BY JOHNBLACK

The symbol of the Swastika and its

12,000-year-old history

o
The swastika is a symbol for 360 degrees of knowledge.
Something else stolen & turned into something.
The swastika is a symbol used by of one of the most
hated men on Earth, a symbol that represents the
slaughter of millions of people and one of the most
destructive wars on Earth. But Adolf Hitler was not
the first to use this symbol. In fact, it was used as
powerful symbol thousands of years before him,
across many cultures and continents.
For the Hindus and Buddhists in India and other
Asian countries, the swastika was an important
symbol for many thousands of years and, to this
day, the symbol can still be seen in abundance - on
temples, buses, taxis, and on the cover of books. It
was also used in Ancient Greece and can be found
in the remains of the ancient city of Troy, which
existed 4,000 years ago. The ancient Druids and the
Celts also used the symbol, reflected in many
artefacts that have been discovered. It was used by
Nordic tribes and even early Christians used the
Swastika as one of their symbols, including the
Teutonic Knights, a German medieval military order,
which became a purely religious Catholic Order. But
why is this symbol so important and why did Adolf
Hitler decide to use it?
The word ‘swastika’ is a Sanskrit word (‘svasktika’)
meaning ‘It is’, ‘Well Being’, ‘Good Existence, and
‘Good Luck’. However, it is also known by different
names in different countries - like ‘Wan’ in China,
‘Manji’ in Japan, ‘Fylfot’ in England, ‘Hakenkreuz’ in
Germany and ‘Tetraskelion’ or ‘Tetragammadion’ in
Greece.

A Sanskrit scholar P. R.
Sarkar in 1979 said that the deeper meaning of the
word is ‘Permanent Victory’. He also said that as any
symbol it can have positive and negative meaning
depending on how it is drawn. So in Hinduism, the
right-hand swastika is a symbol of the God Vishnu
and the Sun, while the left-hand swastika is a
symbol of Kali and Magic. The double meaning of
symbols is common in ancient traditions, like for
example the symbol of the pentagram (five pointed
star), which is viewed as negative when pointing
downwards, and positive when pointing upwards.

The earliest swastika ever found was

uncovered in Mezine, Ukraine, carved on an ivory
figurine, which dates an incredible 12,000 years, and
one of the earliest cultures that are known to have
used the Swastika was a Neolithic culture in
Southern Europe, in the area that is now Serbia,
Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, known as the
Vinca Culture, which dates back around 8,000
years.
In Buddhism, the swastika is a symbol of good
fortune, prosperity, abundance and eternity. It is
directly related to Buddha and can be found carved
on statues on the soles of his feet and on his
heart. It is said that it contains Buddha’s mind.
 On the walls of the
Christian catacombs in Rome, the symbol of the
Swastika appears next to the words “ZOTIKO
ZOTIKO” which means “Life of Life”. It can also be
found on the window openings of the mysterious
Lalibela Rock churches of Ethiopia, and in various
other churches around the world.
 In Nordic Myths , Odin is represented
passing through space as a whirling disk or swastika
looking down through all worlds. In North America,
the swastika was used by the Navajos. In Ancient
Greece, Pythagoras used the Swastika under the
name ‘Tetraktys’ and it was a symbol linking heaven
and earth, with the right arm pointing to heaven and
its left arm pointing to Earth.
It has been used by the Phoenicians as a symbol of
the Sun and it was a sacred symbol used by the
priestesses.

The swastika, the Phoenician sun symbol, on the

Phoenician Craig-Narget stone in Scotland, and on the
robe of a Phoenician high priestess. ( Source)
How and why did so many diverse countries and
cultures, across many eras, use the same symbol
and apparently with the same meaning?
It is ironic, and unfortunate, that a symbol of life and
eternity that was considered sacred for thousands of
years has become a symbol of hatred.
Featured Image: Ancient Roman Mosaics in Villa
Romana La Olmeda (Wikipedia)
By John Black

