Symbols of the 3rd Reich. Why exactly the swastika became the symbol of the Third Reich. Working class symbols
Symbols of the Third Reich
While reading this part, the reader will have to plunge into the world of symbols. In order to correctly navigate in it, it is necessary to know the basic laws according to which the consciousness acts, believing in the special reality of the sign.
Translated from ancient Greek, the word "symbolism" means "connection, connection." Thus, the main task of the symbol is to link together the physical and the spiritual, the heavenly and the earthly, the familiar and the supernatural.
In the sign, two natures, or sides, are merged, as it were. This allows a person to find a correspondence between phenomena and their meaning and come to an understanding of the whole multitude of changes taking place around.
In this case, the sign acts directly, bypassing the logical apparatus of consciousness. The logician tries to build a system of correspondences between phenomena, introducing causal relationships between them. He explains the event "A" on the basis of the event "B" that happened shortly before him, without taking into account the reference to the Other world.
From a symbolist point of view, such thinking is fundamentally wrong. The other can only follow from one on the basis of a universal law operating both in the earthly and in the heavenly world. And the task of cognition is precisely to find such universal connections.
Symbolism is inherent in the magical perception of reality. The National Socialist movement was distinguished by just such a view of the world. Therefore, the role of symbols in the teachings of the Third Reich is much higher than, for example, in communist ideology.
In addition, if science presupposes proof and scientists, then symbolism is insight and interpreters, relying on the strength of their authority. Therefore, it was more suitable for Hitler than other methods of influencing the masses. A well-developed symbolic series, in his opinion, could do more to raise the people's spirit than hundreds of incomprehensible speeches of intellectuals.
Now the benefits of the active use of symbols are quite clear. But, in addition to all of the above, one more question remains: do the signs really have a mystical meaning and is it possible to control human energy on their basis?
Not a single person lives outside the symbolic space of a particular culture. And symbols not only replace some existing qualities (for example, courage or strength), but also serve as a kind of magnifier, allowing, in the absence of the designated object, to show it and even enhance its effect.
A good example of the action of a sign can be cited by referring to the life of primitive societies. When someone from a wild African tribe finds out that a famous sorcerer cursed him and performed such and such a ritual for this, he will not feel healthy until he begs another shaman to remove the spell. If no resistance is made, he can easily die.
The Vikings also used the same terrifying signs. The noses of their warships, the Drakkars, were decorated with figures of dragon heads, and they applied runic spells to their weapons. Centuries later, the SS men wore a ring with the image of a dead head on their finger, perhaps precisely in order to make themselves unforgiving and instill fear in their enemies.
One should not think that the world of symbols is a thing of the past forever. From time to time, he again comes to the surface, and then the one who is better able to use the ancient signs and use them to turn the opinion of the majority of people who are not aware of their action turns out to be stronger.
Swastika
Few would disagree today that the swastika is the most famous symbol of the fascist empire. In her ceremonies, he was of central importance, all the most significant were marked by his presence.
This is probably why in the countries that fought against the Third Reich, it is often given a negative meaning, the symbol of fascism is considered synonymous with destruction, death and dark forces.
But the swastika has a much more ancient and mysterious history. They began to apply it in mystical teachings long before the times when the nationalists of Germany drew attention to it, and they received it already containing a rich layer of meanings, in which we will try to figure it out.
The oldest drawing containing the image of the swastika was discovered on the territory of modern Transylvania. Scientists date it to the end of the Neolithic era. During the excavations of ancient Troy, Heinrich Schliemann found numerous stone slabs on which this sign was also carved.
It is interesting that in the area inhabited by Semitic tribes, in the upper Mesopotamia and Phenicia, the swastika is almost never found. Such observations gave the archaeologist Ernst Kraus back in 1891 to put forward the thesis that this symbol is inherent only in the peoples of the Indo-European root.
Following him, the famous mystic and occultist Guido von List, in works devoted to deciphering runic texts, in which, by the way, these images are also often found, supports this thesis. For Liszt, the swastika was a symbol of the fiery energy of the pure Aryan race. She also denoted the secret Nordic science and magical knowledge.
Traces of swastikas of various shapes are indeed found on the territory of the settlement of tribes that, according to the theory of anthropologists of that time, were of Aryan origin. Back in the VI millennium BC. e. she was known to the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula. From there, she got to almost all corners of Eurasia.
In ancient Chinese manuscripts, in which the hieroglyphic system has not yet fully developed, the image of the swastika denotes the concept of "region, country". It was understood, probably, that it resembles a circle gradually converging towards the center, as the entire territory of the country is closed on the capital and the emperor.
This symbol was widespread in India, and it was after the more ancient Harrap civilization was literally swept away by the Aryan tribes. There he denoted the sacred sacrificial fire, which the gods used during the creation of the world, and people - during the funeral rite and cremation.
The word "swastika" itself has an ancient Indian origin. Translated from Sanskrit, it sounds like "associated with the good." In Vedic culture, the swastika was used to denote the world circulation of all things. It is as if two geometric shapes - a square and a circle - converged in it. The first symbolizes the material world, its ribs correspond to the four elements and four cardinal points. But the image of the cosmos in this figure appears to be completely complete and does not contain a hint of any change.
The circle, on the other hand, is a sign of the sun or the firmament. It implies a cyclical change, the restoration of vitality. Among the nomadic peoples of the Mongolian steppes, the circle serves as a sign that it is necessary to begin to mix in a new place.
In alchemy, a circle with a dot in the middle denoted gold - the most perfect of all metals. The Rosicrucians continue this interpretation and use the circle as a symbol of imperial power. The center gave meaning to the circle, just as the king brought closer or punished his subjects.
Thus, the swastika encompasses both the stability of the material world and the changing cyclical force of nature. That is why in Indian mysticism it was interpreted as perfection.
On the footprint of the Buddha, in addition to the world wheel - the mandala - you can see numerous images of a cross with crossbars bent in a clockwise direction, which corresponds to the movement of the Sun. Often the cross is also depicted together with a lotus flower - a symbol of enlightenment.
It is no coincidence that it was with the spread of Buddhism, which made the swastika one of its symbols, that it came with a renewed meaning to the territory of China and Japan. In this religion, the swastika serves as a symbol of the sacred law of Prince Gotama.
Traces of this symbol have been found even among the indigenous inhabitants of Latin America. He penetrated into such dissimilar and distant religions as Shinto and early Christianity. In the Baltics and the Caucasus, it was used as a protective amulet until the middle of the 20th century.
Both medieval alchemists and modern esotericists and scientists tried to solve the riddle of the mystical meaning of the swastika. One of the most famous occultists of our time, René Guénon, wrote The Symbolism of the Cross. In it, he examines various ways of drawing this central figure for European culture, including the one that attracted Hitler and his associates.
According to Guénon, the swastika is one of the varieties of the horizontal cross, which serves as a symbol of the original principle that centers and orders the universe. Its curved ends serve as an example of the earthly material world, which is set in motion with the help of magical energy.
Although Guénon did not attach importance to the direction of rotation, it is known that Hitler treated this moment with extraordinary attention. He even decided to replace the left-sided swastika of the Thule society, which he took as a model, with the right-sided one found in ancient Indian texts.
What prompted him to take this step? The apparent direction of rotation will change when looking at the figure from above or below, while the symbol itself remains the same. Perhaps he wanted in this way to show the position of the Aryan man, standing above the earthly principle of development.
To Hermann Rauschning, whom the Fuhrer valued as a good companion and often had long conversations with him about politics and ideology, Hitler said the following words: "The swastika is the struggle for the victory of the Aryan movement and at the same time the swastika symbolizes creativity." Above, on the pages of the book, we have already discussed the solar Nordic race, in which this solar sign played an important role.
The famous psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich, who studied fascism and its influence on the consciousness of the masses, also did not ignore the attractiveness of the swastika for the people of Germany. But unlike Guenon, he used a sexual interpretation that was close to him and often used in psychology.
In his opinion, the symbol is not analyzed by the observer, but acts directly on his subconscious emotions. So, the swastika evokes in the subconscious the image of the bodies of two people, entwined one around the other. The horizontal and vertical lines correspond to the two directions of sexual intercourse.
The less a particular representative of society is sexually satisfied, the more he seeks to release the accumulated energy. This means that the swastika not only arouses strong emotions in him, but also directs them in the right direction, that is, for the benefit of the Third Reich and those who control it.
In addition, the additional shade of purity and honor that was imparted to the sign is important. Since many feel embarrassed when trying to fulfill their secret desires, it is very important to give them external sanction to do so. Moreover, if this is done by the leader, which Hitler was considered not without reason, such people will be infinitely grateful to him for their "liberation".
Aleister Crowley, whom many of his contemporaries considered a Satanist, also considered himself involved in the appearance of the swastika on the flag of Nazi Germany. In the margin of his notes, he mentions the fact that he offered this symbol to the German mystic Ludendorff between 1925 and 1926.
When the latter, an ardent supporter of the restoration of Aryan culture, a member of the Thule Society and the Order of the New Templars, asked Crowley for advice on the formation of the Nordic religion, he suggested that he use the swastika. In ancient Germanic manuscripts, it is often called the "hammer of Thor", which, as you know, always returned to the owner after being thrown, like an Australian boomerang.
The weapon of the god of war was named Mjolnir, which even sounds like the Russian word "lightning". Thus, the symbol of a cross with curved ends carries an additional shade of impetuous and destructive light power. Crowley must have taken this aspect into account when he proposed placing the swastika at the center of the entire Aryan cult.
However, it is more likely that Hitler borrowed the idea of using this symbol from people close to him from the occult environment. The famous mystic Karl Haushofer, which will be described in more detail below, argued that among the ancient Germanic magicians and priests - the Druids - the swastika was a symbol of fire and fertility. Therefore, she was included, along with the runes, in both combat and peaceful spells.
We have already written that the main sign of fascism came to the NSDAP flag from the coat of arms of the Tule society. However, many other occult societies also paid great attention to him. During the First World War, when many members of the secret order of the New Templars went to the front, they wore amulets with a swastika as amulets.
One could talk about the properties of this sign for a very long time. But the main mystical meaning has already begun to manifest itself. Let us once again point out its three components: activity, development, and solarity. It was they who allowed him to take center stage on the flag of the Third Reich.
Reich flag - the power and purity of the race
It is true that the flag of the state embodies the spirit of society. They are following him on the attack, since he is considered almost the embodiment of the homeland: the soldiers swear allegiance to him, and the loss of the flag is a shame for any army.
But, in addition, the flag makes a connection between the people, the land and the ruler. Indeed, on the battlefield in ancient times, a prince stood under him, it was he who was guided by during the battle. And in peacetime, he stood near the throne, carefully guarded until new battles.
Everyone, probably, remembered the footage of the 1945 Victory Parade: bowed fascist banners are carried along Red Square and thrown to the walls of the Kremlin to the drum roll. This scene fully reflects the fact that the symbolic value of the flag has not diminished over the years.
This whole scene is permeated with deep meaning. Although the battles were fought not only near Moscow, in the magical aspect the war took place precisely here - at the last frontier, at the walls of the sacred center, which was at the same time the center of power (the Kremlin). The flags of the divisions denote the defeated enemy soldiers, and not by chance the personal standard of Adolf Hitler, the fallen leader of the invaders, which has come to the forefront of the cameras.
Let's leave aside the complex symbolic world of the military parade for now and pay attention to another feature of the flag. His banner contains in a compressed form information about the type of country and the traditions of the people. The stars on the banner of the United States or the European Union, the number of stripes and their direction, colors - in a word, everything has its own special meaning, which is now understandable only to specialists in vexilography.
From the very times when flags appeared, they bore, first of all, the meaning of amulets - things that protect their owner. Only in this case it was about the whole people. The banners of the ancient Russian princes adorned with mythical birds, seraphim or the face of the Savior, designed to protect the army in battle. And on the flags of Great Britain and Switzerland, crosses are still depicted - signs of the patron saints of these countries.
This means that the standard of the state not only symbolizes the state itself, but also performs purely magical functions. In the Third Reich, where so much attention was paid to the mystical aspects of everyday life, all these moments could not be ignored.
Let's look again at the banner of Hitlerite Germany. On a red background in the center there is a white circle, which contains a black swastika - the main symbol of the Aryan revival. Let us examine sequentially all the semantic layers that were only briefly covered before.
