For more information
Call 1-800-351-0222
Call 1-800-351-0222
SWASTIKA.
Term Paper ID:25975
Essay Subject:
Examines symbol's origins, history & various cultural, religious, allegorical & political (Nazi) interpretations.... More...
10 Pages / 2250 Words
6 sources, 14 Citations,
MLA Format
$40.00
More Papers on This Topic
Paper Abstract:
Examines symbol's origins, history & various cultural, religious, allegorical & political (Nazi) interpretations.
Paper Introduction:
INTRODUCTION
The swastika is an equilateral cross with arms bent at right angles, all in the same rotary direction, usually clockwise. The swastika as an ancient symbol of prosperity and good fortune, and it was widely distributed throughout the ancient and modern world. The word for this symbol is derived from the Sanskrit svastika, which means "conducive to well being." The swastika was a favorite symbol on ancient Mesopotamian coinage. In Scandinavia, the left hand swastika was the sign for the god Thor's hammer. The swastika also appeared in early Christian and Byzantine art and was known as the gammadion cross, or crux gammata, because it could be constructed from four Greek gammas attached to a common base. The symbol can also be found in South and Central America, among the Maya, and in North Ame
Text of the Paper:
The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper.
The first ofthese coupons depicted a white swastika against a black background. The left-hand swastikamore often stands for night, the terrifying goddess Kali, and magicalpractices. Smith derived from theNazi march in Skokie, Illinois, and the Supreme Court agreed with lowercourts that the Village of Skokie was improperly limiting free speechrights by making undue demands on the marchers in order to prevent themarch altogether. It also showsthat symbols do not have meaning in themselves, an inherent meaning, butonly mean what a society accepts as its meaning. Some believe that the swastika sign was created fist by the primitiveAryans. All religions had a number of symbols and myths whichexpressed veneration for the sun, and many of the heroes of the Greek mythswere only fanciful allegories of the journey of the sun across the heavens,where dangers were overcome for the good of all mankind. New Hyde Park, New York: University Books, 1961.Encyclopedia Britannica Online. http://www.eb.com:195/bol.Olderr, S. The swastika as anancient symbol of prosperity and good fortune, and it was widelydistributed throughout the ancient and modern world. At somepoint "during the summer of 192 , the first party flag was shown at LakeTegernsee . On Sept. This seems to implythat the term refers to a pattern to fill the foot of the window and so"fill foot." This might refer to any convenient pattern, but the swastikawas probably the most common of all known patterns and so gradually becameassociated with fylfot. The purpose was to promote and facilitate the sale ofnational War Savings Certificates, adorned with the swastika. During the war, Britain issued national WarSavings coupons using the swastika for its symbol. the 'Ortsgruppe Munchen' flag was generally regarded as the'first' flag of the Party" ("Origin of the Swastika Flag"). Wallis. Works CitedBudge, Sir. The right-hand version isconsidered a solar symbol because it imitates the course taken daily by thesun in the rotation of its arms, for in the Northern Hemisphere the sunappears to pass from east, then south, to west. The swastika placed in a circle or atriangle indicates cosmic harmony, but if the tops are curved, the symbolmeans death. Often, as on some Cretan coins, the sun is shown in the center ofthe swastika, which suggests its unmistakable association with the sun"(Whittick 271). The Hindus (andalso Jainas) use the swastika to mark the opening pages of their accountbooks, thresholds, doors, and offerings. To this effect, theNational War Savings Committee was established on March 3 , 1916. There is considerable disagreement over the original meaning of thesymbol, though there is an explanation that has garnered a good deal ofsupport. The clockwise swastika represents increase, growth, spring,the sun, good luck, and white magic, while the counter-clockwise swastikarepresents decay, darkness, death, the autumnal sun, ill fortune, blackmagic, and ultimately the emblem of Nazi Germany (Olderr 132). The sun was considered to be thegreat force of good because it was what provided light and warmth and sosupported life. A recent publication cited on thewebsite "Origin of the Swastika Flag" suggests other influences and reasonsas well: "what inspired Hitler to use the swastika as a symbol for theNSDAP was its use by the 'Thule-Gesellschaft' [organization] since therewere many connections between them and the DAP" ("Origin of the SwastikaFlag"). The modern Tibetan Buddhists use it as a clothingdecoration. In ancient times, theswastika was employed in most countries and in various religions fromWestern Europe through India and China, and the only countries in which thesymbol seems never to have appeared were Egypt, Babylon, and Assyria. The case of Collin v. As noted, D'Alviella has shown how a representation ofthe sun in three or four positions if its course shows the course of thesun across the heavens, as in modern astronomical diagrams, and the sun inthree or four positions can be seen distinctly in some ancient Hindurepresentations. Thesymbol can also be found in South and Central