The Swastika^329Few symbols have had as much
impact on humankind as the
swastika. No other known
symbol in the primitive or
civilized world is as old; scholars
argue that it predates the
Egyptian ankh (the symbol for
“life”). No other mark has
turned up in so many distant
and different cultures,
suggesting an enormous
migration or diaspora of peoples
joined by a common belief or
understanding. Yet no symbol in
recent memory elicits such fear
and loathing while at the same
time such reverence and respect. Arguably not even the Latin (or Christian)
cross exerts as much raw emotional power throughout the world today.
This hooked cross, also referred to as a sun-wheel, which gets
its name from the Sanskrit word svastika, meaning “well being,” “good
fortune,” and “luck,” and resembles the Indian mystic figure svastikaya,a
“sign of benediction,” was adopted by Adolf Hitler in the summer of 1920
as the emblem of the nascent National Socialist Workers Party (the Nazis).
Refashioned by Hitler to maximize its inherent graphic power, the Haken-
kreuz(the German word for hooked cross), emblazoned on armbands and
flags, represented this nationalistic political and social movement. From
that moment, this venerable symbol was forever associated with the most
heinous crimes perpetrated by man.
“The fact that an ignominious fanatic placed a swastika on his
battle flag is insufficient reason for ignoring this symbol’s historic
significance,” wrote Henry Dreyfuss inSymbol Sourcebook: An Authoritative
Guide to International Graphic Symbols.He suggested that the swastika must
not be totally rejected because it was co-opted by a madman and embraced
by a blind nation. Indeed, the swastika has not entirely lost all of its former
mystic significance. It is still employed in rituals in some Eastern and Far
Eastern cultures. But more important, as the single most charged symbol of