Fascist symbolism

As there have been many different manifestations of

fascism, especially during the interwar years, there were
also many different symbols of fascist movements. Fas-
cist symbolism typically involved nationalist imagery.

1 Common symbolism of fascist

movements
Organized fascist movements have militarist-appearing
uniforms for their members; use national symbols, his-
torical symbols of a nation as symbols of their move-
ment; and use orchestrated rallies for propaganda pur-
poses. Fascist movements are led by a “Leader” (i.e.
Duce, Führer, Caudillo...) who is publicly idolized in
propaganda as the nation’s saviour. A number of fascist
movements use a straight-armed salute.
The use of symbols, graphics, and other artifacts created A perched eagle clutching a fasces was a common symbol used
by fascist and totalitarian governments has been noted as on Italian Fascist uniforms.
a key aspect of their propaganda.[1] Most Fascist move-
ments adopted symbols of Ancient Roman or Greek ori-
magistrates; a bundle of sticks featuring an axe, indicat-
gin, for example the German use of Roman standards
ing the power over life and death. Before the Italian Fas-
during rallies, the Italian adoption of the fasces symbol,
cists adopted the fasces, the symbol had been used by
the Spanish "Falange" from the Spanish word for “Pha-
Italian political organizations of various political ideolo-
lanx”.
gies (ranging from socialist to nationalist), called Fascio
(“leagues”) as a symbol of strength through unity.
Italian Fascism utilized the color black as a symbol of
2 Italy their movement, black being the color of the uniforms of
their paramilitaries, known as Blackshirts. The blackshirt
derived from Italy’s daredevil elite shock troops known as
the Arditi, soldiers who were specifically trained for a life
of violence and wore unique blackshirt uniforms.[2] The
colour black as used by the Arditi, symbolized death.[3]
Other symbols used by the Italian Fascists included the
aquila, the Capitoline Wolf, and the SPQR motto, each
related to Italy’s ancient Roman cultural history, which
the Fascists attempted to resurrect.

3 Nazi Germany
Main article: Nazi symbolism
Flag of the National Fascist Party, bearing the fasces, which was
the premier symbol of Italian Fascism. The nature of German fascism, as encapsulated in
Nazism was similar to Italian Fascism ideologically and
The original symbol of fascism, in Italy under Benito borrowed symbolism from the Italian Fascists such as the
Mussolini, was the fasces. This is an ancient Imperial use of mass rallies, the straight-armed Roman salute, and
Roman symbol of power carried by lictors in front of the use of pageantry. Nazism was different from Ital-

1
2 5 MILITARIST UNIFORMS WITH NATIONALIST INSIGNIA

and insignia.
Although the swastika was a popular symbol in art prior
to the regimental use by Nazi Germany and has a long
heritage in many other cultures throughout history - and
although many of the symbols used by the Nazis were an-
cient or commonly used prior to the advent of Nazi Ger-
many - because of association with Nazi use, the swastika
is often considered synonymous with National Socialism
and some of the other symbols still carry a negative post-
World War II stigma in some Western countries, to the
point where some of the symbols are banned from dis-
Flag of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP), play altogether.
bearing the swastika, the premier symbol of Nazism which re-
mains strongly associated with it in the Western world.

4 Spain
See also: Symbols of Francoism
The fascist Falange in Spain utilized the yoke and arrows

NSDAP Parteiadler eagle.

ian Fascism in that it was explicitly racist in nature. Its

symbol was the swastika, at the time a commonly seen
symbol in the world that had experienced a revival in use
Flag of the Spanish Falange, bearing the yoke and arrows, the
in the western world in the early 20th century. German
premier symbol of Falangism.
völkisch Nationalists claimed the swastika was a symbol
of the Aryan race, who they claimed were the foundation
as their symbol. It historically served as the symbol of the
of Germanic civilization and were superior to all other
shield of the monarchy of Ferdinand and Isabella and sub-
races.
sequent Catholic monarchs, representing a united Spain
As the Italian Fascists adapted elements of their eth- and the “symbol of the heroic virtues of the race”.[4] The
nic heritage to fuel a sense of Nationalism by use of original uniform of the Falangistas was the blue shirt – de-
symbolism, so did Nazi Germany. Turn-of-the-century rived from the blue overalls of industrial workers – which
German-Austrian mystic and author Guido von List was was later combined with the red beret of the Carlists to
a big influence on Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, represent their merger by Franco.
who introduced various ancient Germanic symbols (fil-
tered through von List’s writings) most thoroughly into
the SS, including the stylized double Sig Rune (von List’s
then-contemporary Armanen rune version of the ancient 5 Militarist uniforms with nation-
sowilo rune) for the organization itself. alist insignia
The black-white-red tricolor of the German Empire was
utilized as the color scheme of the Nazi flag. The color Organized fascist movements typically use military-like
brown was the identifying color of Nazism (and fascism in uniforms with the symbol of their movement on them.
general), due to it being the color of the SA paramilitaries In Italy, the Italian Fascist movement in 1919 wore black
(also known as Brownshirts). military-like uniforms, and were nicknamed Blackshirts.
Other historical symbols that were already in use by the In power, uniforms during the Fascist era extended to
German Army to varying degrees prior to the Nazi Ger- both the party and the military which typically bore fasces
many, such as the Wolfsangel and Totenkopf, were also or an eagle clutching a fasces on their caps or on the left
used in a new, more industrialized manner on uniforms arm section of the uniform.
 3