Learn the History of the Swastika

by Jennifer Rosenberg
Updated August 07, 2017
The swastika is an extremely powerful symbol.
The Nazis used it to murder millions of people
during the Holocaust, but for centuries it had
positive meanings. What is the history of the
swastika? Does it now represent good or evil?
The Oldest Known Symbol
The swastika is an ancient symbol that has been used
for over 3,000 years. (That even predates the ancient
Egyptian symbol, the Ankh!) Artifacts 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 China, Japan, India, and
southern Europe. By the Middle Ages, the swastika
was a well known, if not commonly used, symbol but
was called by many different names:
 China - wan
 England - fylfot
 Germany - Hakenkreuz
 Greece - tetraskelion and gammadion
 India - swastika
Though it is not known for exactly how long, Native
Americans also have long used the symbol of the
swastika.
The Original Meaning
The word "swastika" comes from the
Sanskrit svastika - "su" meaning "good," "asti"
meaning "to be," and "ka" as a suffix.
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.
Even in the early twentieth century, the swastika was
still a symbol with positive connotations. For
instance, the swastika was a common decoration
that often adorned cigarette cases, postcards, coins,
and buildings.
During World War I, the swastika could even be
found on the shoulder patches of the American 45th
Division and on the Finnish air force until
after World War II.
A Change in Meaning
In the 1800s, countries around Germany were
growing much larger, forming empires; yet Germany
was not a unified country until 1871. To counter the
feeling of vulnerability and the stigma of youth,
German nationalists in the mid-nineteenth century
began to use the swastika, because it had ancient
Aryan/Indian 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.
Hitler and the Nazis
In 1920, Adolf Hitler decided that the Nazi 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, pg.
495)
On August 7, 1920, at the Salzburg Congress, the red
flag with a white circle and black swastika became
the official emblem of the Nazi Party.
In Mein Kampf, Hitler described the Nazis' new flag:
"In red we see the social idea of the movement,
in white the nationalistic idea, in the swastika the
mission of the struggle for the victory of the Aryan
man, and, by the same token, the victory of the idea
of creative work, which as such always has been and
always will be anti-Semitic." (pg. 496-497)
Because of the Nazis' flag, the swastika soon became
a symbol of hate, antisemitism, violence, death, and
murder.
What Does the Swastika Mean Now?
There is a great debate as to what the swastika
means now. For 3,000 years, the swastika meant life
and good luck. But because of the Nazis, it has also
taken on a meaning of death and hate.
These conflicting meanings are causing problems in
today's society. For Buddhists and Hindus, the
swastika is a very religious symbol that is commonly
used.
Chirag Badlani shares a story about one time when
he went to make some photocopies of some Hindu
Gods for his temple. While standing in line to pay for
the photocopies, some people behind him in line
noticed that one of the pictures had a swastika. They
called him a Nazi.
Unfortunately, the Nazis were so effective at their
use of the swastika emblem, that many do not even
know any other meaning for the swastika. Can there
be two completely opposite meanings for one
symbol?
Does the Direction of the Swastika Matter?
In ancient times, the direction of the swastika was
interchangeable as can be seen on an ancient
Chinese silk drawing.
Some cultures in the past had differentiated between
the clockwise swastika and the counter-
clockwise sauvastika. In these cultures the swastika
symbolized health and life while the sauvastika took
on a mystical meaning of bad-luck or misfortune.
But since the Nazis use of the swastika, some people
are trying to differentiate the two meanings of the
swastika by varying its direction - trying to make the
clockwise, Nazi version of the swastika mean hate
and death while the counter-clockwise version would
hold the ancient meaning of the symbol, life and
good-luck.
MUSLIM USE OF THE SWASTIKA
ASIATIC MUSLIMS HAVE BEEN USING
SWASTIKAS IN CALLIGRAPHY AND
ARCHITECTURE FOR A LONG TIME. BUT IS THIS
ISLAMIC?
First of all, the swastika is not anti-Semitic. If all you
(think you) know about the swastika is that it was
used by National Socialist (“Nazi”) Germany, then be
aware of two facts:

1. The swastika has been used around the world,

even Sub-Saharan Africa(!) for thousands of years:
2.
 3. Arabs and Ethiopians (among others) are Semites.
They USE the swastika, so it can’t be anti-Semitic:

