Hakenkreuz = Hooked Cross, NOT Swastika
A couple of weeks ago, in an anti-semitic attack, one of Montreal’s largest synagogue was vandalized with a graffiti of what people in the West call “Swastika” — a German hate symbol reminiscent of the massacre of over six million Jews in the Nazi concentration camps. In early December last year, a similar attack happened on Anne Frank memorial in Boise, Idaho.
When I went through the comments on the news of the Montreal synagogue attack, I was quickly able to see some of the accounts (mostly Hindus) suggesting the symbol is not “Swastika” but a Nazi hate symbol. But what was missing in every single post, except one or two, was the explanation of what the Nazi symbol is and what actually is Swastika. Half knowledge doesn’t help. While there is a growing population, including Jews, understanding that the Nazi symbol shouldn’t be called Swastika since Swastika (the one and only) is an auspicious symbol of not just Hindus but also Buddhists and Jain, not many have tried to understand what the Nazi symbol is and its origins. I am not going very deep in this post but will provide a brief along with much of the references one can go through (that I went through).
It is very important that when we say that the Nazi symbol is NOT Swastika, we also mention what it is. If we look at the German version of Mein Kampf (like this: https://mk.christogenea.org/_files/Mein_Kampf_German.pdf), the word Swastika appears nowhere. Hakenkreuz, on the other hand, had at least 9 occurrences. Just do a CTRL+F.
While some of the initial translations such as that of E.T.S. Dugdale accurately translates “Hakenkreuz” to “hooked cross”, the translation which became popular was the one by an Irish Catholic Priest James Vincent Murphy who, while avoiding translating many German words with no English equivalents, seemed okay to translate (or mistranslate) the German word “Hakenkreuz” to “Swastika” — especially when “Swastika” isn’t even an English word.
So, what is Swastika (Hindu Symbol)?
The actual Swastika is a sacred symbol for Hindus, Buddhists and Jains around the world. It is a combination of two words — ‘su’ (means ‘good’) and ‘asti’ (means ‘to exist’). It is a symbol of peace, well being and auspiciousness and has symbolized that since thousands of years in the Indian civilization. Indic religions use it on many auspicious occasions like festivals, house warming, havans, puja and so on. Read more about it here. The word is of Indian origin — Sanskrit — and so far there doesn’t seem to be any evidence that Hitler knew Sanskrit.
So, what is Hakenkreuz?
Hakenkreuz literally means “Hooked Cross” — a Christian symbol. Plenty of evidence is available of the use of “Hooked Cross” in the churches around the world — be it Benedictine Monastery in Austria (where Hitler grew up), or Byzantine Church in Israel, or Lalibela Church in Ethiopia or Plaosnik Baptistery in Macedonia. Hitler was born and raised Christian. There is plenty of literary evidence also available on the use of the word Hakenkreuz (hooked cross) along with Christenkreuz (Christian cross). Read this for more understanding.
Interestingly, Google has also fallen for this mistranslation. Amusingly, after setting up the translation from German to English — when you type “Christen”, it translates to “Christians”; when you type “Kreuz”, it translates to “Cross”, so when you type “Christenkreuz”, it translates to, as expected, “Christian Cross”. However, when you type “Haken”, it translates to “Hook”; when you type “Kreuz”, it translates to “Cross”, but when you type “Hakenkreuz”, it magically becomes “Swastika”!!
Why mis-translate?
In simple words, to hide the Christian origins of Hitler’s hate symbol. To absolve the Church from one of the largest genocides on the face of the earth of the people who, according to the Church at that time, were Christ-killers. Also, further the anti-paganism by putting on hook the last living ancient civilization and the largest non-Abrahamic religion, even when they were one of the few ones who welcomed Jews who were being persecuted across the world. It was also convenient for the Church to attribute this hate symbol Hinduism name since it further propagated the Aryan Invasion Theory, comprehensively disproved now and abandoned by the colonial Europeans after the horrors of the second world war but continued to be taught in their colonies.
It is important to understand the correct origins of the persecution of Jews in the mid 20th century in Europe. It does take some amount of reading, yes, but it will prevent cases like:
- European Union attempt to ban all uses of Swastika irrespective of renditions or
- A random person asking a town in New York state to change its name or
- The State of New York considered the bill to mandate that the Swastika be taught as a symbol of hatred and intolerance in all New York schools.
At a larger level, it stigmatizes one-sixth of the world’s population for no fault of their own. It creates a hateful atmosphere for Hindu students outside India, especially in the West, for practicing their faith.
References and Additional Read:
https://cohna.org/swastika-is-not-hakenkreuz/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoGxbQexse0
https://mk.christogenea.org/_files/Mein_Kampf_German.pdf
http://der-fuehrer.org/meinkampf/english/Mein%20Kampf%20(Ford%20Translation).pdf
https://library.abundanthope.org/index_htm_files/mein-kampf-adolf-hitler-1931.pdf
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/1999/10/pope-pius-xii-199910
https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-swastika/