The flag of the Third Reich was actually thoroughly copied from the banners under which supporters of the Nazi party, the NSDAP, went to rallies. And as you know, the occult society "Thule" played an important role in the creation of the National Socialist organization.
Thus, the roots of this symbol directly indicate that its creators put a special meaning in it. The Thule Society consulted with many mystically oriented heraldists who were looking for hints of the ancient Aryan past of Germany in the coats of arms and banners of the ancient aristocratic families of Europe. Therefore, the colors and their arrangement for it were chosen with a special meaning.
If you look closely, flags can be divided into two groups: those with a pronounced center and those whose colors are evenly distributed. If the latter are more typical for states with a democratic structure of society, then the former are for monarchies and empires. These include the banner of Great Britain, as well as pre-war Japan, on which a solar circle flaunted in the center with rays diverging in all directions. There are exceptions - let's remember our Russian tricolor.
This difference is understandable: in countries with rigid authoritarian power, the role of the center is emphasized in every possible way, and the figure of the monarch is given priority. When rule in Germany passed into the hands of Hitler, he did not hesitate to change the model of the flag to one that was more suitable for his totalitarian way of running the country.
Nazi flower symbolism also has magical meaning... There are only three colors on the Reich banner, but which ones are red, black and white! Let's try to describe a picture that can be painted with their help.
First of all, red, which is selected as the background on the flag. The symbolism of the red color is generally clear - it is blood and fire. It is no coincidence that about the revolutionary banner Soviet republic remarks were heard that those who raised him wanted to drown Russia in blood.
It must be remembered that the theme of blood in Nazi Germany initially had a constructive rather than destructive meaning. By purifying it, it was supposed to give life to a new society, whose members would be better than the previous ones. But by the actions that accomplished this, the color red was no doubt given a dark, bloody hue.
In addition, do not forget that the National Socialist Party initially acted as a revolutionary one. It arose on a wave of dissatisfaction with the prevailing order at that time and appealed mainly to the fact that another government should come to replace it.
Above we were talking about the concept of "blood and soil", with the help of which the consciousness of the Germans was literally altered in accordance with the new principles. The red background could have been misread (for example, as an indication of communist ideas) or not accepted at all if it had not been based on such a holistic theory. And on the contrary, its existence only strengthened the effect of the flag, creating a single symbolic environment.
White color has many meanings: sunlight, purity, and, in addition, chosenness and holiness. All of them, one way or another, fell into the image, which added a white circle to the banner. The figure itself was also not chosen by chance: it is a direct indication of the circle of initiates and mystical protection.
Hitler said about the banner of the Reich: “As National Socialists, we see our program in our flag. The red field symbolizes social idea movement, white - a nationalist idea. " These words accurately reflect how such a combination of colors was understood by most of his contemporaries.
The swastika became black not only because it looks very contrasting on a white background. Although this factor should not be disregarded. The central symbol was supposed to denote the creative principle that distinguished, separated one from the other in the process of creating the world.
Separation is a function of death, but in this context it does not appear before us in a negative light. It reflects the understanding that without death there would be no life, that is, the idea of predestination, providence.
The idea that everything that happens is in the hands of Fate was close and understandable to both Hitler and the most ordinary soldier. By means of a variety of prophecies and pseudoscientific theories, the occult leaders of fascist Germany sought to substantiate and strengthen it in the minds of everyone.
The Fuehrer of the Third Reich was not the inventor of the swastika, but he developed the concept of the Nazi banner almost independently. It can be assumed that he devoted a lot of time and effort to this issue, since he was absolutely sure of the invincible magical power of the banner.
The following is known: wherever Hitler appeared, on the battlefields or on the streets of peaceful cities, he was accompanied everywhere by his own standard. The project was created under the personal supervision of Hitler, and when the banner was ready, it was checked by people from the organization "Ahnenerbe" for the presence of harmful or life-threatening energies.
After that, the standard was secretly taken to the place where Kaiserling was buried, the embodiment of which the Führer considered himself, and consecrated according to the Teutonic tradition. The invulnerability of this man went down in legends, as well as his connection with dark forces. In this way, Hitler wanted to protect himself from the attack of the enemy, as well as from an unexpected conspiracy.
So, the symbolism of the fascist flag perfectly fit into the minds of people. Let's not forget that the banner plays a more significant role in wartime than in peacetime. Initially, it is designed to collect warriors and lead them into battle.
In the standard of the National Socialists, a person who understands occult symbolism could read in advance both future destructive wars and numerous human sacrifices in the name of the ideal of racial purity. It is not surprising that many, on a subconscious level anticipating unkindness, even before the formation of the Third Reich, began to think about emigration.
Those who had a hand in its creation could not help but guess about its significance. But for them, it may have been just a cunning magical device capable of collecting, like a lens, the energy of people who stood under the banner of the fascist empire. And then they planned to use (and used) for their own, only they understandable purposes.
Wotan's sacred bird
The coat of arms of modern Germany depicts a black eagle with widely spread wings. And this is by no means a relic of the dark fascist past. This symbol has accompanied the formation of this country since much more ancient times.
If the raven personified the magical side of the main Germanic god Wotan, then the eagle is his warrior spirit. And the bird of prey was of such importance not only in Germany.
The researcher of the heritage of the northern tribes, Guido von List, suggested that the eagle was a symbol of solar energy among the ancient Armanist and Aryan peoples.
The closest of them - the ancient Greeks - this bird was well known and revered as the king of the heavenly world. She was considered the embodiment of the will of Zeus, because the eagles flew only by his order. Therefore, there was a fortune-telling by their flight, while the decisive choice was from which side and how many birds would fly by a person.
The eagle became a full-fledged imperial symbol in Rome. The standards of the legions of the power base of the holy city were crowned with the wings of an eagle. Losing him in battle was considered not only a sign of cowardice, but also a manifestation of disrespect for the god Jupiter (the Roman counterpart of Zeus).
Therefore, when the soldiers retreated without a command, the standard bearer (which in the Roman infantry was called signifer, from the name of the banner - signum) threw it at the enemy. Then the entire legion turned around and fought until it won back its mark or died. Deprived of eagle wings, he accelerated, but before that, every tenth private was waiting for death. This brutal military rite was called decination.
Even in the Andes far from Europe, the eagle was revered as a sacred bird of the sun. Many tribes distant from each other perceived it as a symbol of the cosmic order, the embodiment of light heavenly forces.
Among the Aztecs who worshiped the sun, there was a rite of sacrificing captives to the eagle. They cut out their hearts with a wide flint knife and held them up, as if attracting the attention of birds. It was considered a good sign that a royal bird accepted the gift, when a predator flew from heaven to feast on fresh meat.
The ritual is very reminiscent of the legend of Prometheus, known from Greek mythology. On the orders of Zeus, his liver was pecked by a mighty eagle every day. Thus, the bird of prey could play an important role in male cults and initiations when the symbolic transformation of boys into full members of the community took place.
The warriors of the Indians of North America also called themselves eagles. The connection with the spirit of an aggressive bird was symbolized by tail feathers, which could only be worn by those who performed a military feat. They believed that after the death of the souls of warriors who died in battle, they became demigods and flew to heaven in the form of an eagle.
This predator is also known to Indian shamans. When they want to make it rain, they turn to the eagle totem. A thundercloud takes on its form in order to move faster across the sky and strike the earth with lightning.
In Indian myths, the guardian of the universe, Vishnu, has the sacred bird Garuda. She has the head and wings of an eagle, so she flies at the speed of light and carries the god on her during his wanderings around the world.
According to legend, when she was born, she shone so brightly that the gods at first took her for the god of fire Agni. The wings of Garuda are so strong that the wind they raise can slow the rotation of the world. It is on it that Vishnu goes into battle against the evil demons - the asuras.
We can stop a little and make a few generalizations. Firstly, in all the above myths and legends, the eagle is a regal bird. If he is not directly connected with the supreme god, then it is easy to find him among the devoted magical assistants.
The next common point is its solar nature. In fact, the eagle flies higher than most birds, almost touching the sun (so, at least, it might have seemed to our ancestors). Therefore, sometimes, for example in Iranian myths, the luminary is presented in the form of this bird.
Another feature that adds a lot of interesting to the magical image of the eagle is the extraordinary vigilance of the winged predator. She easily passed into perspicacity, and then turned into wisdom.
But the latter, in contrast to the calm, meditated experience, had the character of instant intuition, more necessary in battle than in peacetime. Although Faust, in order to survey all the diversity of the world from a bird's eye view, used his wings.
This makes the eagle a war bird, introducing into its image the additional meaning of power and swiftness. It matches the destructive, bloodthirsty spirit of battle. It is no coincidence that this predator often appears over the battlefields during the battle, while after its completion, only corpse eaters - vultures and crows - dominate them.
In one of the propaganda posters from the times of Nazi Germany, an eagle flies off a cliff, breaking the chains that chained it to the stones. This picture, as conceived by the creators, was to symbolize the awakening Aryan spirit of the German people. In this case, chains meant either the intrigues of a world conspiracy, or one's own ignorance.
However, in most of the images, including on the coat of arms, this bird had a different pose: wings spread out to the sides with feathers like swords, wide-spread claws, an open beak. With all her appearance, she expressed increased aggressiveness, readiness to attack or defend.
This image is very characteristic of an empire striving for territorial acquisitions. Even if she does not actually encroach on other people's lands, her position in the region will certainly be dominant. Instead of seizures, you can always limit yourself to the spread of your influence.
When Hitler came to power, he changed the flag, but did not change the coat of arms and the main symbol of the country. Apparently, they perfectly matched his plans and did not in the least interfere with other signs. The most famous combination of an eagle and a swastika appeared in the Wehrmacht badge - German army: spreading its wings, the bird holds in its claws a wreath of oak leaves, which encloses a cross with curved ends.
It is necessary to say a few words about another important symbol of Germany - the oak. The leaves of this tree are part of the unofficial symbols of the country, and are also represented on the coats of arms of many aristocratic families.
The oak has been known for a long time as a symbol of statehood. Due to its size, it easily stood out from other trees, and its longevity (over 300 years) made it synonymous with stability and strength.
Since ancient times, its wood has been an excellent material for shields and other items that must be durable and not let down the owner. Its bark contains tannins that make it possible to make leather. Its decoction is also used in folk medicine.
But this is not the most important thing. For esoteric circles in Germany, it was much more important that the ancestors of the Germans had long attributed magical power to oaks.
Many researchers of the past paid attention to the fact that the Gallic tribes had no other sanctuaries, except for the forbidden forests and groves that were considered inviolable. There, the druid priests sacrificed at the roots of the sprawling tree. The word "druid" itself, by the way, is translated from Old Norse as "oak".
It was considered a symbol of Odin, and captives dedicated to this god were hung from its branches. According to the beliefs of the Gauls and the Germans, in him, as in the "first among the ases," military strength, strong spirit and magical energy converged.
The oak staff served the druids at the same time and magic wand, and a pretty dangerous weapon. Later in the rite of the Order of the New Templars, a similar item will also appear. However, this tree enjoyed the greatest respect among the mystics of Germany in the 20th century with Guido von List.
His "Armanenschaft", which will be described in more detail below, was, according to the creator, the restoration of secret knowledge, which once possessed the German kings-priests. Their magic was based on the unknown properties of plants and natural elements. In rituals, the oak played the role of the beginning that collects and harmonizes all others.
A wreath of oak leaves, according to List, was the oldest symbol of power in Germany. Christianity has forgotten the meaning of this tree, but it has survived to this day in folk tales and on the coats of arms of ancient families, which List considered the descendants of those forced to hide and resort to the secret symbols of druid priests.
In the alchemical tradition, the element earth corresponds to the oak. This emphasizes its fundamental importance in the transformation of matter, and gives occultists another reason to assert that alchemists partially borrowed their knowledge from magicians who have long disappeared from Europe.
Both the eagle and the oak wreath were not, unlike the swastika or the Nazi flag, innovations of the ideologists of the Third Reich.
But it should be noted that they very accurately fit into the realities of that time and interacted favorably with other signs. This really makes us think about the forces dormant for the time being, which are embodied in the symbolic series and only occasionally, in special epochs, come to the surface.
