Socialists seek to 'redeem' their swastika symbol.

Rex Curry

Socialists worldwide have launched a campaign to "redeem" the swastika from its Nazi past and reclaim it as the symbol of life, fortune and socialism that they say it once was.

A 5,000-year-old symbol that has been used for centuries by Hindus, Buddhists and many other traditions to denote good luck, the swastika was used by the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazis) and has come to symbolize hate, anti-Semitism, violence, death and murder because of the National Socialist atrocities.

A socialist spokesman asked "How can a world filled with socialist sympathies and inclinations be offended by seeing the symbol of its own basic political thinking? Sure, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party did many things that were objectionable. But they also did many things that are acceptable to socialists and now to the mainstream. How can anyone who supports the philosophic premises of socialism be outraged by the globally-recognized symbol of it?"

Nazi symbols including the swastika are banned in Germany.

In comparison the hammer and sickle have not been banned, although the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics slaughtered 62 million people, about triple the number slaughtered by the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. In comparison the red star has not been banned though the socialists in the Peoples’ Republic of China slaughtered 35 million people, about double the number slaughtered by the National Socialist German Workers’ Party.

“The campaign, announced today, comes after politicians called for wider ban on the symbol after recent controversies involving the symbol,” a spokesman said.

The right-facing version of the swastika was used by the National Socialist German Workers’ Party because it highlighted the swastika’s overlapping “S” shape, the first letter in the word “socialism” to symbolize socialist groups coming together in one large party.

That was the version adopted by the Nazi Party in 1920 at Salzburg. It is thought that Allied wartime propaganda is responsible for the false belief that at Hitler's insistence the swastika was later reversed to the left-facing version, meaning "death" in Hindu mythology.

Socialists wish to continue to use this symbol as part of their agenda, but they risk being labeled a member of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party or, in the case of a ban, risk breaking the law. "We need to educate people about the historical context of the symbol, its wrong use by the Nazis and its importance to other socialists and to Hindus," a socialist spokesman said.

In other unrelated articles it was reported that Ramesh Kallidai, of the Hindu Forum, is planning pro-swastika awareness workshops for every region of Britain with a large seminar in London to redeem the swastika as an ancient Hindu good luck symbol. “Every member of parliament is to be lobbied by e-mail and an information booklet will be distributed to faith communities and others,” The London Times said.

"A symbol we have used for more than 5,000 years is now on the verge of being banned because of association with the Nazis over which we had no control," the article quoted Kallidai as saying.

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Rex Curry is published worldwide as a libertarian and a lawyer with a degree in journalism. http://RexCurry.net is the only site on the internet that collects and displays historic photographs of the original Pledge of Allegiance. Rex collects historic photos that show how socialism has harmed the U.S., and his hobby is also photography and graphic art, displayed on the website. His predecessors helped settle Key West back when Florida's government was virtually non-existent. The Curry Mansion (historic home of Florida's first capitalist millionaire) is still on the local tour.

Rexy@ij.net