Talk:Swastika
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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 said 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." 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. |
 | Swastika is a former featured article. Please see the links under Article milestones below for its original nomination page (for older articles, check the nomination archive) and why it was removed. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 | This article was nominated for merging with Sauwastika on 16 November 2020. The result of the discussion (permanent link) was to merge. |
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Direction of movement, Vinča & modern use
"The investigators put forth the hypothesis that the swastika moved westward from the Indian subcontinent to Finland, Scandinavia, the Scottish Highlands and other parts of Europe."
This is backwards to the apparent dates of the inscriptions found e.g. it appears in Ukraine ~10,000bce, then Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria/Serbia ~3,000 to 6,000bce, then Iran ~5,000bce, then the Indian subcontinent ~3,000bce, indicating it was moving Eastward. The introduction of the article also suggests appropriation of the symbol from the East, despite the archaeological evidence suggesting the opposite.
The article should probably discuss the Vinča archeological finds more in the prehistory section. It's worth noting that archaeological surveys unearthed Vinča symbols around the end of the 1800s and start of the last century. It was in use as a flag emblem by the National Christian Union party, led by Alexandru Cuza, in Romania, in 1922. 14 years prior, Vinča archaeological finds had been made in Serbia. Evidence suggesting that it was selected as an emblem as a result of its presence in the archeological finds can be found in the article pertaining to Cuza himself; e.g. Cuza mentions the Swastika and "signs were found on our soil", an apparent reference to the Vinča archaeological finds. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.0.56.5016:40, 1 May 2024 (talk)
Why not use the word Indian then? Or Ancient India? Or Hinduism? And so on?
The oldest known religion on Earth is Hinduism. Therefore the oldest known place to have the Swastika is Hinduism in Ancient India. So in this article it should say that the Swastkia is believed to orifinally come from Hinduism in Ancient India. And yet when a reader reads this article its not that clear that the Swastiake comes fomr Hinduism in Ancient India. Even when this article mentions Sanskrit, it doesnt say it came from the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit. No. It just says it comes from Sanskrit. On other pages about Greeces, China, Egphty, and so on, they will mention in detail that something comes from there. They will give credit. But on many wikipedia articles on India they don't do this. In many wikipedia articles they dont want to use the word Indian. They want to use South Asian. Indo. Asian. And so on. Why not just use the word Indian? The reason I bring this up, is becuase there are many people who dont know basic things that come from India. In this article, it says the Swastika word comes from Sanskrit. Why not write from the ancient Indian language Sansskrit? The reason this is important, is becuase it lets the reader know there is a connection to India then. And last thing, in other articles, they have no problem mentioning ancient Greece, ancient China, Ancient Egpyt and so on. But there is this thing against Ancient India. You dont have to believe me. Check out the articles. Go find out about Buddhism on wikiepdia. Or the founder of Buddhism on Wikiepdia. Or the history of chess on Wikiedpedia. Or other things that have to do with something in the past of India. It is very common on wikiepedia. And just so you know, when I write about this in these type of sections, many people in charge of the page will act very negative, and say things like "India didn't exist" or "There is no such thing as "India" or "This is propoganda from pro India people" and so on. There is a real pattern of anti India stuff on wikipedia. And if you're going to be that way, then be consistent, and do it for the other articles on other countires. Take out Ancient Greece, and Ancient China, and Ancient Egpthy, and so on. ~2025-33210-55 (talk) 18:46, 29 January 2026 (UTC)
- What are you actually asking for? The term "India" appears 36 times in this article. --jpgordon𝄢𝄆𝄐𝄇 20:10, 29 January 2026 (UTC)
- "the oldest known place to have the Swastika is Hinduism in Ancient India. So in this article it should say that the Swastkia is believed to orifinally come from Hinduism in Ancient India." But that's not true, as the article explains. DeCausa (talk) 22:23, 29 January 2026 (UTC)
- Hinduism isn't a place. --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 19:49, 4 February 2026 (UTC)