The swastika is universally known today as a symbol of racism and hate. But how many of you know that the swastika used to be a universal symbol of luck and prosperity? It held this meaning to numerous cultures for over 3000 years. It was only during World War II that people began to give the swastika negative connotations, and you can still find numerous pre-ww2 artifacts employing this symbol as a sign of good luck. Some examples are given below.
Unknown North American coin, minted during the Great Depression.
Taken from
this site.The caption reads "Amerikanskt vykort från 1920-talet". I have no idea what this means.
A postcard, copyright 1907 by E. Phillips, a U.S. card publisher. Text on the back of the card reads:
GOOD LUCK EMBLEM
"The Swastika" is the oldest cross and emblem in the world. It forms a combination of four "L's" standing for Luck, Light, Love and Life. It has been found in ancient Rome, excavations in Grecian cities, on Buddhist idols, on Chinese coins dated 315 B.C., and our own Southwest Indians use it as an amulet.
It is claimed that the Mound Builders and Cliff Dwellers of Mexico, Central America consider "The Swastika" a charm to drive away evil and bring good luck, long life and prosperity to the possessor.
Luckymojo.com notes that the text on the card is factually innaccurate. According to that site, the Mound Builders and Cliff Dwellers did not live in Mexico, though they did use the swastika.
The caption on this one is, "Flower of Colorado. Amerikanskt vykort från 20-talet". I have no idea, but it's frightening, isn't it?
Some of these could be photoshopped, but from what i've gleaned from my Cultural Anthropology professor, the history behind this appears to be true. He himself has a pre-ww2 plate with various lucky-charms depicted on it, amoung them of course the giant, frightening swastika.
Not that I condone racism. I just think it's really fucked up how something we view very strongly as a symbol for hate, just 70 years ago was a symbol of good luck.