America, among the Maya, andin North America, principally among the Navajo (Encyclopedia BritannicaOnline). Such marches are oftenprovocative less because neo-Nazis are marching than because those marchersuse hated symbols such as the swastika. It has also been suggested that thefour arms represent the four quarters of the heavens or earth and that thewhole sign may be an emblem of Indra, or Dyaus, or Zeus, or Jupiter, orThor, depending on where this claim is made (Budge 333). This flagwas also intended to compete with the red flag of the Communists and tomake a better showing than theirs. INTRODUCTION The swastika is an equilateral cross with arms bent at right angles,all in the same rotary direction, usually clockwise. Greek lovestories were also based on the symbolism of the sun, among them the myth ofApollo and Daphne and that of Orpheus and Eurydice, and both myths "expressthe sad but inevitable death of the dawn at the gradual approach of thesun" (Whittick 271). In Scandinavia, the left-hand swastika was the sign for the godThor's hammer. Symbolism: A Comprehensive Dictionary. Thesymbol can be found on coins in Crete, ornaments in Mycenae, on ancientcoins in Gaul, in Roman mosaics, and on ancient pottery and coins fromGreece, Cyprus, Rhodes, and Etruria. In the Buddhist tradition, the swastika symbolizes the feet, orthe footprints, of the Buddha and is often placed at the beginning and endof inscriptions. This is especially true in aJewish community such as Skokie, and the swastika, the Iron Cross, the "SS"sign, and other symbols of the Nazi element in World War II revive oldmemories, fears, and anger. Budge also disputes that the fylfot and the swastika arethe same thing: "Those who regard the grammadion and the swastika as oneand the same sign have confounded the simple cross, which was used in theWest by pagans long before the coming of Christ, with the swastika, whichis a purely Aryan symbol and, of course, of pagan origin" (Budge 332).Budge also says that the home of the swastika is undoubtedly India, and heoffers different views of how it originated. The association of the swastika with Nazi Germany has, of course,stigmatized the symbol so that people have difficulty seeing it in anyother context. After long trials I also found a definite proportion betweenthe size of the flag and the size of the white disk, as well as the shapeand thickness of the swastika" ("Origin of the Swastika Flag"). The swastika also appeared in early Christian and Byzantineart and was known as the gammadion cross, or crux gammata, because it couldbe constructed from four Greek gammas attached to a common base. some of the versions and names are noted above. The swastika placed over a dooris a protection against fire. In 191 , a poet and nationalist ideologuenamed Guido von List suggested the swastika as a symbol for all anti-Semitic organizations, and when the National Socialist Party was formed in1919-2 , it followed his lead and adopted the symbol. Among the Jainas, the swastika is the emblem oftheir seventh Tirthankara (saint), and its four arms are also said toremind the worshiper of the four possible places of rebirth--in the animalor plant world, in hell, on Earth, or in the spirit world. As Buddhism spread, the swastika passed into the iconographyof China and Japan, and there it has been used to denote plurality,abundance, prosperity, and long life. The swastika is the most important symbol in the history of symbolismand has been used for a wide variety of meanings. Hitler wrote about deciding what flag the Nazi Party would use in hisbook Mein Kampf, and he shows a desire to have a new flag, one that was notreminiscent of the flag of the Germany that preceded his rule. Now, coupons with red swastikas were the standard, but in the areaserviced by the Scottish Savings Committee, green swastika coupons weresold. Because of this, most others make the associationimmediately and know little of the history of the symbol (EncyclopediaBritannica Online). The march took place. The fact that the symbolwas accepted by so many societies giving it essentially the same meaningdoes not change the fact that the meaning was only ascribed, and after itsassociation with the Nazis, the meaning has become too tainted for the oldmeaning to have much weight in most of the world. The British use extended from 1916 to 1939, and the savingscoupons had been issued by the British to help finance the great costs ofthe First World War: "Faced with a situation where literally every pennycounted, the British government sought a method by which to tap theincreasing financial resources of the working class. The swastika also represents the various positions of thesun in its course and also gives the impression or rotary movement by meansof its arms (Whittick 27 -271). Olderr says that the swastike represented revival, prosperity, goodfortune, felicity, the sun, agriculture, the passing of generations, speed,rotation, and the Mystic Center in the West. 15, 1935,the black swastika on a white circle with a red background was made thenational flag of Germany. The symbol wasused as a watermark on a series of Latvian postage stamps issued in the192 s and 193 s and was seen on a number of Latvian air male semi-postalsin 1933. CONCLUSION The story of the swastika shows how a symbol can have one meaningeven for centuries and yet be changed by association with some specificgroup or event so that the meaning of the symbol