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The twentieth century German Nazi Party was notable for their extensive use of graphic symbolism, most notably the Hakenkreuz (swastika) which it used as its principal symbol, and, in the form of the swastika flag, became the state flag of Nazi Germany.
Other Nazi symbols included:
- the eagle atop swastika, the formal symbol of the Nazi state
- the Iron Cross with swastika
- the fasces, a general symbol of fascism
- the SS bolts, the symbol of the SS
- various runes or rune-like symbols, such as the odal rune and the Wolfsangel
- the black SS uniform
- the death's head insignia of the SS-Totenkopfverbände and concentration camp units
- Adolf Hitler's personal standard
Runic letters
The letters of the runic alphabet have been used by Nazism and neo-Nazi groups that associate themselves with Germanic traditions, mainly the Sigel, Eihwaz, Tyr (c.f. Thor Steinar), Odal (see Odalism) and Algiz runes.
The fascination that runes seem to have exerted on the Nazis can be traced to the occult and völkisch author Guido von List, one of the important figures in Germanic mysticism and runic revivalism in the late 19th and early 20th century. In 1908, List published in Das Geheimnis der Runen ("The Secret of the Runes") a set of 18 so-called "Armanen Runes", based on the Younger Futhark, which were allegedly revealed to him in a state of temporary blindness after a cataract operation on both eyes in 1902.
In Nazi contexts, the s-rune is referred to as "Sig" (after List, probably from Anglo-Saxon Sigel). The "Wolfsangel", while not a rune historically, has the shape of List's "Gibor" rune.
Other symbols of the Nazi era
Whilst not directly being symbols of the Nazi Party, the yellow badge, pink triangle, and other concentration camp badges used to by the Nazis to identify their victims are now regarded as distinctive symbols of the Nazi era.
From 1933 to 1945 the Nazi regimes in Germany and the Nazi-occupied countries forced Jews to wear an identifying mark under the threat of death. There was no consistent requirements across Europe as to its color and shape: it varied from white armbands to a yellow Star of David badge..
Nazi concentration camp badges, made primarily of inverted triangles, were used in the concentration camps in the Nazi-occupied countries to identify the reason the prisoners had been placed there. The triangles were made of fabric and were sewn on jackets and shirts of the prisoners. These mandatory badges had specific meanings indicated by their color and shape.
Use of Nazi symbolism by neo-Nazi groups
Many Nazi symbols have been appropriated by neo-Nazi groups, including a number of runes, together with a variety of pseudo-swastika symbols such as the sun wheel, which suggest Nazi symbols without directly using them.
See also
External links
"Nazi symbolism"