Translation Question: German-Russian

[Daniel Rancour-Laferriere]

22 April 2007

Dear Judith Wermuth,
It is true that "Swastika" (a borrowing from Sanskrit) occurs in some 
German dictionnaries, but "Hakenkreuz" is the more common (and native) 
term according to my German informants, and it is THE term for the Nazi 
period, which is the period I am studying.  For example, it is the term 
Hitler uses repeatedly in MEIN KAMPF (1925-1927), and he openly states 
that it has an "antisemitic" meaning.  He got this idea from the 
"Ariosophists" (Guido von List, Lanz von Lebenfels, and members of the 
Thule Society - the emblem of which is a swastika).  The "Ariosophists" 
were racist antisemites who advocated (among other things) the bogus 
idea of a superior "Aryan" race.  Ordinary Germans were not aware of 
their esoteric teachings, although they tended to be antisemites anyway 
for other reasons.  Ordinary Germans and other (mostly) Christians who 
killed Jews during the Holocaust/Shoah did so under the sign of the 
Hakenkreuz, that is, under the sign of a cross.  If you consult the New 
Testament, or the Church Fathers, or Martin Luther, you will find that 
the Jews have traditionally been made responsible for the death of 
Christ ON THE CROSS.

The hooked cross, as you observe, was utilized by Christians well before 
the rise of the Third Reich (although the Sanskrit terminological 
borrowing was apparently rather late).  Indeed, Bagdasarov and many 
other scholars before him have documented the use of the hooked cross 
all the way back to the Roman catacombs, where you will find hooked 
crosses right alongside chi-rho crosses and equilateral (Greek) 
crosses.  The hooked cross is to be found on church vestments, 
architectural objects (the floor of Notre Dame of Amiens, the mosaics of 
Hagia Sophia in Byzantium, as well as the Kievskii sobor), on 
gravestones (the Irish St. Brigid, a Visigothic tombstone), etc. etc.  
All of this is quite apart from the non-Christian uses of the swastika 
in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, etc., where the idea of a "cross" is 
simply irrelevant (although I wonder why that shape appears on the 
emblem of the Chinese Falun Gong cult, or why there exists a Red 
Swastika Charity Foundation in Singapore).

As for the Russian context, the 17-volume Academy dictionary does 
provide the word "svastika" with two meanings: the object commonly found 
in Russian folk art, and the Nazi symbol.  Bagdasarov is quite 
informative on Russian folk art.  He also notes that tsar Nikolai II and 
his circle were enchanted by this symbol, and that "they were planning 
to give it a status of a state emblem."  You will find the swastika on 
some Russian currency from the period of the Provisional Government.

With regards to the list,

Daniel Rancour-Laferriere


Judywermuth at CS.COM wrote:

>Svastika is not a mistranslation of the German word Hakenkreuz. In German the 
>words Hakenkreuz and Sonnenkreuz (or Sonnenrad) are only synonyms of the 
>(also) German word Swastika (feminine; Plural - Swastiken) which existed in the 
>language long before the Nazi regime. Before the Third Reich, the word Swastika 
>was known to the common people in Germany as a symbol in some Catholic orders, 
>in Freemasonry, in literature and art, and in some ancient monuments on the 
>European continent, especially in Sweden. The reason for Roman Bagdasarov to 
>use the word Hakenkreuz may be the fact that, today, of the three German 
>synonyms, Hakenkreuz is the only one related to the Nazi context. The word Swastika 
>may be related by Germans to other historic or religious contexts, not 
>necessarily to the Nazis.    
>Judith Wermuth       </HTML>
>
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
>  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
>                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>  
>

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------