ored uniform for their movement, the tan-brown colored

uniform of the SA paramilitary group earned the group
and the Nazis themselves the nickname of the Brown-
shirts. The Nazis used the swastika for their uniforms
and copied the Italian Fascists’ uniforms, with an eagle
clutching a wreathed swastika instead of a fasces, and a
Nazi flag arm sash on the left arm section of the uniform
for party members.
Other fascist countries largely copied the symbolism of
the Italian Fascists and German Nazis for their move-
ments. Like them, their uniforms looked typically like
military uniforms with Nationalist type insignia of the
movement. The Spanish Falange adopted dark blue shirts
for their party members, symbolizing Spanish workers,
many of whom wore blue shirts. Berets were also used,
representing their Carlist supporters. The Spanish Blue
Division expeditionary volunteers sent to the Eastern
Front of WW2 in (relatively indirect) support of the Ger-
mans likewise wore blue shirts, berets and their army
trousers.

6 Other regions
Benito Mussolini in uniform.

Symbol of the Ustaše of Croatia

Adolf Hitler in uniform.
Many other fascist movements did not win power or were
relatively minor regimes in comparison and their symbol-
In Germany, the fascist Nazi movement was similar to the ism is not well-remembered today in many parts of the
Italian Fascists in that they initially used a specifically col- world.
4 7 CONTEMPORARY USAGE

• The symbol of the Bulgarian national-socialist 7 Contemporary usage

Ratnik movements was a sun cross named “Bogar”.
• The chief symbol of Sir Oswald Mosley's British
Union of Fascists was the Flash and Circle adopted
in 1936, which represented the “flash of action”
within the “circle of unity” that symbolized the all-
important British State (which is also used by the
People’s Action Party of Singapore). The BUF pre-
viously used the image of a gold fasces superim-
posed on a blue circle, located centrally on a red
background. The emblem was also disparagingly re-
ferred to as “The Flash In The Pan”, particularly by
opponents of Mosley.
• The symbol of the Croatian Ustaše movement was Celtic cross on a Neo-Nazi flag
capital letter U with the flaming grenade and the
Croatian coat of arms.
• A prominent symbol of the Greek 4th of August
Regime was the Labrys/Pelekys, the double-headed
axe which Ioannis Metaxas thought to be the oldest
symbol of all Hellenic civilizations.
• The symbol of Hungary's fascistic Arrow Cross
Party was the Arrow Cross.
• Austria’s Fatherland’s Front that ruled the country
from 1933 to 1938, used the crutch cross as its sym-
bol.
• The symbol of the Norwegian Nasjonal Samling was
as golden/yellow sun cross on red background.
• The symbol of Salazar’s Portuguese Estado Novo
regime was a stylized version of the Armillary
sphere and shield found on the national flag; its ri-
vals in the Movimento Nacional-Sindicalista used
the Order of Christ Cross.
Ukrainian National Union
• The symbol of the Romanian Iron Guard was a triple
cross (a variant of the triple parted and fretted) - Some neo-Nazi organizations continue to use the
three parallel verticals intersected with three paral- swastika, but many have moved away from such in-
lel horizontals, usually in black; it was meant to rep- flammatory symbols of early fascism. Some neo-fascist
resent prison bars, as a badge of martyrdom. It was groups use symbols that are reminiscent of the swastika
sometimes deemed the Archangel Michael Cross, af- or other cultural or ancestral symbols that may evoke na-
ter the patron saint of the movement. tionalistic sentiment but do not carry the same racist con-
notations.
• Several Polish far-right and nationalist organizations
have used the Mieczyk Chrobrego ([Boleslaus] the
Brave’s Sword), which resembles the Szczerbiec, or • Crosses:
the coronation sword of Polish kings. • Celtic cross - used by the Italian New Force,
• The National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands David Duke's website and VSBD/PdA, a
(NSB) used the Wolfsangel as its main symbol. banned German neo-Nazi party

