page_title: Western use of the swastika in the early 20th century
section_title: Germany
hierarchical_section_title: Western use of the swastika in the early 20th century / Europe / Germany
context_page_description: The swastika is an ancient Indo-European religious symbol with the earliest known example found in Mezine, modern Ukraine, that generally takes the form of an equilateral cross with four legs each bent at 90 degrees in either right-facing form or its mirrored left-facing form. It is considered to be a sacred and auspicious symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism and dates back at least 11,000 years.
  The swastika symbol became a popular symbol of luck in the Western world in the early 20th century, as it had long been in Asia, and was often used for ornamentation. The Nazi Party adopted the symbol in the 1920s, and its use in Western countries faded after the Nazi association became dominant in the 1930s. In recent decades many public swastikas have been removed or covered over, although others have been deliberately retained as part of debate about historical preservation.
context_section_description: The Swastika saw use by nationalist movements before Nazis emerged into prominence: the Bundesarchiv has photos from the 1920 Kapp Putsch showing Marinebrigade Ehrhardt Freikorps using the symbol.
caption: Swastikas on helmets and trucks during the Kapp Putsch
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