Theos-Talk Archives (March 2003 Message tt00125)

I found one thing to differ in this account Erica, his biographer 
(one of them) said that Hitler himself very very carefully designed 
the NADP emblem including the red and white colors (The colors of 
lower and upper Egypt) himself. Remember he was an artist and thought 
of himself as a good artist. HE designed the whole thing and you are 
right this was a symbol very commonly used and seen by all in 
Germany. Like seeing mountain ranges or something, no big deal. 
Hitler through his black power MADE it a big deal and everyone 
said "Oh my the swastika means racism, means the killing of Jews" I 
am so sick of hearing that stupid, stupid lie.

Netemara



-- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, Erica Letzerich <eletzerich@y...> 
wrote:
> Dear Steve,
> 
> 
> There is no historical base for your belief that Nazis
> took the swastika from the symbol of the Theosophical
> Society. If you want just to be blind and to believe
> in any crazy idea, it's up to you.
> 
> I am sending you below some historical facts about
> the way that the swastika was chosen by Hitler and the
> reasons. The information below are historical facts
> that can't be changed. 
> 
> It's really seek, if not cruel try to associate nazi
> Ideals with the elevated principles of Theosophy, I
> would say a lack of knowledge or a premeditated
> purpose to depreciate Madame Blavatsky and theosophy,
> followed by personal reasons you may have that I am
> not aware.
> 
> The Swastica, is considered to be one of the oldest
> symbols in the world.
> Is an ancient symbol of unknown origin that has been
> employed for thousands of years as a religious sign
> and a decorative emblem, the swastika is present in
> different cultures as: China, India, Japan, Tibet,
> Egypt, Ancient Crete, Ancient Troy, Scotland, Ancient
> Ireland, Kickapoo Indians, Hopi Indians, Zuni Indians,
> Central American Maya and Aztec (two -very- different
> cultures), Buddhist (found on the soles of the
> Buddha's feet, in statuary) , Pre-Hejira Arabs etc.
> 
> Now historically let's see the way Hitler got the
> Swastica symbol. 
> 
> "The swastica it was first used about 1870 by the
> Austrian Pan-German followers of Schoenerer. 
> 
> Wilhelm Schwaner displayed a swastika on the title
> page of his "voelkish" periodical "Der Volkserzeiher"
> in 1897 CE as a symbol of the paper's "voelkish"
> sentiments, and this may be the first printed usage of
> it in this context.
> 
> "Voelkish" means a "German-ness," a patriotism that
> transcends national boundaries and time, to include
> everything that is truly "Germanic," a "cult of the
> race,".
> 
> By 1912, the swastika was seen in use by many
> "voelkish" groups, and the "voelkish" thought began to
> take on an anti-Semitic cast. It was popular enough
> that the firm of Eckloeh began producing badges, tie
> pins, buckles, and other things incorporating the
> swastica. 
> 
> It was also used as a national emblem by Estonia and
> Finland in this period, being most familiar in photos
> of the Finnish Air Force during the Winter War with
> the Soviet Union. 
> 
> The "Wandervoegel" youth movement became very familiar
> with the symbol, being very "voelkish" in nature, and
> thus, the soldiers of Imperial Germany in WW I knew of
> the swastika and associated it with "voelkish"
> sentiments. 
> 
> These "voelkish" sentiments included a reverence for
> the operatic works of Wagner, an interest in the Grail
> Cycle of legends, the belief that the "Aryan" race is
> the "Herrenvolk" or "Master Race" of humanity, and a
> belief in an international Jewish conspiracy to
> control the world, as outlined in the so-called
> "Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion." 
> 
> One can only imagine the consternation that may have
> resulted when these soldiers of Germany saw the device
> being used as part of the insignia of the famous
> "Lafayette Escadrille," the American pilots that
> fought for the Allies before America's entry into WW I
> (the "Great War.") 
> 
> After 1918, the swastika was adopted by many of the
> "Freikorps" units, being seen in photographs of the
> Erhardt Brigade in its liberation of Munich from the
> Communists in April of 1919. Very soon after, the
> Hakenkreuz was no longer a romantic "voelkish" symbol,
> but an expression of right-wing opposition to the
> Weimar Republic
> 
> Therefore, when Hitler chose the swastika as the
> symbol of the NSDAP, he was quite probably conciously
> choosing an already familiar symbol that already had
> the tenets of National Socialist ideology attached to
> it in the minds of the German public. This act of
> adopting an already familiar badge is just one more
> point of evidence that Hitler was a canny and cunning
> man, and willing to steal and pervert whatever would
> advance his program. 
> 
> The badge of the NSDAP was designed by Dr. Friedrich
> Krohn, a dentist who had belonged to several
> "voelkish" groups, including the "Germanen Order"
> (membership in which, incidentally, precluded -any-
> advancement in the NSDAP). As mentioned above, the
> symbol was originally drawn right-handed, and 
> 
> Adolph Hitler insisted on its being reversed.
> Nazi Germany took an ancient symbol and perverted it
> to such a degree that it can never be used again
> without bringing up all the associations of death,
> destruction, hatred and vileness that the NSDAP
> perpetrated. 
> 
> If the Swastika is displayed in any of the "civilized"
> parts of the earth, the reactions of the viewer are
> universally of rage and disgust. This perversion of
> "right" may be one of the prime evils of the Nazis;
> they took patriotism, honorable military service and
> its associated ritual, chivalry, and the concept of
> "voelkishness," among so many other good and useful
> things, and perverted them into something so bad, so
> evil and vile, that to call a person a "Nazi" is one
> of the most terrible epithets a human can use.
> The "Aryan" "Herrenvolk" (Master Race) myth is still
> with us, in the mythos' of the "skinheads" and of the
> (pseudo) Christian "Identity" Church/ Movement in
> North America, not to mention the well-known Ku Klux
> Klan and its various offshoots. (who have taken
> another ancient and honorable symbol, the Scots "fiery
> Cross" clan rallying sign, and perverted it to a
> degraded usage.)" 
> 
> 
> 
> best regards,
> 
> Erica Letzerich
> 
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