Using runes
Ancient signs at all times aroused great interest. According to many people looking for lost knowledge, it is through their study that one can gain a wealth of hidden mystical meaning.
During the Renaissance, the language and writing of antiquity were rediscovered. Later, with the advent of the culture of romanticism, the Europeans aroused interest in their original texts and forgotten traditions and legends of their ancestors.
Behind the runes (this is what the letters of the Scandinavian alphabet were called), in addition to recording information, three more important functions were traditionally fixed. These were fortune-telling, secret writing and, of course, magic. Although these signs have not been used for everyday writing since the early Middle Ages, in the three areas listed above they have retained their original meaning.
The most ancient meaning of the word "rune" is "mystery". This fact alone shows that symbols were used primarily for mystical purposes, and only secondarily as elements of writing. Subsequently, the researchers called the earliest alphabet the senior runes.
It arose among the Germanic and Norse tribes and consisted of 24 signs. Just like the Greek word for "alphabet", formed from the names of the first letters of the series, the sequence of the older runes is named Futhark.
All runes are traditionally divided into three groups called attami (translated from Old Norse "att" - "genus"). Each of them is dedicated to a specific deity. The first att bears the name of the gods - patrons of the hearth of Frey and Freya. the second is the guardian of the gods of Heimdal, and the third is the god of war Thor.
Within Futhark, each rune was determined by its own meaning, more or less stable. But in mythological terms, a special patron or sacred object corresponded to it. In addition, she was responsible for one or another trait of a human character, color, precious stone and a natural phenomenon that could be caused with its help.
Another layer of its meaning could be discovered from the signs standing in the neighborhood. Various combinations were either favorable or, on the contrary, harmful for the person engaged in witchcraft. The ability to use all sorts of options for drawing up runes in spells was considered a very valuable art among the Germans and Scandinavians.
We will only give short description of Futhark elements. It will also be necessary to mention the methods of fortune telling, since they were actually used during the Second World War to reveal the plans of the Allies. And finally, the runes were included as an integral element in the symbolism of the Third Reich and were not chosen for this purpose at all by chance.
"Feu" - the first rune, the magical meaning of which is mainly associated with material values. She can help overcome the need, but she will not do it like a magic wand. The bag of money, of course, will not fall from heaven to the feet of the sufferer, but the chance of finding a job with the help of this rune increases.
Wise older women advise young women to use this sign to harmonize relationships with the opposite sex. Since the patroness of this rune is the Scandinavian goddess of love Freya, she helps to bewitch the chosen one. But one should not hope that the "feu" is able to improve the emotional sphere of a person: the connection with the material world is defining for her.
In addition, it is associated with the management of internal energy - vril - and attracts various sorcerers and especially witches, because this rune is female. As part of a spell, it is capable of enhancing the effect of the entire combination, therefore, it is repeated in many rituals even several times.
The next rune of the big Futhark is "Urus". In mythology, it corresponds to the sacred source of Urd, which gives wisdom and strength. In addition, prophetic powers are not alien to her, since three older norns live at the roots of the source, who, like parks in Greek mythology, assign people their fate. This is what determines its magical meaning, makes it a sign of invincible vitality.
The rune "Urus" also personifies the original unity of the masculine and feminine principles. In Chinese mysticism, the symbols of yin and yang play a similar role. In spells, this rune plays the role of an energy generator, and during healing it is able to transfer fresh strength to a weakened patient.
By its nature, "Urus" is a good way to deal with difficult situations. This rune both calms and gives stability to what is happening. And in case a difficult situation has dragged on for too long, it helps to find the right and energetic way of action.
"Turisa" - a rune that was used in many cases, although it was believed that it introduces an evil inclination into the spell. She helped when a person needed to find comfort or bring in the world elements of order.
Its name is translated from Old Norse as "giant, jotun", but also as "magician", "demiurge". Indeed, according to legends, it was the giants who were the first creators of the world. On the one hand, the rune is associated with Thor, a kind giant who serves the aces, and is his magical hammer Mjolnir, and on the other hand, it personifies the evil ice giants of the grimturs.
This duality predetermines the transitional meaning of this rune. According to Guido von List, in Armanist rituals it meant initiation, a mystical test, after which the warrior realized his destiny.
The fourth rune of Futhark - "as" - is one of the most important in the whole series. After all, she represents the name of God and is directly related to the god Odin - the first among the Aesir. In addition, she embodies precisely Chroft the shaman, that is, the magical aspect of his power.
In the mythical tradition, this rune is associated with Gulvi, the legendary brave warrior. It is to him that the "Speech of the High" (that is, Wotan) is addressed. He achieved power, but in order to become truly great, he must learn magical cryptography.
Therefore, the meaning of this symbol can be defined as proactive. But unlike the previous one, "as" means spiritual initiation. This rune means the inspired speech of the skald coming from above, as well as intuition, which was also considered a gift from the gods.
If you look closely, the rune resembles a man stretching his arms down towards the crowd, to which he addresses from the dais. When creating magic, it was used as a speech amplifier, giving it firmness and persuasiveness. It is possible that it was also used by Hitler in his public speeches in the form of one of the passes.
According to ancient Germanic beliefs "Raido" was considered the rune of the path. Amulets with her image were considered the best remedy protecting the wanderer from trouble on the road.
In addition, it corresponds to the space chariot (the Sun), moving in a circle and ordering the primordial chaos. Modern esotericism calls such cycles the breath of the Universe, which adds an energetic aspect to the sign. It was also used as an auxiliary in rituals, since the main task of the latter was to restore cosmic integrity.
Psychologically, Raido means constant change. As the horizon line constantly eludes the person approaching it, so the road runs forward, never ending. Therefore, the one to whom it falls during fortune-telling needs to be patient.
The next rune - "kena" - corresponds to the inspiration. But unlike "as", it does not denote lightning insight, but creative energy. Therefore, "kena" was considered especially favorable for craftsmen and artists.
In any craft, from the point of view of the ancients, there was something of magic. All mystics and occultists are under the auspices of the kena rune. Since its name is translated as "torch", it symbolizes the knowledge that leads out of the darkness of ignorance.
In German, from this root comes the verb kennen, meaning "to know, to be able to." And in English, a word with a similar meaning, but with an additional sense of power, is close to him in sounding.
In mythology, it corresponds to Muspelheim - the habitat of the fire giants. There is a particle of it in the fire, but the evil shade of "kena" takes on in combination with strong runes, just as, turning into a forest fire, fire brings destruction. It is no coincidence that in the Tarot cards this sign in an inverted position corresponds to the fifteenth lasso - the Devil.
The gebo rune is absent in the younger Futhark. In writing, it is similar to the Latin letter "X", but in writing it denoted the sound "g". Its meaning corresponds to the meaning of the word "gift". It should be remembered that the gift had a more serious meaning in ancient times. In one of his speeches, Odin advises people to give each other more various things, which is a great reason for friendship.
In addition to generosity, she also personifies a connection, a combination of two principles. Runes researcher Harold Blum considered it a symbol of marriage, including in the sense of "alchemical marriage" - the fusion of essences to obtain a new substance. Therefore, in magic spells, she is responsible for the formation of the unity of opposites.
On the other hand, the act of giving is associated with a duty: to receive a guest and give him a gift was considered the sacred duty of the host, and avoiding this rite often led to bloody battles. Like prizes, getting valuable items is associated with fame and fortune in a duel.
From the point of view of magical thinking, an object carries a particle of power that belonged to its former owner. Therefore, primitive man was afraid to pick up an unfamiliar thing - what if it used to belong to a sorcerer and is capable of bringing harm to the new owner? On the contrary, when dividing the spoils of war, the leader, giving each his share, also shared a part of his heroic strength.
The last rune of the first atta is "wunjo". It symbolizes the finale (but not the final one, since the symbolic series is not finished yet) and victory. It is traditionally associated with a holiday, joy, positive energy.
Medieval knights, when mentioning this rune, referred to the Holy Grail to clarify its meaning. This allows us to conclude that the meaning of "wunjo" also includes elements of blessing from above.
If this rune falls out during fortune-telling, great luck awaits a person. All his thoughts will come true easily, it would seem, by themselves. Sorrows will dissipate, and problems tormenting the soul will recede before the good power of this rune.
In shape, it resembled a weather vane, so it was also associated with changes. Naturally, since the sign is generally positive, these were changes for the better. In addition, this symbol, standing last in the earthly atta, signified the end of earthly affairs and an easy death in old age.
The next row is opened by the Hagal rune. It is very ambiguously interpreted by various experts in Futhark. After the completion of the first atta, destruction occurs, and the cosmic forces of primordial chaos come into play.
In mythology, this sign corresponds to Ragnarok - the end of the world, predicted in the "Divination of the Velva". It combines the destructive energy of fire ("sol" rune) and ice cold ("isa" rune). But, on the other hand, "hagal" personifies more ancient images of the world.
One of the meanings of the word "hagal" is an egg. Researchers see this as an allusion to the original state of the cosmos, which is similarly described by the early Christian Gnostics. Hans Herbiger believed that it was in this rune that the knowledge of the ancient Atlanteans about the history of the world was hidden. A multi-layered ice egg (giant planet) collided with fire (the Sun), resulting in an explosion, which, however, led to the birth of life on Earth. Therefore, the "hagal", despite the negative aspect, contains the seeds of the future life. A skilled magician can use this moment to his advantage by using the symbol against the chain of events he wants to break.
The name of the rune "naud" seems to be one of the most cheerful. Not the description in the text of the Elder Edda is accompanied by the following words:
Know the runes of beer
to cheat you
was not scary!
Put them on the horn
write on your hand
rune "naud" - on the nail.
Signs of this group are primarily protective functions. They protect their owner from deception and betrayal.
In addition, they prevent a person from getting drunk too quickly after drinking or, even worse, drinking substandard or poisoned beer.
However, from the Old Norse language, its name is translated as "need, necessity." It should be understood in two ways. First, it is material need, poverty. But to a knowledgeable person, she brings deliverance from suffering, as the text of the ancient Saxon runic poem tells about this:
A tight bandage will tighten the need for the chest,
but she can turn around and help,
if you turn your gaze to her in time.
Another meaning is associated with need as a need for something that does not yet exist. Here we are talking about destructive desires, the culprit of which is the person himself. However, as in the first case, the meaning of the rune can be both destructive and constructive. The person reflecting on it was asked to direct his thoughts in the right direction and not waste energy.
The next rune - "Isa" - from a magical point of view, is one of the most powerful in all Futhark.
In the mythology of the Celts and Germans, the rune had its own correspondence: the original cold matter, from which life subsequently arose with the help of fire.
Traditionally, in symbolism, fire is seen as a masculine active force, while water is feminine and passive. The first streams of water that emerged from the union of ice and fire - Eligavar, gave birth to the first life - giant jotuns. From the body of one of them, Odin (himself, by the way, being a giant by origin) creates the world around him.
According to its meaning, "isa" can stop processes, therefore it is considered one of the runes of delay. But at the same time, it is not devoid of an element of destruction, because the cooled liquid expands and can split the vessel in which it is enclosed from the inside. Also, one should not forget about the enormous force of the avalanche rushing from the mountains.
In the mystical tradition, ice is a symbol of wisdom coming from time immemorial. Alchemists took a special interest in him: this element was considered a "transitional bridge" between liquid and solid state matter.
The rune "jera" completes a series of symbols, with a tinge of negative. Already by the similarity of its name with English word"Jear" can be guessed at its main meaning - the year, which is joined by the additional meaning of the completed cycle and harvest.
For the inhabitants of the harsh North, the harvest season was very important. How well the bread was yielded depended on how the genus survived the winter. Since the year could be unhappy, the character of the "jer" is changeable: the rune either brings life or takes it away from people.
But these are all links in the same chain. Without failure there is no happiness, and without death there is no life. The main lesson that the symbol of the year teaches is that changes are part of the cosmic cycle, and no one can avoid them. The sign also serves to indicate the total, because in the fall the farmer collects what he sowed in the spring. How much strength and patience he put into his labor during the summer, so much will be rewarded to him during the harvest. Therefore, the rune is considered the embodiment of harsh northern justice.
