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Similar visual forms can have different meanings and the messages that symbols carry are context specific. Some of the symbols are inevitably contested due to their historical uses. This article explores what is probably the most notorious of contested symbols: the swastika and its local variant in Latvia, the ugunskrusts (Cross of Fire). With the aim of analyzing vernacular narratives connected with contemporary uses of the ugunskrusts in Latvia, the article focuses on situations in which there is a conscious choice to use the ugunskrusts with the intention of reclaiming and rehabilitating the symbol for artistic and spiritual reasons, based on a belief in the symbol's benign nature and with the help of narratives of cultural heritage. Despite these claims, however, the cases are not just about symbols or cultural heritage, but are just as much about historical conflicts in the past and current political affairs. Thus, the article shows how different national experiences of crimes committed by totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century determine the interpretation of, and attitude toward, the use of symbols connected with these regimes. I examine how collective memory battles are mirrored in the use of this contested symbol. Despite the voices that deny the negative connotation of the symbol locally, the image of the swastika in the western world is inevitably tied to Nazism. Therefore, I look at how the attitude toward this symbol correlates with the interpretation of World War II in the collective memory of Latvia. The article is based on in-depth ethnographic interviews conducted since 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Introduction: One of the oldest geometric motifs of the ancient world is a motif created from two crossed lines - a cross with broken arms or a ninety-degree angle. In international sources, this motif is known as «Swastika» with the concept of well-being, and in Persian sources, it is known as «Gardune-e Khorshid» and «Mehrane». Researchers consider the origin of this motif to be ancient civilizations such as the Indus Valley, Egypt, China, Mesopotamia, and the Aryan peoples, who, despite different names, have a similar formal structure. In Iran, this motif was depicted on pottery for the first time since the fifth millennium B.C., and its continued use can be seen until the beginning of the Islamic period. Identifying the theme and factors of drawing the Swastika in Iranian art and showing its evolution and development from the point of view of form and content in pre-Islamic Iranian art until the early Islamic era is one goal of the present study. In this regard, the questions of how the form and content of the Swastika have evolved in Iranian art from the ancient period to the Seljuk period and the common and distinctive factors of its drawing in the pre-Islamic and Islamic periods are addressed.Research Method: The current research used descriptive-analytical and historical approaches. The data collection was conducted using library- and field-based methods. The statistical population included 29 samples from the pre-Islamic and Islamic periods with distinctive and distinctive characteristics that show the evolution of the Swastika.Findings: The presence of religion, especially the worship of Gods, burial rites and Mithraism in ancient Iran, was one of the essential reasons for drawing the Swastika, and for this reason, it is known as the «Gardune-e Mehr». Astronomical motifs such as twelve constellations and folk beliefs such as good luck, avoiding the evil eye, and being safe from calamity have been influential in representing this motif in both the pre-Islamic and Islamic periods. In Islamic art, this motif is a symbol of light and, accordingly, God. Besides displaying its original form during this period, in some works, it has become «Solomon's knot» and «Shamseh» by combining curved forms and plant motifs.Conclusion: The Swastika has been a sacred symbol in Iranian art from the ancient period to the early Islamic period and often served ancient myths and religions. In the early period, this motif symbolized the God and Goddesses of the Sun and was gradually associated with the ritual symbols of Mithraism and Zoroastrianism in works of art. In the Islamic period, this motif underwent metamorphosis and was used as a symbol of God and Islamic holy persons.

In the Western world of today, the swastika is practically exclusively associated with Nazism, but in reality it is an ancient religious symbol, used in a number of different cults, symbolizing different deities. The oldest finds so far have been made in Ukraine and are between twelve and fifteen thousand years old. About seven thousand years ago the symbol existed in present-day Iran and five thousand years ago it was frequently used in the Indus culture, later to occupy a prominent place as a symbol of luck and happiness in Hinduism and Jainism and also in Buddhism. It also occurred very early in Mesopotamia and was later taken over by Greek, Etruscan, Roman, Byzantine and Christian cultures. During the latter half of the 19th century in particular, its popularity as symbol of good luck grew steadily and a large number of different countries, companies, organizations and semi-religious societies adopted it in their seals, trademarks and icons. During the first decades of the 20th century, several quasi-religious movements with a pan-Germanic, “Aryan”, and nationalist orientation chose it for their blazons. In 1920, the swastika was selected as the symbol of the then newly formed Nazi party and in 1935 of Germany. In connection with the Nazi takeover in 1933, the Finnish art historian Lars-Ivar Ringbom wrote an article in which he questions the Nazis’ right to the swastika and their definition of its content. The present article reproduces Ringbom’s short text in extenso, commenting on and contrasting it with the now current Western way of seeing and defining the ancient sign.