Ethiopian Orthodox Church

http://www.gnosis.us.com/45633/ancienthistorical-
swastikas/
If that’s not enough to convince you read more about
swastika use in Africa here: Afrikan Swastikas –
Knowledge of Self.
NOW LET’S TAKE A VIRTUAL TOUR THE
MUSLIM WORLD, PAST AND PRESENT…
MAKKAH (MECCA)
Makka is Islam’s holiest city. It is where the Qur-an
was revealed. It houses Masjid al-Haram (The Sacred
Place of Prostration) the direction to which all
Muslims pray. Recently, the government currently
controlling Makka has overseen the tallest clock tower
in the world (apparently overlooking the fact that
most Muslims have mobile phones to tell time
with). Believe it or not, that clock, that monument, has
swastikas. Look how the white lines intersect:

The Makkah Clock Tower, Mecca, Saudi Arabia

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=3
34299&page=571
PERSIA
Persia is much larger than modern day Iran. Basically,
‘Persia’ refers to the homeland of Persians, who since
ancient times have used the term Aryan (hence, Iran)
to describe themselves and their language:

We will look at swastika use in what is now Iran and

Tajikistan.

IRAN

Friday Mosque in
Isfahan, Iran
http://www.swastika-info.com/

Ceiling of the Ali Qapu

Pavilion in Isfahan, Iran from the 17th century.
http://www.proswastika.org/

Ali’s name in
tilework Kufic calligraphy, next to swastikas, Friday
Mosque, Yazd
http://www.paulstravelblog.com/wp/?m=200805&pa
ged=2 The column of
Darvazeh Dowlat in Tehran
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread80923

7/pg7 The column of Darvazeh

Dowlat in Tehran
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread80923
7/pg7 Islamic Azad University,
Bandar Abbas, Iran
http://www.proswastika.org/
TAJIKISTAN
Like other post-Soviet countries, Tajikistan has taken a
fresh look its history following independence in 1991.
The result is a state campaign to promote the notion
that the Tajiks as a Aryan nation – and the widespread
use of the swastika. (Aryan Myth and Metahistory)

A Tajik emblem that is based on the

swastika
http://aryan-myth-and-
metahistory.blogspot.com/2011/08/tajikistan-aryan-
revival-and.html
IRAQ

“This is…on the wall of

Baghdad’s oldest university which is older than Oxford
– by a few years.”
https://maryrussellwriter.wordpress.com/tag/mosqu
e/
TURKIC COUNTRIES
ANATOLIAN PENINSULA (MODERN TURKEY)
This was the center of power of the Uthmani
(“Ottoman”) Empire, which ruled over many Muslim
territories for centuries.

“The Great Mosque of

Diyarbakır (Diyarbakır Ulu Camii / Mizgefta Mezin a
Amedê), located in Diyarbakır, Turkey, is the oldest
and one of the most significant mosques in Anatolia.
The mosque is considered by some to be the fifth
holiest site in Islam. It can accommodate up to 5,000
worshippers and is famous for hosting four different
Islamic traditions.”

http://svasticross.blogspot.com/ A part
of the Topkapi Scroll
“The Topkapi architectural design scroll is probably
the best-preserved and oldest scroll of this kind to
have survived. Aproximated between 1500 – 1600
made
It is of great importance for an understanding of
Timurid and Turkmen geometric design principles.
The scroll is 29.5 meters long, with 114 drawings, it
bears no date and is not signed. The drawings
represent geometrical designs, murqanas designs and
contain patterns and elements of square kufic. It
entered the Ottoman imperial treasury at an unknown
date and is now housed at the Topkapi Place Museum
in Istanbul, Turkey.”
http://svasticross.blogspot.com/