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Let's start by stating that National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) in fact, it became the first political party that managed to most effectively use symbolic-ritual means in order to achieve the maximum possible propaganda effect and, thus, to win over to its side all those vacillators who, for whatever reason, were unable (or did not feel the desire) delve into the ideological depths of the National Socialist doctrine. This was one of its undoubted advantages over all political competitors - complete artistry, its own, unique aesthetics, which no other political party had a trace of. "Weimar" Germany. Although the German (German) National People's Party (NNPP), the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), and the Communist Party of Germany (KKE), and their slogans, congresses, words also had a purely artistic meaning and did not carried, in essence, no semantic load ...
What is the secret of the truly phenomenal success and attractiveness for the broad masses of precisely the National Socialist propaganda means? In various popular (and sometimes claiming to be scientific) publications, it is insistently asserted (sometimes directly, but more often - gradually) that the slogans, vestments, symbols and rituals of the National Socialists (and especially the SS) allegedly carried a clear occult, satanic and , the most important thing is the anti-Christian burden. What was the case with this in reality?
Long before the appearance of the National Socialist movement in the political arena, many (mostly left-wing) political forces sought to derive practical benefit from symbols.
An interesting testimony in this regard was left by none other than Adolf Hitler himself in his programmatic and autobiographical work "My Struggle", the name of which we for some reason prefer to give in the German version - "Mein Kampf" - without translating it into Russian (perhaps because, in accordance with the stamps of the traditional "Soviet" and if we take it even wider - "Revolutionary" thinking, word "fight" was associated and associated mainly with something "Positive" that is "Progressive" - first of all with "Fight for freedom" etc., and therefore "Worthless to a faithful Marxist-Leninist, bearer and propagandist of the world's most advanced teaching and worldview" apply this positive epithet to creation "Possessed Fuhrer" enemy of progress and world revolutionary development!):
“Until now, we have not had our own party sign or banner. This began to harm the movement. We could not do without these symbols either now, much less in the future. Party comrades needed a badge by which they could recognize each other by their outward appearance. Well, in the future, of course, it was impossible to do without famous symbol, which, moreover, we had to oppose to the symbols of the red International.
I already knew from childhood what great psychological significance such symbols have and how they act, first of all, on feeling. After the end of the war, I once had to watch a massive Marxist demonstration ... The sea of red banners, red armbands and red flowers - all this created an irresistible external impression. I was personally able to ... see how gigantic the impression such a magical sight makes on common man from the people. "
As the young modern Russian historian Dmitry Zhukov quite rightly notes, it was precisely the National Socialists (or, more broadly, "Fascists" ), who fully assimilated this experience adopted from the left radicals, managed to develop their own, completely unique style, which partly contributed to the broad mobilization of the masses aimed at achieving the party goals of the NSDAP. By the way, in the ideological sphere, in the depths of the National Socialist Party, there was such an incredible number of all kinds of factions, groupings, opinions and competencies that sometimes it seems that the party held on, except for the iron will of the Fuhrer (undoubtedly, who had outstanding organizational skills), only on the commonality of style (including the commonality of symbols, emblems and rituals). No wonder the well-known sociologist of the Swiss origin of the Army Moler, the famous researcher of the phenomenon "Conservative revolution", emphasized: "The Nazis seem to easily resign themselves to theoretical inconsistencies, because they achieve perception at the expense of the style itself ... Style dominates beliefs, form - over the idea." And in 1933, the German expressionist poet Gottfried Benn, impressed by the "National Socialist Revolution", solemnly proclaimed that "Style is higher than truth!" . To a certain extent (and, moreover, to a large extent), what has been said applies not only to the conservative-revolutionary, fascist national-socialist, but also to the left, and in particular to the left-wing radical parties, movements and organizations - it is enough to look at least at our modern "Liberal democrats" or "National Bolsheviks" who have “ninety-five percent - banter, and only five percent is ideology. "
Different blood, different law.
Who will reconcile me, an Aryan,
With an alien from other sides?
Who will wash off the name: the bloodsucker?
Fedor Sologub
Large plus sign with curved ends. So in his travel notes he called the ancient swastika (one of the variants of which became the will of fate Hook cross German National Socialists) modern Russian poet, writer and historian Alexei Shiropaev. It is aptly said, and noted correctly - it is a pity that the author bonmot did not pay attention to the fact that, adding to the word "plus" only one single letter - "O", - we get the word "pole", but the swastika in the historical and esoteric tradition (for example, by the same Rene Guénon) has always been considered precisely "The sign of the Pole." Is it a coincidence? Unlikely! Personally, we are more likely to see a pattern in this. Be that as it may, it should be noted that many unscrupulous authors, in pursuit of cheap popularity (and possibly pursuing some other, more far-reaching goals), seek to mythologize and even falsify the history of the choice of the ancient sacred by the German National Socialists. character - swastikas (kolovrat, filfota or gammadion ) - as your party symbol. Let's try to approach the consideration of the true circumstances of this choice with an open mind, without anger and attachment. Currently, it is almost no secret to anyone that hackenkreutz (Kolovrat or swastika) belongs to the original (primordial) archetypal symbols of humanity. Kolovrat ("gammed", "gammatic" or "Martyr"
cross) was widely used in Christian symbolism (especially in the late antique and early medieval period of the development of Christianity) - as well as "Cross of St. Nicholas" (referred to in heraldry and ecclesiastical art also "Cross between staples" ), which was especially often depicted by icon painters on the vestments of Christian saints Nicholas of Mirlikia, John Chrysostom and Dionysius the Areopagite, and which later became an identification mark on German military equipment. Occultists and theosophists also attached considerable importance to this sacred sign. It was this circumstance that subsequently gave rise to all sorts of speculations on the allegedly "occult" roots of National Socialism. According to theosophists, "the swastika ... is a symbol of energy and movement that creates the world, breaking holes in space ... creating vortices, which are atoms that serve to create worlds."
Kolovrat (along with the six-pointed "The star of Solomon », Egyptian "cross eternal life» ("Ankhom"), a snake biting its own tail Ouroboros and Buddhist-Hindu the sign of Creation "Om", or "Aum" ) was included as an element in the emblem of the Theosophical Society, as well as in the personal emblem of the founder of Theosophy, E.P. Blavatsky and adorned almost all theosophical prints. So, for example, the Kolovrat sign was present on the title page of the magazine of German theosophists "Lotus Flowers", published in the "Prussian-German" Second Reich of the Hohenzollerns in 1892-1900.
The Kolovrat swastika, which in some cases was used as an emblem in the aviation of Kaiser Germany, during the period between the two world wars was used as an identification mark on the aircraft of a number of countries of the world (Finland, Norway and Latvia), the sleeve patches of the Red Army units (which fought in 1918 on On the Eastern Front against the troops of the Supreme Ruler of Russia, Admiral Kolchak), headdresses of the Kalmyk cavalry units of the Red Army (and even in the coat of arms of the Soviet Kalmyk Republic!).
The Kolovrat was no less popular (found, among other things, on ancient Germanic weapons, cult and household items, in Old Norse runic inscriptions, on the tombstones of the ancient Germans and, in particular, Vikings ) also among German "Populists" ("völkishe", from the word "Folk" - "people") and ariosophists - such as the notorious "G (v) ido" von List (author of many scientific works, founder of the society of his own name and secret High Order of the Arman ) and truly became "The talk of the town" founder Orders of the New Temple (or Order of the New Templars ) Baron Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels, as well as secret lodges of the Paramasonic sense - Germanic Order (Germanen-Order ),
Society Thule and others, about which enthusiasts are hungry for sensations - conspiracy theorists of past times and nowadays, a great many more or less pseudo-scientific thrillers have been written - perhaps no less than about the "Jewish masons" and the "holy line" Grigory Rasputin, who is also attributed to some kind of conspiratorial "occult connections" with some mysterious " Society of the Greens ”. So about Hitler, one Frenchman published a book "Hitler - the chosen one of the dragon", another - even more creepy "horror novel" called "Nazism - a secret society", but all were surpassed by the patriarchs "Black legend of Nazism" - the notorious masters Louis Povel and Jacques Bergier with their mystical fantasy "Morning of the Magicians"! It was with their light hand that they went for a walk through the pages of popular "conspiracy" literature, designed to reveal the "satanic roots of Nazism", devoid of any historical basis, idle speculation that Hitler was allegedly connected with the underground kingdom of Agarty (Aggarty or Agartha), "King of Horror ", The descendants of the Atlanteans who survived the Flood, that he made human sacrifices, listened for hours to the teachings of the inventor "World ice theory" Hans Horbiger (and even allowed him to rudely reprimand himself for his lack of understanding in the presence of third parties!), Sold his soul to the devil for exactly 12 years, that in May 1945, the Berlin Reichstag and the Reich Chancellery were allegedly defended by the "last battalion" of the SS, which consisted of Tibetan lamas. who together committed collective ritual suicide after the death of the Fuhrer (probably imagining themselves for a moment not as Tibetan lamas, but as Japanese samurai!), and all thanks to the fact that Hitler turned the “blessed right-hand side of the nuyu” Buddhist-Hindu swastika in the other direction, as is customary the adherents of the sinister ancient Tibetan "black faith" bon-po ...
In reality, Adolf Hitler, about whose membership in any such "secret societies" (the composition of which was limited to such a narrow circle of "initiates" that I would like to say about them in the words of V.I. Lenin from the article "In Memory of Herzen": “The circle of these (conservative. - V.A.) revolutionaries, they are terribly far from the people! " ) there is absolutely no reliable information, neither in Agharti, nor in Shambhala, nor in the Atlanteans who survived the flood, I never met Hans Horbiger in my life, and the Reichstag and the Reich Chancellery in May 1945, except for the Germans, who only defended - French SS men from the division Charlemagne (Charlemagne), Belgian SS men from the division Wallonia, Spaniards from the former Blue division , Russian volunteers from ROA General Vlasov - but that's just not among them, as a sin, not a single Tibetan! Choosing the Kolovrat as a party symbol, Hitler certainly did not look back at theosophical, populist or occult interpretations of this ancient sacred symbol. Not least for the simple reason that, according to the unanimous testimony of eyewitnesses who knew him closely, the beginning of his political career - Bechstein, Hanfstaengle and many others - left their memoirs about the early Munich period in the history of the NSDAP and its future leader - Hitler in the described period was completely uncouth or (in modern parlance) "Unscratched" a provincial who did not even know how a hot and cold water, - what can we say about the presence of some kind of "secret knowledge", and in addition, "deeply conspiratorial plans" of replacement in Germany Christianity as them with "occult neo-paganism", "Aryan-racist religious doctrine", and even more so - the establishment in the Third Reich of the "black satanic cult"! In addition, Hitler (completely groundlessly passed off by modern would-be historians and "conspiracy theorists" as a "black magician", "occult messiah", "adept of dark forces", "enemy of Orthodoxy", "hater of Christianity", "demonic medium", "notorious Satanist "," the forerunner of the Antichrist "," the chosen one of the Dragon "," Messenger of the Green Society "," Hermetic-esoteric "and even" the incarnation of Landulf of Capuans "!) throughout his life he spoke very critically of all "Populist bearded men", "John the Baptist" and "Agasferah" - "dedicated", "occultists, esotericists and other rubbish" (in the apt expression of Victoria Vanyushkina), who claimed to possess "secret knowledge" and to create a "new doctrine for the German people", and indeed about everything "Völkish" ("populist") mysticism (in many respects reminiscent of the fruitless efforts of our current domestic thinly bearded "neo-pagans" who are vainly trying to "revive the ancient faith" of their "Slavic-Aryan great-grandparents"!). The extremely hostile attitude of the Fuhrer of the NSDAP and the Chancellor of the Third Reich towards such "keepers of the ancestral memory" of all stripes is evidenced, by the way, by the following lines from "My Struggle" (we quote them in our own translation from the German original):
“It is characteristic of these natures that they admire ancient Germanic heroism, hoary antiquity, stone axes, spear and shield, in reality they are the greatest cowards. For the same people who brandish ancient Germanic, carefully stylized antique tin swords in the air, dressed in prepared bearskin skins and with bull horns on a bearded brow V.A.), preach for the current day the struggle by means of the so-called "spiritual weapons" and hastily run away at the sight of a rubber truncheon of any communist . Future generations will in no way be able to perpetuate the images of these people in the new Germanic epic.