• The Brazilian Integralist Party used an upper case • Cross crosslet - Lithuanian National Socialist
sigma Party
• Sun cross - Nordic Reich Party, Sweden
• The Russian Movement Against Illegal Immigra-
tion, which is often considered to be a moderate and • Swastika - continues to be used by groups such as the
legal neo-Nazi movement, uses the black-colored American Nazi Party, the São Paulo Skinheads in
road sign “Stop Prohibited” (similar to the swastika) Brazil and was used by the National Socialist Front
as their main symbol. of Sweden
 5

• Bladed swastika - Russian National Unity

• Wolfsangel symbol -
• used by the SS and Hitlerjugend, as well as var-
ious Neo-Nazi groups
• Azov Battalion, a paramilitary militia fight-
ing against pro-Russian separatists in Eastern
Ukraine[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]
• Cogwheel - Hungarian Welfare Association
• Labrys (or Pelekys) - a Minoic double-headed axe,
used by some fascist Greek nostalgics
• Runes:
• Algiz rune - All-Germanic Heathens’ Front
• Odal rune
• Sigel rune, especially on the Schutzstaffel
badge, sometimes confused with or used in-
terchangeably with Eihwaz.
• Tyr rune was on the badge of the SA Reichs-
führerschulen in Nazi Germany, and is some-
times used by neo-Nazis
• Orkhon script letters - used by followers
of Nihal Atsiz, e.g.Türkçü Toplumcu Budun
Derneği
Hindu boy with swastika painted on his shaven head as a reli-
• Triskelion-like symbol composed of three 7s - gious rite
Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (Afrikaner Resis-
tance Movement), Republic of South Africa
Fasces are used in the Coat of arms and wordmark of the
Swedish Police, and the Swedish Security Service, as well
as in that of the Spanish Civil Guard.
8 Pejorative symbolism
Opponents of fascism have identified symbols seen in a
pejorative manner such as the jackboot.
10 See also
• Anarchist symbolism
9 Non-fascist usage • Communist symbolism

Some of these symbols are also used by a variety of • Schwarze Sonne

non-fascist movements and organizations. The swastika
has been a notable symbol in Jainism, Buddhism and • Strafgesetzbuch section 86a
Hinduism, as well as in modern pagan religions, such as
in Germanic neopaganism. The Anti-Defamation League
(ADL) states: 11 References
Nazi Germany glorified an idealized [1] Heller, Steven (2008). Iron Fists: Branding the 20th-
“Aryan/Norse” heritage, consequently extrem- Century Totalitarian State. Phaidon Press. p. 240. ISBN
ists have appropriated many symbols from 0-7148-4846-8.
pre-Christian Europe for their own uses. They
[2] Roger Griffin, Matthew Feldman. Fascism: Fascism and
give such symbols a racist significance, even
culture. London, England, UK; New York, New York,
though the symbols did not originally have USA: Routledge, 2004. p. 207.
such meaning and are often used by nonracists
today, especially practitioners of modern [3] Stanley G. Payne. A history of fascism, 1914-1945. Oxon,
pagan religions.[14] England, UK: Digital Printing, 2005. Pp. 90.
6 12 EXTERNAL LINKS

[4] Wendy Parkins. Fashioning the body politic: dress, gender,

citizenship. Oxford, England, UK; New York, New York,
USA: Berg, 2002. Pp. 178

[5] Preparing for War With Ukraine’s Fascist Defenders of

Freedom

[6] “Azov Battalion fighters parading with the Wolfsangel

banner favoured by neo-Nazis”

[7] USA nie będą szkolić batalionu Azow

[8] One year on: where are the far-right forces of Ukraine?
The group proudly displays the Wolfsangel symbols - a
motif used by several SS groups in Nazi Germany

[9] Gespenstischer Neonazi- Aufmarsch in der Ukraine

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13] Ukraine crisis: the neo-Nazi brigade fighting pro-Russian