More than a decade before Hitler became the leader of the Nazi party, on the other side of the Atlantic, the Ladies' Home Journal hit on the perfect insignia for their new "Girl's Club": a swastika. This was far from anomalous; an examination of American fashion and lifestyle publications shows that the swastika was a fashionable motif for dress, home decor, and particularly jewelry from the turn of the twentieth century until the outbreak of World War II. Moreover, the swastika continued to be used as a decorative motif even as news of life under the Third Reich was published in American newspapers. This regular use in fashion and consumer goods suggests that Americans did not want to recognize the dissonance between the way that they wore the swastika and the symbol in its German context. This distinction began to disintegrate in the mid-1930s, as conflict over the use of the symbol revealed fracture lines between those affected by its anti-Semitic connotations and those who thought that these connotations were either acceptable or easy enough to ignore. The lifecycle of the swastika in American culture in the first four decades of the twentieth century offers a unique case study of how a sign can gain and lose meaning; after arising as a seemingly superficial fad, the persistence of the motif took on increasingly problematic associations raising difficult questions of how to contend with new readings of old signs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The Swastika was used on many of Iran’s monuments dating from pre-Islamic and post-Islamic times. It cannot be said that the Swastika sign has always had only one meaning, for if it was so, it would lose its mystery and become merely a word. In addition to being a beautiful image with deep and prominent notions, the Swastika is a key element in the art and creation of various pleasing motifs, especially in Islamic art. It appeared on the pre-Islamic Iranian artworks and remained visible on those of the Islamic era, indicating an inextricable link between the visual presentation and the past. Therefore, this research, which is an applied research of the qualitative approach, investigates the Swastika array in the Gonbad-e-Sorkh Mausoleum or Red Dome in Maragheh and analyses this sign printed in brick from a symbolic point of view. The results show that the Swastika is associated with the deceased soul in the tomb buildings and the reason for its creation must be related to this spiritual relationship.

Continuing the work of Aronis and Aoki (2021), this essay focuses on contemporary installations of swastikas on U.S. campuses and uses a media ecology theoretical approach to expand on the technological operation of the swastika in the service of antisemitism. The author examines the matter and medium of the swastika, along with its doing, in order to deconstruct its violent, harassing, and threatening nature--for the U.S. university Jewish community, as well as for other potentially affected minoritized and racialized communities. Through five lenses of technological, material, and communicative exploration--assembling, dual act of marking, space/time bias, (re)mediation, and prescription--the author explains how installed swastikas create a traumatizing effect for Jewish university members. This may assist scholars and practitioners regarding education on the topic and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(En)‘Swastika’ is an equilateral hooked cross, it is one of the symbols that became popular to several nations of different cultures since prehistoric times. This symbol was associated, or rather, became symbol for some religious beliefs and spiritual concepts in some ancient civilizations. It has been extensively transmitted among several nations. Such prevalence proves the popularity that hooked cross ‘Swastika’ had attained, however, this caused the difficulty in determining its place of origin. Some historical studies suggested India as ‘Swastika’s’ homeland by the end of the Bronze Age, since it was predominantly a religious symbol of Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists. The spread of Buddhism religion which held the hooked cross ‘swastika’ as a holy symbol, led to the emergence of swastika in China and Japan as symbol of prosperity. However, others, due to some evidences, pointed out to Mesopotamia, land of the oldest known civilization on universe, which later became a cultural center extended from the Near East to Central Europe, and in Asia it had widespread and reached as far east as China. In addition, hooked cross had been contemporary to ancient Egyptian civilization. This had been assured by the discovery of a rock drawing in the western desert of Upper Egypt. In late historical times, precisely, the Byzantine empire, hooked cross was also in use. Furthermore, it was in use in the Coptic art as well. Hooked cross ‘Swastika’ continued to be used in ancient historical