on September 15, 2007.
Current status: Former featured article

This article was nominated for merging with Sauwastika on 16 November 2020. The result of the discussion (permanent link) was to merge.

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Section sizes

Section size for Swastika (78 sections)
Section name	Byte count	Section total
(Top)	9,422	9,422
Etymology and nomenclature	10,353	10,353
Appearance	2,208	4,184
Written characters	1,976	1,976
Meaning	776	8,143
North pole	4,531	4,531
Comet	1,916	1,916
Four winds	920	920
Prehistory	8,103	8,103
Historical use	2,151	42,800
South Asia	17	5,299
Hinduism	2,736	2,736
Buddhism	1,260	1,260
Jainism	1,286	1,286
East Asia	4,084	5,905
Japan	1,821	1,821
Eastern Europe and Caucasus	3,554	3,554
Northern Europe	22	9,227
Germanic Iron Age	2,012	2,012
Celts	2,321	2,321
Balto-Slavic	4,349	4,349
Sami	523	523
Southern Europe	22	4,247
Greco-Roman antiquity	3,753	3,753
Illyrians	472	472
Medieval and early modern Europe	5,600	5,600
Non-Eurasian samples	27	6,817
Africa	1,156	1,156
Americas	5,634	5,634
Early 20th century	2,463	23,765
Europe	87	14,149
Britain	637	637
Denmark	1,341	1,341
Iceland	577	577
Ireland	515	515
Finland	1,683	5,196
Finnish military	3,513	3,513
Latvia	2,666	2,666
Lithuania	1,268	1,268
Sweden	530	530
Norway	1,332	1,332
Russia	3,799	3,799
North America	3,354	3,354
Association with Nazism	28	29,000
Use in Nazism (1920–1945)	8,336	8,336
Use by the Allies	1,041	1,041
Post–World War II stigmatisation	1,146	19,595
Germany	4,900	4,900
Legislation in other European countries	3,182	3,182
Attempted ban in the European Union	1,731	1,731
Latin America	846	846
United States	2,334	2,334
Australia	472	472
Media	1,680	1,680
Swastika as distinct from Hakenkreuz debate	3,304	3,304
Contemporary use	21	23,178
Asia	11	6,668
Central Asia	838	838
East and Southeast Asia	4,451	4,451
Indian subcontinent	1,368	1,368
Europe and North America	31	7,334
Use by neo-Nazis	4,842	4,842
Western misinterpretation of Asian use	2,461	2,461
South America	762	762
New religious movements	300	8,393
Theosophy	571	571
Raëlism	1,181	1,181
Ananda Marga	321	321
Falun Gong	390	390
Heathenry	1,022	1,022
Baltic neopaganism	432	432
Slavic Native Faith	4,176	4,176
See also	699	699
Notes	27	27
References	11,002	11,235
Sources	233	233
Further reading	352	352
External links	871	871
Total	172,132	172,132

"... when the German Nazi Party adopted the swastika as an emblem of the Aryan race."[edit]

The lead currently makes this statement but it is not cited. Specifically what needs a citation is the "as an emblem of the Aryan race". Anyone? --𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 08:38, 29 June 2023 (UTC)Reply[reply]

and in "Early 20th century" we have (also uncited)

Schliemann's work soon became intertwined with the political völkisch movements, which used the swastika as a symbol for the "Aryan race" – a concept that theorists such as Alfred Rosenberg equated with a Nordic master race originating in northern Europe.

.

More searching required. I don't have time right now. --𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 08:43, 29 June 2023 (UTC)Reply[reply]

The Myth Of The 20th Century : Alfred Rosenberg : Internet Archive

Page 38

The Nordic gods were figures of light with spear and radiant cross and swastika, the symbols of the sun, of fertile ascending life. Pontolal (talk) 01:20, 21 September 2023 (UTC)Reply[reply]

could you supply the archive.org URL for that, please, it may be easily accessible in your browser's search history. Better still, why not update the article? --𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 11:12, 21 September 2023 (UTC)Reply[reply]

https://www.ifz-muenchen.de/heftarchiv/1968_4_5_phelps.pdf

The above link contains Hitler's entire speech in German where he says

Sie finden dieses Kreuz als Hackenkreuz [sic!] nicht nur hier, sondern genau so in Indien und Japan in den Tempelpfosten eingemeißelt. Es ist das Hackenkreuz der einst von arischer Kultur gegründeten Gemeinwesen.