is changed. "Gret Britain Used Swastika on War Savings Coupon Until 1939." Stamps (February 11, 1995), 1 .Whittick, A. The word for thissymbol is derived from the Sanskrit svastika, which means "conducive towell-being." The swastika was a favorite symbol on ancient Mesopotamiancoinage. In China, the symbol meantgood luck and the seal of Buddha's heart. One view is that the swastikarepresented Ganesa and the male principle, while the sauvastika representedthe goddess Kali and the female principle. In German the swastika is called Hakenkreuz, and in Nazi Germany itbecame the national symbol. London: McFarland, 1986."Origin of the Swastika Flag." http://fotw.digibel.be/flags/ de-reich.html#origin.Semeniuk, John. Thedesign was by Lancelot Speed, who said he chose the swastika because itsymbolized good fortune. In England thesymbol was called fylfot, and this is explained as deriving from the Norseword fiol (or full, or numerous) and fot (foot) and translated into OldEnglish. Branford, 196 . Obviously, there is considerable irony in the fact that Britainadopted the swastika in order to beat Germany in the war, and Britaincontinued using the symbol even after it had been adopted by the Nazi Partyas its symbol and did so until August 12, 1939 just before Germany invadedPoland and started World War II (Semeniuk 1 ). The deity with the greatest power in the ancient world was thesun, or associated with the sun, and this is true even in areas such asEgypt where the swastika did not appear. Another view is that the commonsign for forked lightning was a form of Z, and if this is crossed by asecond such sign, the result will be a swastika. Another name for it is Thor's hammer, as noted, orgammadion, but the symbol is in fact much older than any of its names(Whittick 27 ). Other symbols that gained wide use in the ancient world include thedisk and the equilateral cross, and the two are often represented with theswastika: "The general likeness of the disk to the sun is beyond doubt, andits association with the gammadion implies a similar meaning in the twosymbols. E.A. The Oxford Dictionary gives a different account and says the wordderived from a medieval manuscript from about 15 which containedinstructions for the decoration of a memorial window. He decideson one and does not give credit for the choice to von List or anyone else:"I myself, meanwhile, after innumerable attempts, had laid down a finalform; a flag with a red background, a white disk, and a black swastika inthe middle. Still another view isthat the swastika in its simplest form is a representation of the twopieces of wood used in making a fire. Symbols, Signs and Their Meaning. some early Christianmystics saw the sign differently and considered the two lines at rightangles a symbol of Christ as the cornerstone, and architects and designersin the Middle Ages used the Gamma freely in their reliefs and patterns.Four of them grouped with their angles towards each other made the form ofthe Greek cross. Thenational committee in turn formed local branches throughout Great Britain"(Semeniuk 1 ). MEANING OF THE SWASTIKA The swastika has had a religious connotation for centuries andcontinues to be seen in this light in some places. The symbol iscut into the pedestals of statues of the Buddha and on the breasts offigures of the Bodhisattvas, or those who would one day become Buddhas.The Empress Wu in the seventh century ordered that the sign be used as asymbol for the sun (Budge 335). The Chinese name for the symbol is lei wen, or "thunder-scroll,"associating the sign with phenomena in the sky (Budge 333). The term gammadion as applied to this sign, meaning a cross withgammas, because the short lines at right angles to the arms make eachresemble Gamma, a letter of the Greek alphabet. A clear distinction should bemade between the right-hand swastika, which moves in a clockwise direction,and the left-hand swastika (more correctly called the sauvastika), whichmoves in a counterclockwise direction. . The Swastika is further identifiedwith the cross, and this may explain its presence on Christian tombstonesin Ireland and Scotland. The swastika symbol today has an incendiary effect, which is oftenwhat neo-Nazi groups want. . This version was discontinued in 1922, and thenext generation continued to use the swastika design, though with differentcolors. The symbol was used atthe end of the nineteenth century on postage stamps from China, using boththe left- and right-facing versions as a design element. The swastika continuesto be seen in India as the most widely used auspicious symbol of Hindus,Jainas, and Buddhists. Amulets and Talismans. Interestingly, the Germans were not the first to revive thesymbol in this century, however, and it was used prior to that in World WarI by the United Kingdom. This use of the swastika ended in World War IIwith the German surrender in May 1945, though the swastika is still favoredby neo-Nazi groups. Most archaeologists believe that the swastika originated as adiagrammatic representation of the course of the sun in the heavens, asnoted. Newton, Massachusetts: Charles T. Thus, "from 1919 until the summer of 1921 Hitler used the special'Nationalsozialistishe' library of Dr. Friedich Krohn, a very active memberof the 'Thule-Gesellschaft'" ("Origin of the Swastika Flag").
If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again:
or
We can write a Custom Essay just for you.
Browse Essays by Subject