I have studied these people too well to feel anything other than a feeling of contempt for their trickery ... Moreover, the claims of these gentlemen are completely excessive. They consider themselves smarter than everyone else, despite the fact that their entire past eloquently refutes such a claim. The influx of such people becomes a real punishment of God for honest, straightforward fighters who do not like to chat about the heroism of past centuries, but want in our sinful age to actually show at least a little of their own practical heroism.
It is quite difficult to figure out which of these gentlemen acts like this only out of stupidity and inability, and which of them is pursuing certain goals. As for the so-called religious reformers of the ancient German style, then these individuals have always inspired me with the suspicion that they were sent by circles that do not want the revival of our people. After all, it is a fact that all the activities of such individuals in fact distract our people from the common struggle against the common enemy - the Jew - and dissipates our forces in internal religious strife ... They are not only cowards, but they always turn out to be idlers and inept. "
It is said, in our opinion, very clearly, so there is nothing here for our "conspiracy theorists" to philosophize in vain, "Spreading white porridge on a clean table" (as they say in Odessa) ... It is not by chance that Hitler, after coming to power, immediately stopped all attempts to implant in Germany some kind of new "Nordic folk religion" by neo-pagan "The German German Faithful Community" ("Deyche Glaubensgemeinschaft"), acting under the emblem of the golden "Sun wheel" in the azure field.
According to the most authoritative modern Russian researcher of the swastika, Roman Bagdasarov, Hitler's National Socialist Party, “an emblem was needed, on the one hand, well-known to everyone, on the other,“ not occupied ”by competitors, on the third, evoking an unequivocally positive reaction and capable of mobilizing the people ... perfectly matched the above requirements! It was quite traditional for Christian Europe, but it had (as all authoritative scholars of the described era claimed) Aryan (Indo-Germanic, Indo-European, Indo-Celtic) origin, and this, as Roman Bagdasarov emphasizes, "of course, became an additional plus in arousing racial instinct among the Germans."
Contrary to the obvious facts, many science fiction mystics, diligently dressed in the clothes of "popularizers of history", are trying to prove the unprovable, claiming that Hitler allegedly "borrowed the idea of using this symbol from people close to him from the occult environment." In their unconfirmed opinion, Adolf Hitler allegedly believed that there was a "dark secret" hidden behind the Kolovrat, allowing "to control history." Those who claim this emphasize that the Fuhrer allegedly "with extraordinary attention" related to the very direction of rotation of the swastika: "He even decided to replace the left-sided swastika of the Thule society, which he adopted as a model, with the right-sided one found in ancient Indian texts."
In principle, the Swastika is a symbol of Christ, since it contains the same esoteric idea, only somewhat less connected with the historical details of the Incarnation of the Word.
A.G. Dugin. Crusade of the sun
First, it should be noted that in Christian symbolism and Christian art (and later - say, in vignettes to the Psalter of Holy
that Tsarina-Martyr Alexandra Feodorovna), both the right-sided and the left-sided swastika were equally used. Both of them from the very first centuries of Christianity were considered associated with the third hypostasis of the Most Holy Life-giving Trinity, namely, with the Holy Spirit. Right-handed "Martyr's cross" serves as a symbol of "gathering (concentration) of the Holy Spirit", the left-sided one - a symbol of its "dispersion (spreading)".
As our Russian "Conspiracy theorist" Alexander Gelevich Dugin:
“The cross is four orientations of space, four elements, four rivers of paradise, and so on. At the intersection of these components there is a unique point - the point of Eternity, from where everything emanates and where everything returns. This is the pole, the center, the earthly paradise, the Divine ruler of reality, the King of the world. In a special way this "fifth", integral element, the Divine presence, the "higher self", is manifested in the symbol of the "revolving cross", i.e. Swastika, which emphasizes the immobility of the Center, Pole and the dynamic nature of the peripheral, manifested elements. The Swastika, like the Crucifixion, was one of the preferred symbols of the Christian tradition, and it is especially characteristic of the “Hellenic”, Aryan, manifestationist line ... The fifth element here is Christ himself, God the Word, the Immanent hypostasis of the Divine, Immanuel, “GOD WITH US ". In principle, the Swastika is a symbol of Christ ... "
In this case, Alexander Dugin is absolutely right. In the "Orthodox Interlocutor" for July-August 1869, the researcher Brednikov wrote the following about the swastika:
“As for the monuments (catacomb Christians in the first centuries of Christianity. - V.A.) dating back to the 2nd, 3rd and early 4th centuries, then with a few exceptions, they are used only hidden images of the Sign of the Cross, somehow ... especially a figure representing a four-pointed cross with curved ends (italics are here and hereinafter ours. - V.A.)».
The author of this book himself happened to visit "Tourist reserve" Suzdal (which he still remained, at least in 1983) to see in one of the churches there (which was then a museum) a magnificently preserved sakkos of an Orthodox bishop, decorated with gold, on a red background, swastikas, and it was in the “Nazi "Version - left-handed," lunar ", and even rotating! We are no longer talking about the walls of the Kiev Hagia Sophia, alternately decorated with right and left-sided kolovrat, and about other similar patterns and images on countless objects of Christian worship - from bells to the frames of the Holy Images! However, we refer everyone who wants to deeply study the place and role of the Kolovrat in Christian and, in particular, Orthodox church symbols, to the book by Roman Bagdasarov "The Swastika: A Sacred Symbol".
Secondly, the "populists" themselves are ariosophists, who were - supposedly! - predecessors, secret patrons, inspirers and "behind-the-scenes puppeteers" of Hitler, - calmly used both right-handed and left-handed "Hook cross", and sometimes both versions of it at the same time (as, for example, G (c) ido von List in his famous magic formula "AREGISOSUR" ).
Thirdly, as Count Julius Evola, the most authoritative researcher and critic of fascism and National Socialism on the right, as well as Count Julius Evola, noted with good reason: the meaning of the main party symbol - the swastika. According to Hitler, it symbolized "the mission of the struggle for the victory of the Aryan man, for the triumph of the idea of creative labor, which has always been and will be anti-Semitic" ... "Truly primitive and" profane "interpretation!" - exclaims on this occasion Count Julius Evola. It is completely incomprehensible how the ancient Aryans could knit together the swastika, "creative labor" (!) And Jewry, not to mention that this symbol (Kolovrat. - V.A.) is found not only in Aryan culture. They did not give "a clear explanation for the left-sided rotation of the National Socialist swastika (opposite to that generally accepted in its use in the meaning of the solar and" polar "sign). It is unlikely that the Nazis at the same time knew that "the opposite (left-sided," lunar ". - V.A.) the rotation of the sign symbolizes power, while the usual (right-handed, masculine, "solar". - V.A.) - knowledge. When the swastika became the emblem of the party, Hitler and his entourage did not have this kind of knowledge at all. " In illustrations to ancient Indian, Jain and Buddhist manuscripts (as well as on sculptural and architectural monuments in the vast - from Tibet, China and Japan to Malaya and Indonesia - the zone of distribution of ancient Indian culture and art), both "lunar" and " solar "swastikas. And depicted against the background of the rising sun, framed by oak branches and in combination with a short sword (or dagger) with a point downward swastika on the emblem of the Society Thule was, although left-handed, but had a completely different shape than Hitler's, and curved ends (the so-called "Sun wheel" ).
In his research, Count Evola insistently emphasizes the following idea: “Any 'demonic' interpretation of Hitlerism, typical of many researchers of National Socialism, who believe that the reverse movement of the swastika is an unintentional but clear sign of a demonic nature, can be considered pure fantasy. All hints at an "occult", initiatory or counter-initiatory background are the same invention (we assert this with knowledge of the matter). In 1918 a small group arose Thule Bund, who chose the swastika and the shining solar disk as their symbol; however, with the exception of Germanism, her general spiritual level was no higher than that of the Anglo-Saxon Theosophists. There were also other groups and authors, such as Guido von List and Lanz von Liebenfels (who also created their own "Order") ... and used the swastika; but all these currents were superficial and had no connection with the true tradition, confusion of concepts and various personal delusions reigned in them. "
Thus, the use of the Kolovrat swastika by the German National Socialists was due exclusively to propaganda and aesthetic motives, so that the search in this area for some insidious "secret intentions" seems to us completely meaningless. And the "interpretation" of the swastika by the neo-Freudian Wilhelm Reich (Reich), who claimed that this symbol allegedly "acts on the subconscious as a designation of two human bodies during intercourse," sounds completely ridiculous in this sense. The followers of the Reich (who, by the way, was tried in the United States for quackery and insulting the authorities, having sentenced to imprisonment) agreed to explain the success of the NSDAP by the fact that the National Socialists, as a party greeting, threw their right hand palm forward and up (which supposedly symbolized an erection and, thereby, the powerful potency inherent in their movement!), and their main political opponents, the Social Democrats, used as the emblem of the association they created "Iron Front" three white arrows without feathers inscribed in a red circle, directed diagonally with their points downward, which supposedly symbolized impotence and, accordingly, the political impotence of the SPD and its allies!
As prosaic as the use of the Kolovrat by the German National Socialists, it is explained, among other things, by their choice of brown for their party uniform. Just the Nazis (yes, by the way, and not only them, but also members of the right-wing radical organization Gerhard Rossbach, as well as - which looks just a curiosity - "Zionist revisionists" Vladimir (Zeev) Zhabotinsky!) At one time managed to buy at an inexpensive price a large batch of "junk goods" - shirts of light brown (or rather, light tobacco) protective "tropical" color, intended for uniforms of German "Security (colonial) troops" in the African and Asian colonies of the Second Reich, which turned out to be unclaimed after Germany lost its overseas possessions as a result of the loss of the First World War. Only later, in hindsight, the party ideologists came up with an explanation (albeit quite apt) of the brown color of the Nazi uniform as symbolizing soil (as we remember, the slogan of fidelity "Blood and soil" - "bluetund boden" became widespread in the NSDAP with the light hand of the "Imperial Peasant Leader" Richard Walter Darre). This is probably why Hitler does not write anything about the party "brown" shirt in "My Struggle" at all, although he devotes a lot of space to the topic of choosing a party banner and party emblem.
For the first time, the swastika appeared on the party banner of the National Socialists (who were still a small regional party during the described period, limited by the framework of Bavaria) in the summer of 1920 in the capital of Bavaria - Munich. The final proportions and shape of the National Socialist swastika was determined by Adolf Hitler himself. It should be noted that neither Hitler nor anyone else from the representatives of the NSDAP or other similar or similar ideologically German or Austrian parties and organizations that used the ancient symbol never named it "Swastika" preferring to use the German term borrowed from medieval heraldry Therefore, in what follows we will also denote "Swastikas" use the same German "Hackenkreutz" Slavic-Russian term "Kolovrat" .
Close the ranks! Raise the banner higher!
Our firm step is measured and heavy.
Invisibly here, joining the ranks with us,
Those who went into battle before are marching.
In addition to the final approval of the proportions and form of the Nazi Kolovrat, Adolf Hitler was also responsible for the development of the version of the Nazi banner, which later became the prototype and model for all subsequent party flags of the NSDAP. The Fuehrer believed that the new flag should be as effective and attractive as a political poster.
Based on this, the colors for the party flag of the National Socialists were also chosen. In the opinion "National drummer" The NSDAP (as Hitler liked to call himself at the time described), the white color was not capable of "captivating the masses" and was most suitable for virtuous old maidens and for all kinds of sobriety societies (although later the same Hitler justified the presence of a white circle on red banners, standards, badges and armbands of his party because white symbolizes "nationalism"). In the same way, the Fuehrer rejected the color black, for it was no less than white far from attracting attention. The combination of black and white was also considered unacceptable - by the way, used at the time described by a very popular right-wing organization Young Teutonic (Young German) Order (German: Jungdeicher Order, abbreviated: Jungdo) , which competed with the National Socialists and was banned by them shortly after Hitler came to power (Grand Master Of the Young Teutonic Order Arthur Maraun was even imprisoned in a concentration camp). In addition, the flag of Prussia was black and white, and to the Prussians the Bavarians, who suffered from them, as allies of the Austrian Empire, defeat in the so-called "Austro-Prussian" , for this war for the right to unite Germany was fought not only between the two then largest German states - Prussia and Austria, but also between the neighboring North German and South German states), the war of 1866, as before, experienced persistent antipathy. On the other hand, the combination of blue (blue) and white (in itself, according to Hitler, "from an aesthetic point of view, very good") was also considered unsuitable for the NSDAP, since white and blue (white and blue) were traditionally the official colors Bavaria and were used by numerous organizations of Bavarian particularists and separatists (many of whom during the period described even demanded the separation of Bavaria from the rest of Germany, "hopelessly infected with the bacilli of Marxism"), while the NSDAP, on the contrary, claimed the role of an all-German party and strove to overcoming traditional for Germany throughout almost its entire history of federalism and separatism. The use of the black-red-gold banner by the National Socialists was also out of the question, since since 1919 it became the official flag of the Weimar Republic, to which Hitler from the very beginning declared a life-and-death war (counting "Weimar government of the red November criminals" even a greater enemy than the French, who occupied the Ruhr area - the industrial heart of Germany). Meanwhile, at one time it was the black-red-gold flag that was the symbol of the struggle of German patriots for the unification of Germany. To make the reader understand the paradoxical nature of the situation, we will make a short historical excursion.