Sivas, Şifahiye Medresesi,

Turkey
“Sifaiye Medresesi is a medrese built in 1217 in Sivas,
Turkey. It bears typical Seljuk features and was built
by the Rûm Seljuk Sultan Kaykaus I, who was known
for his fondness for the city of Sivas where he spent
the large part of his period of reign.
The complex consists of a Darüşşifa (Dâr al-Shifâ,
literally “house of health”, a hospital) and the medrese
where medicinal studies were also taught. The
complex is also alternatively called under the sultan
Izeddin Keykavus I’s name whose tomb is located
within the compound.”
http://svasticross.blogspot.com/
UZBEKISTAN
 Entrance to the Poi Kalon
Mosque, Uzbekistan
http://newsoftomorrow.org/esoterisme/chamanisme
/olga-kharitidi-le-maitre-des-reves-lucides-au-coeur-
de-lasie-une-psychiatre-russe-apprend-comment-
guerir-les-esprits-du-trauma/attachment/swastika-
kalyan-mosque
KASHGAR, CHINA
Though controlled by China, Kashgar is predominately
peopled by Muslim Uyghurs, a Turkicethnic
group living in Eastern and Central Asia.
 “Mosque in Kashgar, China,
near the border of Pakistan”
https://solotravelblog.net/swastikas-in-asia/
INDIAN SUBCONTINENT
The Indus River Valley civilization (mostly in modern
Pakistan) is where the names ‘India’ and ‘Hindu’ come
from. It is from this civilization that many religions
like Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism, famous
for their use of the swastika, ultimately originated.

Buddhism
 Sikh Deity Stand

(SikhBazaar.com) Jainism

The Mughal (Mongol) dynasties which ruled India

used this symbol in their architecture. They either
adopted its use from locals, or had already been using
it.
 Sikandra. This is the
“buland darwaaza” (great gate) leading to the gardens
of the tomb of Akbar, the greatest, ablest, and probably
the most enlightened of the Mughal emperors. Early
17th century, local red sandstone with ornate marble
inlay (including Koranic calligraphy in letters at least a
foot high)
http://mise-en-
trope.blogspot.com/2011/03/sikandra-and-agra-

akbars-tomb-and-taj.html
“This is where they say Shah Jahan, the man behind
the Taj Mahal, was imprisoned BY HIS SON.”
http://www.aroundtheworldl.com/2014/06/29/agra
-fort-india/
ANDALUS (MODERN IBERIAN
PENINSULA/SPAIN)
Andalus was a medieval Muslim cultural domain and
territory occupying at its peak most of what are today
Spain and Portugal.

Al-Andalus & Christian

Kingdoms (wikipedia)
The fact that Spain was the first [West Asian] country
to acquire technical supremacy at the dawn of modern
times and for a certain period dominate the world can
only be explained by the [Muslim] contribution during
the time of its colonization. (Diop, Cheikh Anta,
Precolonial Black Africa (Chicago: Lawrence Hill
Books, 1987), p.36)
 The Mosque of Cordoba,
Andalus (Spain), construction completed in 987 CE.
http://www.proswastika.org
MUSLIM CALLIGRAPHY

“All Sovereignty to Allah”,

by Fatma Mohammad Abdel Rahim from the United
Arab Emirates
http://svasticross.blogspot.com/2012/04/swastika-
allah.html By Ahmad Zeid
http://www.flickr.com/photos/93272306@N05/976

2358206 Ahmad Zeid

http://farm8.static.flickr.com/7389/9452801696_ac8
6e59071_m.jpg

As you can see from the calligraphy especially, the

swastika is a consequence of lines intersecting at right
angles. Muslims have historically avoided depicting
living things in artwork, so geometric patterns are
where they focused their creativity. Perhaps at least
some of the swastikas are unintentional apexes that
allow uninterrupted patterns. However, some are
obviously a continuation of pre-Islamic use of the
swastika by central Asian populations and their
diaspora, which includes Arabia. Which brings us to
the next question:

BUT IS USING THE SWASTIKA SYMBOL

ISLAMIC?

No, but neither is using the crescent moon and star,

the supposed symbol of Islam.

Though the crescent was originally a secular symbol of

authority for Muslim rulers, it is now often used to
symbolize the Islamic faith. However, the crescent was
not a symbol used for Islam by Muhammad or any
other early Muslim rulers, as the Islamic religion is, in
fact, against appointing “holy symbols” (so that during
the early centuries of Islam, Muslim authorities simply
didn’t want any geometric symbols to be used to
symbolize Islam, in the way that the cross symbolizes
Christianity, the menorah was a commonly occurring
symbol of Judaism, etc.). This is why early Islamic
coins were covered with Arabic writing, but contained
no visual symbols. (wikipedia)

The crescent, like the swastika, is a pre-Islamic

symbol.

