Swastika Past Present
- This is a preview of the essay.
To view the full text you must login!
Swastika, The Corruption of an Ancient Symbol
The Swastika is an ancient symbol that dates back further than the Ankh of the Egyptians. Up until the twentieth century, the Swastika (or Sauvastika {in the counter-clockwise direction}) was a sign of life and good-luck. As the twentieth century came and the Nazis came into power, the Swastika was perverted to what most people see it as today. Hitler had stolen the Swastika from the insignia of the Freikorps, a group used by the Social Democrat Noske in 1919 who were paid by the government War Ministry of Russia. The swastika has been known by many names including: Swasticka, Cross Cramponned (English heraldic term relating to angle-irons {crampons}), Cross Gammadion (Greek, pertaining to the Greek letter "G" or "Gamma"), Cross of St. Bridget (Irish), Crux Dissimulata (Latin "Cross Dissimulated" used as a Christian symbol by the earlier Christians to avoid persecution), Hakenkruz (German "hooked cross"), Jaina Cross (swastika-like symbol of the Jains of India), Pramantha (Brahmin {alleged fire-making tool}).
Anciently, the Swastika can be found throughout numerous cultures including China, Japan, India, and parts of southern Europe. The word "swastika" comes from the Sanskrit svastika "su" meaning "good," "asti" meaning "to be" and "ka" as a suffix. Until the Nazi regime, the Swastika was meant for 3,000 years to represent life, sun, power, strength, and good luck. The Swastika was used positively even in the early twentieth century...