Talk:Swastika/FAQ
 | Below are answers to frequently asked questions about the corresponding page Swastika. They address concerns, questions, and misconceptions which have repeatedly arisen on the talk page. Please feel free to change this material in light of new discussion. |
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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.
– did not, and other unrotated swastikas appear elsewhere in Nazi usage. The Nazi swastika symbolized the same ideas regardless of rotation.