From darkness to light - through blood!
Interpretation of symbolism
tricolor black-red-gold
the state flag of a united Germany
The future German state was born in the 9th century A.D. in the bowels of the empire of the Frankish king Charlemagne (included in the French heroic epic under the name "Charlemagne" ), crowned in 800 by the Pope Roman "Emperor of the West". Part Empire (Reich, or, speaking in Russian - Powers ) Charlemagne (742-814), whose capital was "the eternal City" Rome - "Head of the universe (although the residence of Charles himself was in the city of Aachen), included vast territories of the South, Central and Western Europe... Like the ancient Roman emperors, Charlemagne used a purple (red or scarlet) banner. By the way, the red color of the banner originally symbolized the right emperor (this ancient Roman, purely military, title, which only later began to denote the monarch-autocrat, initially, in the republican period of Roman history, was given by the army to the victorious commander-triumphant and had nothing to do with the claim to sole power) to execute (shed blood) those who were guilty without trial and consequences, in accordance with the laws of wartime. By the way, this is precisely why red flags and banners have long been used by pirates, rebels and revolutionaries - raising the red banner, they seemed to openly demonstrate their encroachment on the prerogative of monarchs and other "God-given" authorities "to execute and pardon", "to execute judgment and punishment." In addition, Charlemagne used the golden one-headed ancient Roman eagles as a banner.
Under the descendants of Charles (Carolingians), his "Western Roman Empire" fell into three parts. Charles' grandson - Louis (Ludwig) the German (804-876), according to the Treaty of Verdun in 843, received the imperial possessions west of the Rhine - the so-called East Frankish kingdom (future Germany).
In 962, the German king Otto I the Great (912-973) from the Saxon (Salic) dynasty, the winner of the nomadic Hungarians, led a strong army "Armed pilgrimage" to Rome, forcing the pope to crown him Roman emperor, like Charlemagne once. Founded by Otto I "Holy Roman Empire" (or First Reich, according to the terminology of later German nationalists, adopted from the latter by Hitler's National Socialists), whose name by the end of the Middle Ages acquired a somewhat more "national" character - "Holy Roman Empire of the German (German) nation", - and which represented (despite the energetic attempts of some gifted Emperors (Kaisers ) - for example, Frederick I Barbarossa or his grand-nephew Frederick II from the House of Hohenstaufen - to turn their possessions into a strong state), a very loose conglomerate of separate feudal possessions, existed for about a thousand years. "Roman-Germanic" Emperors - as a rule, were first crowned in octagonal Aachen's Octagon Church Germanic royal crown, and then, having previously ascended the throne of Charlemagne, marched to Italy, where the popes more or less voluntarily placed the crown on them Roman Emperors! - used standards in the form of gilded single-headed Roman eagles and various banners (for example, a banner with the image of the Archangel Michael, who was considered the patron saint of all warriors in general, and Christian chivalry in particular). Over time, as the battle banner of the rulers of the "Holy Roman Empire" red banner with a straight white cross. This banner was also used by vassals subordinate directly to the Emperor - for example, the Swiss cantons (which overthrew the yoke of the Austrian dukes, but until 1638 formally continued to be considered part of the Empire) or Danish kings (the Danes called this banner Dannebrog ). By the way, the echo of the former vassal dependence of Denmark on First Reich preserved in the self-name of this country - "Dan Mark", that is, "Danish brand "; "Stamps" called the border areas of the Empire, which were under the control of the appointed kaiser officials - Mark graphs or Mark isov - for example, Meissen mark, Brandenburg mark, East mark (Ost Mark ) - future Austria (Ostarrichi = Oesterreich = Eastern Reich = Eastern Empire) etc.
On August 6, 1806, the last "Roman-German" Emperor Franz II of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty was forced by the victorious "Emperor of the French" Napoleon I Bonaparte to renounce the crown of the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" and be content with the more modest title of "Emperor of Austria". The Roman-German "Millennial Reich" disintegrated into many independent kingdoms, principalities, Grand Duchies, duchies and free cities. Each of them had their own flag (black-white-black for Prussia, blue-white for Bavaria, white-green for Saxony, red-white-red for Austria, red-white-blue for Luxembourg, red and blue - from Liechtenstein, etc.).
The “black-red-gold” (black-red-yellow) German national colors date back to the times of the Wars of Independence against Napoleonic tyranny. After the defeat of the Great Army of Napoleon I in Russia, a popular anti-Napoleonic movement began to spread throughout Germany. A volunteer corps was formed in 1813 (freikor) under the command of Baron Adolf von Lutzoff. Von Lutzow, a former officer in the regiment of the rebel leader Ferdinand von Schill, led his volunteers (including the partisan poet Theodor Kerner, nicknamed "the German Denis Davydov") into battle not for the dynastic interests of individual German monarchs, but for a single, independent Germany. They were called "Black rangers" because they wore black form with red finishing and gold (brass) buttons, which in combination gave "Germanic national colors" (in any case, this was the opinion of the romantic-minded German students and poets who were looking for the origins of "The gloomy German genius", who dreamed of reviving for the sake of restoration "The former splendor of the Reich" ). In fact, as we already know, neither the state of Charlemagne, nor the medieval "Holy Roman Empire of the German nation" (First Reich) did not have black-red-gold "State flag". The idea of the German romantic nationalists of the early 19th century about its existence in medieval Germany was based on the following misunderstanding. In one of German monasteries a scroll was discovered with records of the texts of medieval minnesingers (minstrels) - the so-called "Manessian Songbook" , on one of the illustrations to which the coat of arms of the German kings was depicted - a black one-headed eagle on a gold field (the coat of arms of the same German kings, but already in their second capacity - as "Roman emperors" from the beginning of the XIV century was also considered an eagle, but already two-headed) ... By some incomprehensible whim of the illustrator, the beak and paws "Manesian" black eagles were depicted not black, as usual, but red. From this accidental circumstance, the German romantics of the early 19th century drew an unfounded, but far-reaching conclusion that in "Manessian Songbook" the supposedly official "state emblem of the German Reich" was depicted and that, according to the rules of heraldry, the same black-red-gold color scheme should have been present on the "state banner of the German state."
In 1817, several thousand German students gathered for a holiday in the Wartburg castle (Thuringia) in connection with the 300th anniversary of the anti-Catholic Reformation (it was in Wartburg that the "father of the Reformation" Martin Luther at the beginning of the 16th century translated the Holy Scriptures from Latin into German, which was regarded by German romantics -nationalists as "the beginning of the struggle of the German spirit and the German people against the universalist, anti-German, Roman rule of the popes") and the four-year anniversary "Battles of the nations" near Leipzig, which finally "broke the spine" of the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte over Germany. Culminating in "Wartburg holiday" became, by the way, public burning at the stake "Works hostile to the German spirit" (repeated in 1933, after Hitler came to power). Who moved to "Wartburg holiday" of all the German “appanage principalities”, students who advocated the unification of Germany raised the “national black-red-gold flag of Germany” for the first time at this meeting. It must be said that the tricolor "black-red-gold German flag" model 1817 in its appearance was significantly different from the later three-lane. "Wartburg flag" was sewn from two dark red stripes and one black one in between. A golden oak branch was embroidered in the center of the flag. Be that as it may, the black-red-gold color scheme has become a universally recognized symbol of the desire of young Germans for freedom and unity. The flag of a very loose quasi-state entity - the German Confederation (under the auspices of the Austrian emperor, as the most powerful German sovereign of the era described) was black-red-gold, with a two-headed Austrian imperial eagle in a golden canopy. Under the black-red-gold banner (but already without a canopy with an eagle), the first all-German federal parliament-Bundestag sat in Frankfurt am Main in 1848. Under this banner, the nationalist revolutionaries of Saxony, Prussia and Baden, who dreamed of German unity, fought against the troops of the German dynasts (primarily the king of Prussia and the emperor of Austria). Black-red-gold "Tricolor" a very poetic interpretation was even given: "From darkness to light - through blood" .
In 1867, the official state flag was, however, not the black-red-gold, but the black-white-red flag of the North German Confederation - the predecessor of the German Empire (Second Reich) that emerged four years later - the unification of 18 North German "patchwork" kingdoms and principalities. When the issue of the flag for this union was discussed, Otto von Bismarck - the future first Reich Chancellor (Imperial Chancellor) of a unified Germany - proposed black-white-red. The fact is that black and white were the colors of the flag of Prussia (which played the leading role in the North German Union), and red and white (silver) colors prevailed on the coats of arms and flags of the North German trading cities of Hamburg, Bremen and Lubeck, which financed the creation of the new union. In addition, the Prussians experienced a persistent antipathy to the black-red-gold flag, under which the Prussian troops in 1848 with arms were opposed by the German nationalist revolutionaries (the latter offered the crown of the emperor of the united Germany successively to the Austrian emperor, and then to the Prussian king, but both the monarch refused to accept it, seeking to unite Germany "from above", or "Iron and blood" according to the well-known expression of Bismarck). So the black-white-red flag first became the flag of the North German Confederation, and then the German Empire ( Second Reich, in the terminology of the German nationalists, and later - the National Socialists), which was not a unitary state, but a federation of four kingdoms (Prussia, Saxony, Bavaria and Württemberg), a number of Grand Duchies, duchies, principalities, etc., some of which (for example, Saxony or Bavaria) even retained their own mail, army, flags, coats of arms and other attributes of state power, led by the German Emperor (but not the Emperor of Germany!) from the Hohenzollern dynasty, who continued to simultaneously remain the king of Prussia - the largest "Subject of the Federation".
It remained that way until 1919, when, after the overthrow of the monarchy and the defeat of Germany in World War I, a republic was proclaimed there (although the country was still officially called the "German Reich" and Article 1 of the Weimar Constitution read: "The German Reich is a republic") ... Since the black-white-red flag was firmly associated in the public consciousness with the monarchical regime, the new German state abandoned it, replacing it with a black-red-gold flag, which was considered a symbol of the "democratic traditions of the German people." The German Social Democrats (who preferred to use "general Marxist" red flags and bows before the November Revolution of 1918), having come to power and given the red flag "at the mercy" of the Communists, even formed their own paramilitary units called "Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold" ("Black-red-gold imperial banner"), abbreviated Reichsbanner ("Imperial banner"). The rulers of the Weimar Republic retained the colors black, white and red on the military and commercial flag of Germany: both of these flags remained black-white-red, but with a black-red-gold wing. Needless to say, all opponents of the Weimar regime tirelessly emphasized their adherence to the black-white-red and their aversion to the black-red-gold flag, stubbornly calling the latter "black-red-yellow", "black-red-mustard", otherwise and cleaner. Among them, the following rhyme was widely circulated, for example:
Die deutsche Fahn ’war schwarzweissrot -
Wir war'n ihr treu bis in den Tod.
Man hat genommen uns das Weisse -
Nun hab'n wir Gelb, und Gelb ist Scheisse!
(or in a somewhat loose translation into Russian:
The German banner was
black-white-red -
We were faithful to him until death.
They took the white color from us -
Now we have yellow, and this is -
shit color!).