Unlike the swastika, however, whose origins are

debated, the crescent and star have clear polytheist
(mushrik/pagan) significance:
The crescent is one of the oldest symbols known to
humanity. Before Islam, the crescent was the symbol
of Sassanids and after capturing Persian lands, the
crescent has been adopted by Arab Muslims and later
by other Muslims. The crescent and star also appears
on pre-Islamic coins of South Arabia.

In the 12th century the crescent and star were

adopted by the Turks and since then the crescent has
been a frequent symbol used by powerful Muslim
empires such as the Ottomans and the Mughals. It is a
historical symbol of the Turks, associated especially
with the Ottoman Empire, but pre-Islamic Turkic
nations such as the Göktürks used the crescent and
star figure on their coins. (wikipedia)
So it’s no worse to use the swastika on a mosque, or as
a Muslim symbol (it obviously can’t be Islamic) than it
is to use the crescent.

CAN A PAGAN SYMBOL REPRESENT ISLAM?

Swastikas, crescents, stars, eagles, etc. may or may not
be “bad”, but a government that uses a pagan symbol
doesn’t seem to be saying they represent Allah as
sovereign. Coincidentally, no government is doing a
good job implementing the authority of Allah and his
Messenger (sA’a&s).

“And he shares his authority with no one (Qur-an

18.26)

DECORATING MOSQUES IS A SIGN OF SPIRITUAL

DECLINE AND MATERIALISM
“Narrated / Authority of: Anas bin Malik: The
Messenger of Allah (sAaws) said: ‘The Hour will not
begin until the people compete in (building) masjids
(mosques).’” (Sunan Ibn Majah) (ahadith.co.uk)
‘Umar ordered that the mosque be rebuilt and he said:
Protect the people from rain, but beware of using red
or yellow (for adornment) and distracting the people.

Anas said: They build mosques and boast about that,

but they do not use them for worship except rarely.

Ibn ‘Abbaas said: You are going to adorn (mosques) as

the Jews and Christians adorn (their places of
worship) (Islam Question & Answer)

——————————

Verily the Safa and Marwa [two small mountains now

located in the Masjid al-Haram in Makka] are among
the Symbols of Allah. So, if one visits the House in the
Season or at other times, there is no blame on him if he
should compass them round. If any one obeys his own
impulse to good, be sure that God is Thankful and All
Knowing (Qur-an 2.158)

And [mention, O Muhammad], when We designated

for Abraham the site of the House, [saying], “Do not
associate anything with Me and purify My House for
those who perform Tawaf and those who stand [in
prayer] and those who bow and prostrate.
And proclaim to the people the Hajj [pilgrimage]; they
will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they
will come from every distant pass –

That they may witness benefits for themselves and

mention the name of Allah on known days over what
He has provided for them of [sacrificial] animals. So
eat of them and feed the miserable and poor…

Then let them end their untidiness and fulfill their

vows and perform Tawaf around the ancient House.

That [is so]. And whoever honors the symbols of

Allah – indeed, it is from the piety of hearts. (Qur-an
22 (Suratu-lHajj))

The Swastika in Japan

We can often see the swastika symbol in Japan. Does
this
mean that Japan is fascist and anti-semite? I guess
that you understand
that asking the question is answering it. It is true
that Japan was an
ally of Hitler during the second world war but it had
no connections
with Jewish people whatsoever (except some legends
claiming that a tribe
of Israelites ended up in Japan) so they didn’t have
any connection
with the anti-semite movement.

The symbol of the swastika is a well documented

ancient
symbol used around the world. It’s first recorded
occurence dates all
the way back the the 6th to 5th millennium BC when
it was used in the
“Vinca script” of Neolithic Europe. After that it has
been used by
primitive society consitently from China to the
Americas passing by
Greece and Africa.
A manhole in Hirosaki, Japan

A Coca-Cola advertisement
dating 1925
The word swastika come from the Sanskrit and it
means “that which is
associated with well-being.” Its meaning is one of
luck, well-being. It
has been used consistently around the world, even in
the U.S. as a
good-luck charm, especially by early aviators.
Native americans and Chinese also used it to
represent the sun.
 How the world loved the swastika - until
Hitler stole it
By Mukti Jain CampionKiev
 23 October 2014

Image copyrightSTEVEN HELLER

In the Western world the swastika is synonymous

with fascism, but it goes back thousands of years
and has been used as a symbol of good fortune in
almost every culture in the world. As more
evidence emerges of its long pre-Nazi history in
Europe, can this ancient sign ever shake off its evil
associations?