separatists The Telegraph Tom Parfitt 11 August 2014

[14] adl.org, accessed 19 December 2007

12 External links
• Neonazi flags

• Neonazi flag symbolism

• Fascist signs and symbols at Forbidden Symbols
 7

13 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

13.1 Text
• Fascist symbolism Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascist_symbolism?oldid=752674367 Contributors: The Anome, Ant, Paul Bar-
low, DopefishJustin, Delirium, J'raxis, WhisperToMe, Fvw, Stormie, David.Monniaux, Henrygb, Nikodemos, Kpalion, DNewhall, Sam
Hocevar, Klemen Kocjancic, Rama, Dbachmann, Hhielscher, Killing Vector, Woohookitty, Pogue, GO@C, Plrk, Audiovideo, Mandarax,
Behemoth, Rjwilmsi, Biederman, Gurch, GreyCat, Volunteer Marek, Bgwhite, Sus scrofa, Xerstau, Bloodofox, Ezeu, That Guy, From That
Show!, Sardanaphalus, SmackBot, Arnthorsnaer, Dahn, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Dr. Eggman, Kleuske, The PIPE, Atirador, Brown-
HairedGirl, Vanished User 03, ChronicallyUninspired, CmdrObot, LCpl, R-41, Spylab, Acroterion, MaxPont, JNW, CommonsDelinker,
J.delanoy, The Crying Orc, SteveChervitzTrutane, Nug, ClaasA, Director, HazardousWaster, Mallerd, Pijuvwy, AFrayMo~enwiki, Sfan00
IMG, Quercus basaseachicensis, Fitzburgh, Carriearchdale, Xme, Rui Gabriel Correia, Editor2020, Addbot, Xp54321, Mjr162006,
Zen6172, Не А, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Citation bot, LilHelpa, Gsmgm, Xqbot, FrescoBot, Surv1v4l1st, Alarics, My very best wishes, Sain-
tonge235, JokerXtreme, MyMoloboaccount, Fry1989, Jonpatterns, NsMn, ClueBot NG, Kreuzkümmel, Hazhk, Calapone, Helpful Pixie
Bot, The Almightey Drill, Iryna Harpy, Mr. Guye, Mondschein English, Lakun.patra, Tátótát, Filedelinkerbot, Mangokeylime, John Bird
and Anonymous: 104

13.2 Images
• File:Azure,_a_bend_Or.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Azure%2C_a_bend_Or.svg License: Pub-
lic domain Contributors: Based upon Image:PB Scrope CoA.png by User:Halibutt. Original artist: Benjamin D. Esham (bdesham)
• File:Bandera_FE_JONS.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Bandera_FE_JONS.svg License: Public
domain Contributors: self-made, an SVG version of image:Bandera FE JONS.png Original artist: Oren neu dag
• File:Fasces_lictoriae.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Fasces_lictoriae.svg License: Public domain
Contributors: Own work Original artist: F l a n k e r
• File:Fascist_Eagle.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Fascist_Eagle.svg License: CC0 Contributors:
Own work Original artist: R-41
• File:Fascist_symbol.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Fascist_symbol.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: Own work based on: National Fascist Party logo.jpg Original artist: DIREKTOR
• File:Flag_of_Nazi_Germany_(1933-1945).svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Flag_of_the_NSDAP_
%281920%E2%80%931945%29.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Original PNG version created by de:Benutzer:Kookaburra
with the name "Bild:Flag Germany 1933.png” in de.wikipedia; uploaded to the Wikimedia Commons by User:Guanaco, later converted to
SVG by User:Rotemliss and later modified by other Wikimedia Commons people. Original artist: ?
• File:Flag_of_the_National_Fascist_Party_(PNF).svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Flag_of_the_
National_Fascist_Party_%28PNF%29.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: R-41
• File:Hitler_Mannerheim.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Hitler_Mannerheim.png License: Pub-
lic domain Contributors: Printed in Suomen Kuvalehti 1942 and again 2006. Captured from PDF. Original artist: Un-
known<a href='//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718' title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:Q4233718' src='https://upload.
wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png' width='20' height='11' srcset='https://
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/30px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.
org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/40px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 2x' data-file-width='1050' data-file-height='590'
/></a>
• File:Logo_УНС.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Logo_%D0%A3%D0%9D%D0%A1.JPG Li-
cense: CC BY-SA 4.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Goltvyansky
• File:Mussolini_young.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/28/Mussolini_young.jpg License: ? Contributors: ?
Original artist: ?
• File:Neo-Nazi_celtic_cross_flag.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Neo-Nazi_celtic_cross_flag.svg
License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: This vector image was created with Inkscape by R-41, and then manually
replaced by EclecticArkie.
• File:Parteiadler_der_Nationalsozialistische_Deutsche_Arbeiterpartei_(1933–1945).svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/
wikipedia/commons/8/86/Parteiadler_der_Nationalsozialistische_Deutsche_Arbeiterpartei_%281933%E2%80%931945%29.svg
License: Public domain Contributors: File:Reichsadler der Deutsches Reich (1933–1945).svg Original artist: RsVe, corrected by Barliner.
• File:Question_book-new.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/Question_book-new.svg License: Cc-by-sa-3.0
Contributors:
Created from scratch in Adobe Illustrator. Based on Image:Question book.png created by User:Equazcion Original artist:
Tkgd2007
• File:Swastik_on_head.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Swastik_on_head.jpg License: CC BY 2.0
Contributors: originally posted to Flickr as Swastik Original artist: vivek Joshi
• File:Ustaše_symbol.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Usta%C5%A1e_symbol.svg License: CC BY-
SA 3.0 Contributors: [1] Original artist: Nanin7

13.3 Content license

• Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0