This was the case in the "Second" (German) Reich. But in Austria, as a result of its defeat in the war with Prussia in 1866, excluded from the German Confederation, a completely different situation developed. The Germans there suddenly turned out to be a national minority, for significantly more than half of the population of the Austrian (and then Austro-Hungarian) empire excluded from the German states were Hungarians (Magyars), various Slavic peoples (Czechs, Slovaks, Croats, Slovenes, Ukrainians-Rusyns, Serbs, Bosnians), Italians, etc. Austrian emperors from the Habsburg dynasty (who were also the kings of Hungary) were forced to constantly maneuver between the various peoples inhabiting their “Two-One” (or “Danube”) monarchy, making constant concessions to non-German peoples, as a result of which the Austrian Germans felt increasingly disadvantaged in their rights. A number of German nationalist unions, parties and organizations arose in Austria, many of which (for example, "Pan-Germanists" Georg Ritter von Schönerer) openly advocated secession "German Austria" (in territorial terms, roughly corresponding to the modern Austrian republic, with the exception of South Tyrol, which fell under the Treaty of Versailles to Italy) from the Habsburg monarchy and its annexation to the German Empire of the Hohenzollerns (Second Reich). Such sentiments were widespread among the Austrian Germans, but they could not demonstrate them openly, under the black-white-red flag (for any performance of the Austro-German subjects of the Habsburg monarchy under the flag of a foreign power, which, from the point of view of international law, was Hohenzollern's “ Prussian "German Empire, would be equated to act of treason ). And here the forgotten black-red-gold “national flag of all Germans” came to the aid of the Austro-German “Pan-Germans”. They began to widely use the "German national" black-red-gold flags, ribbons and rosettes in their propaganda. When the "Pan-German" schoolboy Adolf Hitler was ordered to remove the black-red-gold rosette, he found a way out by laying out three pencils in a row in front of him on his desk - black, red and yellow, to which the teacher - a staunch supporter of the Habsburgs - was no longer could find fault. In a word, as Hitler wrote much later in his book "My Struggle":
“Only ... in German Austria the bourgeoisie had something like its own banner. Part of the German-Austrian nationally-minded burghers took over the banner of 1848. This black-red-gold flag has become the official symbol of some of the Austrian Germans. Behind this flag ... there was no particular worldview. But from a state point of view, this symbol, nevertheless, represented something revolutionary. The most implacable enemies of this red-black-gold flag were then - let's not forget this - the Social Democrats, the Christian Social Party and clerics of all kinds. Then these parties mocked the black-red-gold flag, threw mud at it, swore at it in exactly the same way as they did in 1918 with the black-white-red banner. The black-red-gold colors used by the German parties of old Austria (the Habsburg monarchy - V.A.), were at one time the flowers of 1848 ... In Austria, a part of honest German patriots followed these banners. But even then the Jews were carefully hiding behind the scenes of this movement. But after the most despicable betrayal of the Fatherland was committed, after the most shamelessly betrayed the German people, the Marxists and the Party of the Center (the Catholic bourgeois party of the Weimar Republic period in Germany. - V.A.) the black-red-gold banners suddenly became so dear that they now regard them as their shrine. "
Hitler treated the black-white-red colors of the flag of the “Prussian-German” Second Reich with great reverence, as the colors of the “imperial flag born on the battlefields”, the so-called “Franco-Prussian” victorious for German weapons (or, to be more precise, Franco-German) war of 1870-1871, the main result of which, along with the "return to the bosom of the Reich" of Alsace-Lorraine, was the proclamation of the Versailles Palace of the German Empire (Second Reich) in the "Hall of Mirrors". Nevertheless, the use by the National Socialists in their symbolism and emblems of black, white and red in their former, "Kaiser's" the combination seemed to Hitler inappropriate, since they symbolized in his eyes "the old (monarchical. - V.A.) a regime that perished as a result of its own weaknesses and mistakes. " In addition, the black-white-red flag in his "Old regime", or "Kaiser", the version was already used as an emblem by numerous right-wing nationalist parties and organizations of the Weimar Republic - for example, the German (German) National People's Party (NNP), the nationalist union affiliated to this party "Steel Helmet" (Stahlhelm) etc. However, in itself, the black-white-red color scheme seemed extremely attractive to Hitler (although he did not fail, as we will see later, to interpret it in a new, National Socialist spirit). He literally wrote the following about her: “This combination of colors, generally speaking, is certainly better than all the others” and represents “the most powerful chord of colors” that one can imagine.
In the end, the final draft of the party banner was drawn up: on a red background - a white circle, and in the center of this circle - a black "Hackenkreutz" (Kolovrat). Interestingly, in the first edition of My Struggle, Hitler himself designated the swastika with a term not borrowed from medieval heraldry "Hackenkreutz" (hooked cross, from the German word "Hacken" - hook ), a "Hackenkreutz" (literally: hoe-shaped cross, from the word "Gakke" - hoe). But in subsequent editions of the book, in the lexicon of the National Socialist movement and Hitler's Third Reich, only the term was used "Hackenkreutz" (hooked cross).
The "combat armbands" ("kampfbinden") of the National Socialists actually copied (in miniature) the party banner of the NSDAP. After creation assault squads parties (CA) on the red armbands of their "Fuhrer" (commander) to the black Kolovrat in the white circle for some time added horizontal silver (white) stripes, the number of which varied depending on the rank of a particular Fuhrer. However, these white stripes were canceled no later than 1932 (in photographs depicting the top leadership of the NSDAP - in particular, Hermann Goering - on "Congress of the National Opposition" in Bad Harzburg, where the ephemeral anti-Weimar "Harzburg Front", these stripes on the bandages are still clearly visible). The headbands of the highest party functionaries were decorated with gold trim - up to the gilded quadrangular stars- "Head over heels" in the center of the Kolovrat.
According to Hitler, the new party symbol of the NSDAP was a combination of "all the colors that we loved so much in our time", as well as "a vivid embodiment of the ideals and aspirations of our new movement", in which the red color personified the "social ideas" inherent in this movement , white is the idea of nationalism (later, especially after the end of World War II, neo-Nazis and other followers of Hitler even more "successfully" interpreted white as the idea of fighting for white supremacy ), "The hoe-shaped cross is the mission of the struggle for the victory of the Aryans and at the same time for the victory of creative labor, which from time immemorial has been anti-Semitic and will remain anti-Semitic."
To be continued...
In 1933, on March 12, a decree was issued: simultaneously raise two flags - black - white - red and a flag with a picture of a swastika. It was a symbol of the connection between "Germany's glorious past and the rebirth of the German nation." Together they were supposed to represent the power and the close connection between each representative of the German land. Moreover, on military buildings it was required to hang out exclusively the state military banner.
Flag of the Third Reich: A Bit of History
Adolf Hitler himself developed and implemented the design of the banner. According to his idea, the national canvas is a formidable embodiment of the ideas of socialism (highlighted in scarlet), the ideals of nationalism (in white) and the mission of confronting the Aryan nation for the purity of the nation, laid on the cross inside. This is the embodiment of the Motherland, because a division that has lost its banner has no right to exist.
S. V. Zubkov said that since ancient times the banners have served as a talisman. From time immemorial, on the flags of all peoples their history, information about the traditions, revered gods (Ancient Russia) was transferred. Their purpose was really to protect - a kind of magical effect, protection. For example, even in modern times on the flags of some countries - England, Switzerland, Scotland - there are crosses as symbols of patron saints.
Historical fact: the flag of the Third Reich was simply taken from the banners of the National Socialist German Party (NSDAP), created by Adolf. It is identical to the party symbols, and in its appearance one can distinguish the "Thule" community, which provides advice to heraldists.
The symbolism of the canvas
So, the standard of the Third Reich. A scarlet color, a light circle and, traditionally, a black swastika.
The background of the canvas is bright scarlet. According to the traditions of Hitlerite Germany, this is fire and blood, to which great importance was attached, as well as the power of the social idea.
According to the great thoughts and reasoning of Adolf Hitler, only through the purification of blood could the Aryan society be recreated from the ashes. This is a continuation of the theory of "blood and soil", which was strengthened by national symbols, creating a single concept.
White color - holiness, purity, a symbol of chosenness and light, a national idea. Geometric figure- circle, not without reason chosen by Hitler. A similar arrangement of all elements on the canvas means an empire, a monarchy. Direct proof of this is Japan before the war. It is a symbol of dedication, magic block, protection.
And finally, the central detail - the swastika - a creative black symbol, the central sign of the revival of the Aryans. It was not for nothing that the Fuhrer was engaged in the development himself - such a banner could only be united together by a piously convinced person who believed in the invincibility of mystical protection.
Political background
You can draw a parallel with another powerful power - The Soviet Union... The flag was also red, and the three colors - white, black and red - were widely used for Bolshevik posters. Political scientists said that it was not in vain - the revolutionary movements drowned Russia in blood. What are the similarities? Hitler's revolutionary party NSDAP was conceived as an opposition party. The color scheme of the German flag also appeared for a reason - these are "bloody" shades with "bloody" overtones. Let's remember the work of Blok, "12". It is a revolutionary poem that also featured a thread of the aforementioned three colors.
Hitler attached great importance to all the mystical foundations of the formation of his standard: the latter was carefully checked by the special organization "Anenerbe". What is meant? Representatives of the organization conducted research, during which they proved the absence of dangerous energy, which could prevent the leader from purifying the blood and reviving the race. At the end of the check, the flag was taken under cover of night to the burial place of Kaiserling (the Fuhrer considered himself his embodiment) and consecrated according to the Teutonic custom.
Why dress code? Well, I must say that in the Third Reich, the soldier had to be not only the most elegant representative of the nation, but also the ideal man. Accordingly, the form that was developed for this ideal man had to correspond to the hero of the nation. A lot of people worked on this, and probably now quite a lot of people already know that the famous couturier, whose Fashion House still exists to this day, Hugo Boss, put his hand to the development and sewing of the German uniform. Moreover, in 1931, Hugo Boss Sr. joined the National Socialist Party and began to develop suits for the SS, SA, Hitler Youth, the highest party leadership in Germany and, of course, for military units. different types troops.
The Germans began to pay special attention to camouflage fabrics, because the new war presupposed new standards of warfare, greater secrecy. At first, this did not manifest itself, and the first main association with the German army, which probably exists among most people to this day, is gray uniforms with four pockets, very elegant (we must give them their due), very comfortable to wear. made from durable and high quality fabrics.
If you recall the chronicle of the war, look at the photographs of the British, French or us, then neither the English, nor the French, nor the Soviet uniforms evoked a sense of a hidden threat. And the element of latent threat was one of the main components of the warfare of the German army. In his book, German General Staff Officer Eike Middeldorf repeatedly addresses the issue of the hidden threat. The latent threat should have always been created. It is not necessary to completely surround the enemy - you need to create the appearance of an environment and move on; it is not necessary to take any harsh unmotivated actions - it is enough to hint that they will happen. And this idea pervaded literally everything, including the development of uniforms for the German army.
Group photo of young men from the Hitler Youth, 1933. (pinterest.com)
The basis of the main, let's say, German tunic, which was worn by both officers and soldiers, was taken from the model of the First World War, which was finalized: with its appearance it gave great status, great fit, and at the same time was extremely functional.
If you count how many varieties of uniforms German soldiers and officers had, you get about ten varieties: it was a dress uniform, a weekend uniform, a form for reports, an additional output uniform, everyday, patrol, field and work uniform. Accordingly, the form was supposed to have all kinds of unloading, as it is now called. A knapsack was specially designed, in which everything and everything could be placed - this is for the infantry, for the soldiers. And numerous views of German parades and marching columns really evoke a feeling of this anxiety and fatality, over which, apparently, not only Hugo Boss did a good job, but also ideologists and fashion designers.
It must be said that, naturally, all sorts of attributes were attached to the uniform: these are buttonholes, which were used to determine belonging to one or another branch of the army; these are the edges on the caps, which also made it possible to do this; and, accordingly, all sorts of elements that distinguished those who achieved something.
If we talk about German awards, then they all had their own slang names. And I must say that there was some kind of internal competition between the Wehrmacht, that is, the German army, and the NSDAP and the SS, respectively, since the SS was like a military application of the NSDAP, Hitler's personal troops, party, because neither the Wehrmacht, nor the Luftwaffe, nor Kriegsmarine, no other troops in the German army were political. Not a single soldier or officer of the German army, in accordance with German law, could be a member of any party. As a matter of fact, the Wehrmacht never really liked the NSDAP and actively organized attempts against Hitler, the last of which was almost effective.