In the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit, swastika

means "well-being". The symbol has been used by
Hindus, Buddhists and Jains for millennia and is
commonly assumed to be an Indian sign.
Early Western travellers to Asia were inspired by its
positive and ancient associations and started using it
back home. By the beginning of the 20th Century there
was a huge fad for the swastika as a benign good luck
symbol.
In his book The Swastika: Symbol Beyond
Redemption? US graphic design writer Steven Heller
shows how it was enthusiastically adopted in the West
as an architectural motif, on advertising and product
design.
Image copyrightSTEVEN HELLERImage caption20th
Century fad: Fruit packaging, a Coca-Cola pendant, and
a pack of cards, all from the US
"Coca-Cola used it. Carlsberg used it on their beer
bottles. The Boy Scouts adopted it and the Girls' Club
of America called their magazine Swastika. They
would even send out swastika badges to their young
readers as a prize for selling copies of the magazine,"
he says.
It was used by American military units during World
War One and it could be seen on RAF planes as late as
1939. Most of these benign uses came to a halt in the
1930s as the Nazis rose to power in Germany.
The Nazi use of the swastika stems from the work of
19th Century German scholars translating old Indian
texts, who noticed similarities between their own
language and Sanskrit. They concluded that Indians
and Germans must have had a shared ancestry and
imagined a race of white god-like warriors they called
Aryans.
Image copyrightALAMYImage captionA Hindu boy
with a shaved head, and a giant vase at a Buddhist
temple in Japan
This idea was seized upon by anti-Semitic nationalist
groups who appropriated the swastika as an Aryan
symbol to boost a sense of ancient lineage for the
Germanic people.

Image copyrightMUKTI JAIN CAMPION

We will always remember what the swastika was
like in our life - a symbol of pure evilFreddie
Knoller, Holocaust survivor
The black straight-armed hakenkreuz (hooked cross)
on the distinctive white circle and red background of
the Nazi flag would become the most hated symbol of
the 20th Century, inextricably linked to the atrocities
committed under the Third Reich.
"For the Jewish people the swastika is a symbol of fear,
of suppression, and of extermination. It's a symbol that
we will never ever be able to change," says 93-year-old
Holocaust survivor Freddie Knoller. "If they put the
swastika on gravestones or synagogues, it puts a fear
into us. Surely it shouldn't happen again."
The swastika was banned in Germany at the end of the
war and Germany tried unsuccessfully to introduce an
EU-wide ban in 2007.
The irony is that the swastika is more European in
origin than most people realise. Archaeological finds
have long demonstrated that the swastika is a very old
symbol, but ancient examples are by no means limited
to India. It was used by the Ancient Greeks, Celts, and
Anglo-Saxons and some of the oldest examples have
been found in Eastern Europe, from the Baltic to the
Balkans .
If you want to see just how deeply rooted the swastika
pattern is in Europe, a good place to start is Kiev
where the National Museum of the History of Ukraine
has an impressive range of exhibits.

