Swastika << SWAHS tuh kuh >> is an ancient symbol often used as an ornament or a religious sign. The swastika is in the form of a cross with the ends of the arms bent at right angles in a given direction, usually clockwise. The swastika has been found on Byzantine buildings, Buddhist inscriptions, Celtic monuments, and Greek coins.
Swastikas were widely used symbols among the Indigenous (native) peoples of North America and South America. The clockwise swastika was adopted in 1920 as the symbol of the National Socialist Party of Germany. As such, it came to be one of the most hated symbols in the history of humanity. It came to stand for all the evil associated with the Nazis as they gained control of Europe before and during World War II. After the Allies defeated Germany in 1945, they banned the display of the swastika emblem.