which translates to

You will find this cross carved into the temple post as a swastika not only here, but in exactly the same way in India and Japan. It is the swastika of the communities once founded by Aryan culture. Pontolal (talk) 01:47, 19 September 2023 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Petition to add a mention of "hakenkreuz" in the lead[edit]

Look, people have got to know that the swastika terminology originates from sanskrit, and that the nazi swastika is a different concept entirely.

Please! 96.227.223.203 (talk) 22:03, 1 July 2023 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Please read the big red notice at the top of this page. "Hakenkreuz" is not employed for the symbol in English. Acroterion (talk) 22:20, 1 July 2023 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I did read it. It would be hard to miss it. But the term is not even mentioned in the lede at all. It would be useful to make at least a mention of the term in the lede, as it was one of the primary terms used for the Nazi symbol at the time of its use, which is currently one of the most well known uses of the swastika in the West in recent history. 96.227.223.203 (talk) 16:38, 2 July 2023 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Then please read the article, which mentions the term only in translation, and briefly in the section "Swastika as distinct from Hakenkreuz debate." I would suggest that adding the "hakenkreuz" translation so prominently just gives extra emphasis to the Nazi use of the symbol, which seems to me to be at odds with what the perennial advocates for adoption of the word in English desire. Also, please read the talkpage archives. Acroterion (talk) 17:33, 2 July 2023 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Quit insinuating that I have not read the article and portions of pages related to it. 96.227.223.203 (talk) 00:51, 3 July 2023 (UTC)Reply[reply]

The lead summarizes the body of the article. The body of the article scarcely mentions the matter. It appeared to me that you did not know that. It also appeared to me that you had not read the big red notice. It is a perennial frustration that we get requests that are already addressed by big red notices on this and other pages, and a perennial frustration that people demand edits to leads that are not supported in the article text or by references. Acroterion (talk) 01:36, 3 July 2023 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Get off my case. The notice says "Please do not request that "swastika" be changed to "Hakenkreuz": any such request will be denied." I did NOT request that the term be changed. I requested that the term was to be simply MENTIONED. Maybe if you LISTENED, you would not see this issue as a perennial FRUSTRATION, but maybe a perennial NEED. 96.227.223.203 (talk) 01:24, 5 July 2023 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I know what you asked for, it's just a watered-down version of changing it. Bluster is not an argument. Acroterion (talk) 02:03, 5 July 2023 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Hakencreuz is German. This is the English language Wikipedia. Unlike the Sanskrit word, which has long been absorbed into English, the German word has not. If and when it ever does, en.wiki will follow. Don't hold your breath.

You say it was one of the primary terms used for the Nazi symbol at the time of its use. Yes, it was, when writing in German. At the same time, texts in English only ever used the word Swastika. --𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 17:53, 2 July 2023 (UTC) extended and revised --𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 18:02, 2 July 2023 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 31 July 2023[edit]

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Drm19761976 (talk) 19:07, 31 July 2023 (UTC)Reply[reply]

I would like to edit this page.

You are saying do not use German words because this page wikipedia in englush, then how can you use Sanskrit word Swastika for Germnan Hakenkreuz or english word hookedcross. This page should be Hookedcross and not swastika.

Not done: see section immediately above Cannolis (talk) 19:22, 31 July 2023 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Specifically, This is the English language Wikipedia. Unlike the Sanskrit word, which has long been absorbed into English, the German word has not. If and when it ever does, en.wiki will follow. --𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 19:40, 31 July 2023 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Nazi symbol[edit]

get ur facts straight the nazi symbol IS NOT SWASTIKA, it's Hakenkreuz Sushena07 (talk) 19:17, 3 September 2023 (UTC)Reply[reply]

See FAQ at top. DeCausa (talk) 19:48, 3 September 2023 (UTC)Reply[reply]