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'''Swastika''' or '''Swastik''' (Sanskrit: ''svástika'' स्वस्तिक; "well-being"; German: ''hakenkreuz''; "hooked cross") is an ancient symbol usually associated with Eastern religions or as decorative art as early as the [[Bronze Age]]; its use in [[Germany]] as an emblem for the [[Nazi Party]] made it one of the most recognizable symbols of hatred in history.

'''Swastika''' or '''Swastik''' (Sanskrit: ''svástika'' स्वस्तिक; "well-being"; German: ''hakenkreuz''; "hooked cross") is an ancient symbol usually associated with Eastern religions or as decorative art as early as the [[Bronze Age]]; its use in [[Germany]] as an emblem for the [[Nazi Party]] made it one of the most recognizable symbols of hatred in history.

The historical swastika is an even cross, with the arms bent at right angles either clockwise or counter-clockwise. Usually most religious instances of the swastika are based on the dimensions of a square<ref>[http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/15/151.html http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/15/151.html]</ref>, and has been surmised to be used to symbolize the rotation of the sun or creation, as the arms give the impression of continual rotation.  [[Heinrich Schliemann]] found images of the swastika painted on pottery recovered from the ruins of [[Troy]] during his expeditions there in the 1870s.  As a religious symbol, the swastika has powerful symbolic meanings in the [[Buddhism|Buddhist]], [[Jain]], and [[Hindu]] religions.  As such, it was adopted by [[Rudyard Kipling]] as part of the logo on most of his books.

The historical swastika is an even cross, with the arms bent at right angles either clockwise or counter-clockwise. Usually most religious instances of the swastika are based on the dimensions of a square,<ref>[http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/15/151.html http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/15/151.html]</ref> and has been surmised to be used to symbolize the rotation of the sun or creation, as the arms give the impression of continual rotation.  [[Heinrich Schliemann]] found images of the swastika painted on pottery recovered from the ruins of [[Troy]] during his expeditions there in the 1870s.  As a religious symbol, the swastika has powerful symbolic meanings in the [[Buddhism|Buddhist]], [[Jain]], and [[Hindu]] religions.  As such, it was adopted by [[Rudyard Kipling]] as part of the logo on most of his books.

[[Adolf Hitler]] adopted the swastika as the emblem for his Nazi Party; it was emblazoned with a counter-clockwise rotation within a white circle centered on a red field for his flag and tilted 45 degrees<ref>[http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/34/3413.html http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/34/3413.html]</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4183467.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4183467.stm]</ref>, becoming the national flag soon after he took power in 1933.  The mass killings of Jews and other minorities by the Nazis occurred under swastika banner through the end of [[World War II]] in 1945, and since then the swastika has come to symbolize extreme hate.  It is still used as such a symbol today by neo-Nazis in Europe and North America, as well as white-supremacist and other hate groups.

[[Adolf Hitler]] adopted the swastika as the emblem for his Nazi Party; it was emblazoned with a counter-clockwise rotation within a white circle centered on a red field for his flag and tilted 45 degrees,<ref>[http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/34/3413.html http://www.symbols.com/encyclopedia/34/3413.html]</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4183467.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4183467.stm]</ref> becoming the national flag soon after he took power in 1933.  The mass killings of Jews and other minorities by the Nazis occurred under swastika banner through the end of [[World War II]] in 1945, and since then the swastika has come to symbolize extreme hate.  It is still used as such a symbol today by neo-Nazis in Europe and North America, as well as white-supremacist and other hate groups.

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