No more than six awards could be worn on the German uniform. The Germans had laconic awards, not colored, with the exception of the German star, which in the army was called "scrambled eggs" for the presence yellow color... It was usually white or black metal. And, of course, the most prestigious awards were the Iron Cross and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, which were given to very, very few.
Presentation of the Iron Cross to Hannah Reitsch, 1941. (pinterest.com)
As for the SS, Reichsfuehrer Heinrich Himmler was personally involved in the development of the stylistics of the form and much more, who was very interested in the German epic. And everything that had anything to do with this, he strove to bring into the development and creation of the form and symbolism of the SS troops.
If we talk about the SS troops, then usually the associative array draws people in black uniforms. But in fact, not all of them had black uniforms every day, and SS field units wore exactly the same gray uniforms or camouflage as all other military units in Germany.
Probably the standard stereotype of perception is the presence of a skull with bones on the SS uniform. In fact, the story of the skull with bones has nothing to do with intimidation and intimidation of the enemy. This is a very ancient Germanic sign, which meant readiness for self-sacrifice, readiness to sacrifice oneself in the name of the Motherland. This symbol existed even in the time of Frederick of Prussia, and when he was buried, the coffin was covered with a black cloth, at the corners of which a skull with two bones was embroidered, and the skull did not have a lower jaw. It was believed that this was the same skull that was on Calvary, the skull of Adam, which lay at the base of the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified.
This symbol was very common in Germany and during the First World War. Soldiers and officers ordered rings with the image of this skull. Naturally, when the struggle for political power began, everything that could work for this power was adapted by it, and Hitler and his entourage decided to use this symbol also in their favor. Some changes in appearance skulls and bones were introduced by Himmler. Since he still graduated from an agricultural educational institution, he noticed that the shape of the skull is not entirely correct - there is no lower jaw, and ordered to refine the symbol in accordance with the anatomical parameters. It was such an anatomically correct skull that appeared as a symbol of the SS troops and, first of all, the "Dead's Head" division, which was very, very active on all fronts during the Second World War.
It must be said that the outbreak of hostilities on the Eastern Front made its own harsh adjustments to the life of the German army. Naturally, German soldiers and officers had greatcoats. However, the Germans initially did not intend to fight in the winter, and their overcoat was rather demi-season and for cool weather, but not at the 30 and 40-degree frosts that they had to face during the hostilities in the winter of 1941/42. Accordingly, this set the German uniform designers the task of making the clothes warm. And this form appeared in 1942. It was a reversible jacket, white on one side, and gray on the other, either in protective camouflage (it was either in the form of broken glass or in the form of streaks on the water), which had pockets turned inside out, which was decently insulated and which could be worn on all. It was, probably, the first shapeless form, which did not restrain movement at all and made it possible to work quite comfortably in any weather conditions, including even on snow.
The Death's Head division moves forward, 1941. (pinterest.com)
A separate form design was carried out for Africa. One of the commanders in Rommel's Afrika Korps writes in his memoirs that the first impressions of the uniforms they received for the desert war were quite stunning, because both the shorts and the jacket were thick. In the daytime, when the temperature reached forty or more degrees, it seemed ridiculous, it was very hot. But the temperature drops in the desert were so great that by nightfall this form turned out to be the most suitable.
It turns out that the form not only determines the appearance, not only affects the psychology of the enemy and the psychology of those who wear this uniform, but also performs a huge number of functions.
A few words about the swastika as a symbol of the Third Reich. So the swastika is a very ancient symbol. When the Nazi symbols were being developed, the NSDAP somehow revolved around a cross of one form or another: after all, the cross was a standard German symbol for many centuries, starting with the same Teutonic knights.
Actually, the swastika is a Tibetan, Buddhist and Hindu symbol, which is many, many thousands of years old, which symbolized the movement of the sun. And if you visit India, you will see swastikas of all sorts and stripes painted on anything: on houses, on cars, on counters ...
Accordingly, the harsh form of the swastika, apparently, greatly impressed Hitler and Himmler. She was very laconic. And if you remember that the Nazi banners were red with a white circle, where a swastika was located in the middle, and the banners of German communists were red with a white circle, where a black hammer and sickle were located, then at a great distance all this was perceived uniformly, and at the beginning of the struggle for influence to society, it all looked like variations on the same theme. One way or another, the swastika took root in Germany, but it was not a national symbol, but a political one. She was not a symbol of the Wehrmacht. And, moreover, if we recall the conflict between the commander of Yagdgeshwader-77, Gordon Gollob, and Goering, who accused him of cowardice and insufficient effectiveness of actions, then Gollob simply ordered to paint over the swastika on the Messerschmitts of his division. So they flew the whole war without a swastika on their tails. Well, in general, there were a lot of such precedents.
Erwin Rommel during the fighting in Africa. (pinterest.com)
A few words about what the German infantry looked like. As mentioned above, privates and officers had about ten types of uniforms that they wore. Basically, this form was gray, as we say, a mouse color. The question arises: why did the Germans choose the color gray? But in fact, in a battle, when dust, dirt and so on rise, everything turns gray. You can read Remarque or someone else who wrote about the war: dust, dust and dirt. Accordingly, gray is the most adaptive, the most invisible.
I must say that at the first stage of the war, the Germans painted their aircraft according to the scheme: light green and dark green on top, pale blue on the bottom. But, starting in 1942, they began to paint planes and fighters in gray and dark gray, such as dove-gray, the shade of the wings of a dove. Why? Because at a short distance, this plane was already concealing, eroding. Gray - he is faceless enough, as the Strugatskys wrote, "the grays start and win." And, indeed, as an element of camouflage, it was effective. Our aviation, too, since 1943, has adapted the gray colors for greater stealth.
The eagle is one of the most common figures depicted on coats of arms. This proud and strong bird king symbolizes not only power and dominance, but also courage, bravery and discernment. In the 20th century, Nazi Germany chose the eagle as an emblem. Read more about the imperial eagle of the 3rd Reich below in the article.
Eagle in heraldry
For symbols in heraldry, there is a specific, historically established classification. All symbols are subdivided into heraldic and non-heraldic figures. If the former, rather, show how different color areas divide the field of the coat of arms and have an abstract meaning (cross, border or belt), then the latter depict images of objects or creatures, fictitious or quite real. The eagle belongs to the natural non-heraldic figures, it is believed that it is the second most common in this category after the lion.
As a symbol of supreme power, the eagle has been known since the times of Antiquity. The ancient Greeks and Romans identified him with the supreme gods - Zeus and Jupiter. It is the personification of active solar energy, power and inviolability. Often he became the personification of the heavenly god: if the celestial was reincarnated into a bird, then only into such a majestic one like an eagle. The eagle also symbolizes the victory of the spirit over earthly nature: soaring to heaven is nothing more than constant development and ascension over one's own weaknesses.
Eagle in the symbolism of Germany
For historical Germany, the king of birds has served as a heraldic symbol for a long time. The eagle of the 3rd Reich is just one of its incarnations. The foundation of the Holy Roman Empire in 962 can be considered the beginning of this story. The double-headed eagle became the coat of arms of this state in the 15th century, and previously belonged to one of its rulers - Emperor Henry IV. From that moment on, the eagle has invariably been present on the coat of arms of Germany.
During the period of the monarchy, the crown was placed over the eagle as a symbol of imperial power, during the period of the republic it disappeared. The prototype of the modern one is the heraldic eagle of the Weimar Republic, adopted as a state symbol in 1926, and then restored in the post-war period - in 1950. When the Nazis came to power, a new image of the eagle was created.
Eagle 3 Reich
After coming to power, the Nazis used the coat of arms of the Weimar Republic until 1935. In 1935, Adolf Hitler himself instituted a new coat of arms in the form of a black eagle with outstretched wings. This eagle holds a wreath of oak branches in its paws. A swastika is inscribed in the center of the wreath - a symbol borrowed by the Nazis from Eastern culture. The eagle looking to the right was used as state symbols and was called state or imperial - Reichsadler. The left-facing eagle remained as the symbol of the party called the Partyadler - the party eagle.
Distinctive features Nazi symbols - clarity, straight lines, sharp angles, which gives the symbols a formidable, even ominous look. This uncompromising sharpness of angles was reflected in any creation of culture during the Third Reich. A similar gloomy majesty was present in monumental architectural structures, and even in musical works.
Swastika symbolism
More than 75 years have passed since the defeat of Nazi Germany, and its main symbol - the swastika - still causes a lot of criticism in society. But the swastika is a much more ancient symbol, only borrowed by the Nazis. It is found in the symbolism of many ancient cultures and symbolizes the solstice - the path of the star across the sky. The word "swastika" itself has an Indian origin: in Sanskrit it means "prosperity." In Western culture, this symbol was known under other names - gammadion, tetraskelion, filfot. The Nazis themselves called this symbol "Hakenkreuz" - a cross with hooks.
According to Hitler, the swastika was chosen as a symbol of the continuous struggle of the Aryan race for domination. The sign was rotated 45 degrees and placed in a white circle against the background of a red banner - this is how the flag of Nazi Germany looked like. The choice of the swastika was a very good strategic decision. This symbol is very effective and memorable, and those who first get acquainted with its unusual form, unconsciously feel the desire to try to draw this sign.
Since then, the time of oblivion has come for the ancient sign of the swastika. If earlier the whole world did not hesitate to use a rectangular spiral as a symbol of prosperity - from advertising "Coca-Cola" to greeting cards, then in the second half of the twentieth century the swastika was expelled from Western culture for a long time. And only now, with the development of intercultural communication, the true meaning of the swastika begins to revive.
Oak wreath symbolism
In addition to the swastika, there was another symbol on the Wehrmacht coat of arms. In the clutches of the eagle of the 3rd Reich, this image means much more to the German people than the swastika. Oak has long been considered an important tree for the Germans: like the laurel wreath in Rome, oak branches have become a sign of power and victory.
The image of oak branches was intended to endow the owner of the coat of arms with the power and resilience of this regal tree. For the Third Reich, it became one of the symbols of loyalty and national unity. Leaf symbolism was used in details of uniforms and decorations.
Nazi eagle tattoo
Members of radical minorities tend to push their loyalty to the group to the limit. Nazi symbols often become a part of tattoos, including the eagle of the 3rd Reich. The tattoo designation lies on the surface. In order to decide to perpetuate the fascist eagle on your body, you must absolutely share and agree with the views of the National Socialists. Most often, the eagle is applied on the back, then the contours of the wings lie clearly on the shoulders. There are also similar tattoos on other parts of the body, for example, on the bicep or even on the heart.
After the war: the defeated eagle
In several museums around the world, the defeated bronze eagle of the 3rd Reich is displayed as a war trophy. During the capture of Berlin, the Allied troops actively destroyed all kinds of Nazi symbols. Sculptural images of an eagle, swastika and other significant images were knocked down from buildings without much ceremony. In Moscow, a similar eagle is on display in (formerly the Central Museum of the Red Army) and in the Museum of the FSB Border Guard Service. The photo below shows a similar bronze eagle on display at the Imperial War Museum in London.
Eagle of the Wehrmacht without swastika
Today, the Wehrmacht eagle is still associated with Nazi symbols. The characteristic silhouette and contour makes it possible to recognize in any seemingly neutral image of a bird an eagle of the Third Reich without a swastika. For example, in the city of Oryol in December 2016, a scandal erupted due to the fact that a Nazi symbol was seen in the decor of the new benches. However, the local press notes that such discussions about the similarity / dissimilarity and associations with the Nazis arise around almost every new image of an eagle, not only in the city of the same name, but in general throughout the country. Remember, for example, the symbol of Special Communications - an eagle with outstretched wings was approved back in 1999. When comparing it with the subject of our article, you can see that the logo really resembles the eagle of the 3rd Reich in the photo.
In addition to the part of the population that perceives any hint of fascist symbols in the logo as a personal insult, there is also a category of people who treats this with humor. A frequent entertainment of designers is to cut out the swastika from the image of the coat of arms with an eagle so that anything can be inserted there. Moreover, there are even cartoons where instead of an eagle there can be any other character with wings. For the same reason, the 3rd Reich eagle without a background, drawn in vector format, is popular. In this case, it is much easier to "pull" it out of the original document and add it to any other image.