Image copyrightMUKTI JANE CAMPION

Among the museum's most highly prized treasures is a
small ivory figurine of a female bird. Made from the
tusk of a mammoth, it was found in 1908 at the
Palaeolithic settlement of Mezin near the Russian
border.
Find out more
 Image copyrightMUKTI
JAIN CAMPION
Mukti Jain Campion is the producer and presenter
of Reclaiming the Swastika. You can listen on BBC
Radio 4 at 11:00 on Friday 24 October - or for another
30 days on the BBC iPlayer.
BBC iWonder: Why did ordinary people commit
atrocities during the Holocaust?
On the torso of the bird is engraved an intricate
meander pattern of joined up swastikas. It's the oldest
identified swastika pattern in the world and has been
radio carbon-dated to an astonishing 15,000 years
ago. The bird was found with a number of phallic
objects which supports the idea that the swastika
pattern was used as a fertility symbol.
In 1965 a palaeontologist called Valentina Bibikova
discovered that the swastika meander pattern on the
bird is very similar to the naturally occurring pattern
visible on a cross-section of ivory. Could it be that the
Palaeolithic makers of the figurine were simply
reflecting what they saw in nature - the huge
mammoth they associated with well-being and
fertility?
Single swastikas began to appear in the Neolithic
Vinca culture across south-eastern Europe around
7,000 years ago. But it's in the Bronze Age that they
became more widespread across the whole of Europe.
In the Museum's collection there are clay pots with
single swastikas encircling their upper half which date
back to around 4,000 years ago. When the Nazis
occupied Kiev in World War Two they were so
convinced that these pots were evidence of their own
Aryan ancestors that they took them back to Germany.
(They were returned after the war.)
In the Museum's Grecian collection, the swastika is
visible as the architectural ornament which has come
to be known as the Greek key pattern, widely used on
tiles and textiles to this day.
Image copyrightMUKTI JAIN CAMPION AND STEVEN
HELLERImage captionLeft: Grecian architectural
swastikas in the Kiev museum. Right: Brooklyn
Academy of Music (New York)
The Ancient Greeks also used single swastika motifs to
decorate their pots and vases. One fragment in the
collection from around 7th Century BCE shows a
swastika with limbs like unfurling tendrils painted
under the belly of a goat.
 Image copyrightMUKTI
JAIN CAMPIONImage captionFragments of a 12th
Century princess's collar
Perhaps the most surprising exhibit in the museum is
of fragile textile fragments that have survived from the
12th Century AD. They are believed to belong to the
dress collar of a Slav princess, embroidered with gold
crosses and swastikas to ward off evil.
The swastika remained a popular embroidery motif in
Eastern Europe and Russia right up to World War
Two. A Russian author called Pavel Kutenkov has
identified nearly 200 variations across the region. But
the hakenkreuz remains a highly charged symbol. In
1941 Kiev was the site of one of the worst Nazi mass
murders of the Holocaust when nearly 34,000 Jews
were rounded up and killed at the ravine of Babi Yar.
In Western Europe the use of indigenous ancient
swastikas petered out long before the modern era but
examples can be found in many places such as the
famous Bronze Age Swastika Stone on Ilkley Moor
in Yorkshire.
Some people think this long history can help revive the
symbol in Europe as something positive. Peter
Madsen, owner of an upmarket tattoo parlour in
Copenhagen says the swastika is an element of Norse
mythology that holds a strong appeal to many
Scandinavians. He is one of the founders of last year's
Learn to Love the Swastika Day on 13 November,
when tattoo artists around the world offered free
swastikas, to raise awareness of the symbol's long
multicultural past.
"The swastika is a symbol of love and Hitler abused it.
We're not trying to reclaim the hakenkreuz. That
would be impossible. Nor is it something we want
people to forget," he says.
Image copyrightMUKTI JAIN CAMPIONImage
captionOne of the supporters of the Learn to Love the
Swastika movement
"We just want people to know that the swastika comes
in many other forms, none of which have ever been
used for anything bad. We are also trying to show the
right-wing fascists that it's wrong to use this symbol. If
we can educate the public about the true meanings of
the swastika, maybe we can take it away from the
fascists."
But for those like Freddie Knoller who have
experienced the horrors of fascism, the prospect of
learning to love the swastika is not so easy.
"For the people who went through the Holocaust, we
will always remember what the swastika was like in
our life - a symbol of pure evil," he says.
"We didn't know how the symbol dates back so many
thousands of years ago. But I think it's interesting for
people to learn that the swastika was not always the
symbol of fascism."
Pictures of the US Army biplane, of pre-war products
from the US, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music are
from the collection of Steven Heller.
Mukti Jain Campion is the producer and presenter
of Reclaiming the Swastika on BBC Radio 4 at 11:00
on Friday 24 October - and on the BBC iPlayer for 30
days after broadcast.
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