The swastika was used as a conveniently eye-catching symbol to emphasise the so-called Aryan-German correspondence and instill racial pride.

Western use of the motif was subverted in the early 20th century after it was adopted as the emblem of the Nazi Party. The symbol appeared in many popular, non-political Western designs from the 1880s to the 1920s, with occasional use continuing into the 1930s. The swastika's worldwide use was well documented in an 1894 publication by the Smithsonian. Later discoveries of the motif among the remains of the Hittites and of ancient Iran seemed to confirm this theory, but the symbol was also known for its use by indigenous American Indians as well as Eastern cultures.īy the early 20th century it was used worldwide and was regarded as a symbol of good luck. He connected it with similar shapes found on ancient pots in Germany, and theorised that the swastika square was a 'significant religious symbol of our remote ancestors', linking Germanic, Greek and Indo-Iranian cultures. Schliemann concluded that the Swastika square was a specifically Indo-European symbol, and associated it with the ancient migrations of Proto-Indo-Europeans. The discovery of the Indo-European language group in the 1790s led to a great effort by European archaeologists to link the pre-history of European people to the hypothesised ancient ' Aryans' (variously referring to the Indo-Iranians or the Proto-Indo-Europeans).įollowing his discovery of objects bearing the swastika square in the ruins of Troy, Heinrich Schliemann consulted two leading Sanskrit scholars of the day, Emile Burnouf and Max Müller. A swastika was also painted on the inside of the nosecone of the Spirit of St. The symbol was popular as a good luck charm with early aviators.

The aviator Matilde Moisant (1878–1964) wearing a swastika square medallion in 1912.

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