eras; contributed in their arts, and till the modern era. In addition, the widespread of ‘Swastika’ resulted in being associated with several terms; Gammadion cross or Crux Gammata, Hakenkreuz, Fylfot (fower foot), Wan in china, Manji in Japan, Tau cross, and Thor’s hammer. In addition, each society used Swastika in a distinct fashion; it sometimes symbolized the Sun, good fortune, fertility, religious beliefs, etc. Through this stretched history, hooked cross’s symbolism had radically changed, especially in the 1st half of the 20th century A.D, after being chosen as symbol for the blossoming Nazi party founded by Adolf Hitler in Germany. Since then, the ‘Swastika’ had been effectively detached from its past, Germanized and reinvented as a symbol of German purity and supremacy. This paper enclosed a briefed history of the hooked cross ‘Swastika’ since its emergence, with stating the diverse thoughts of its place of origin. This is succeeded by the symbolism of the hooked cross ‘Swastika’ and the changes happened lately. The final point is the outline of applying hooked cross ‘Swastika’ in Islamic Art, this is supplemented by some chosen Applied artefacts demonstrating this. This paper aims at: - Illuminating on one of the most unique symbols with differ meanings and argumentative as well. - Focusing on themes of association between different nations on vast areas since very ancient times. - Deducing the Islamic art’s tendency to admitting decorative elements of several cultures, if there is no conflict with Islamic faith. - Hinting that absolute facts or concepts do not exist, and symbols – such as ‘Swastika’ are liable to multiple changes.

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Latvian ornament, graphic symbol - a cross with bent ends rotating in one or another direction - most often is referred to as a firecross. The diverse use of the symbol all throughout the centuries has ensured a lasting place in the cultural space of Latvia, and within the last decade a firecross can be seen in public more often. However, its use has often led to conflict situations and has given rise to heated discussions. One of the most often proposed arguments for its defence is reference to the firecross as a truly Latvian cultural heritage. In simplified understanding cultural heritage is seen as an undoubtedly positive value. From this perspective, a firecross should not be viewed as a cultural heritage, because there are communities and societies, especially in an international context, which, given the connection of the symbol with Nazism, do not accept the symbol and stand against it. In the article the firecross has been analysed using the concept "contested heritage". The author has examined the assumption that a firecross is a Latvian cultural heritage. This opinion voiced so often nowadays was most actively expressed and strengthened in the 1920s-1930s. However, before the Second World War controversial aspects in relation to the firecross emerged. Several problems were identified - the use of a firecross in Latvian military aviation and in organisations related to active movement of nationalism, as well as its religious interpretations. Consequently, it can be argued that in Latvia the history of nearly one century ensures an opportunity to follow the debates, conflict situations and attempts to explain, defend and provide arguments for the use of this controversial cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay discusses Johnson's Jahrestage and the novel's portrayal of New York. Many of the novel's city descriptions begin as Gesine, or someone else, looks through a door or a window. The epicenter of this framed gaze is Gesine's (and the author Uwe Johnson's) apartment on Riverside Drive. New York appears as a framed image, and in this frame or at its edges the German past always lurks by triggering Gesine's memories, hallucinatory daydreams, descriptive evocations, or symbolic references. These evocations, however, seem to prevent mimetic representation of the city. I argue that the presence of the framed gaze undermines the juxtaposition of the novel's two levels that is fundamental to the novel's structure. Rather, the frame acts as yet another marker of the novel's multi-perspectivism. As city descriptions and the novel's historical discourse are visually intertwined in the framed gaze, the respective observer's point of view smothers mimetic representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Swastika symbol has imprinted its significant space in most of the Ancient Indian designs in expressions like dakshinavarta and suvastika as well as tetraskelion. There are variety of opinions regarding the origin, chief function and the meaning of swastika. In Indian sub-continent it can be located from pre-Harappan times to the date. It occupies all possible sites of expression in the material culture including sculptures, pottery, coins, etc. The present paper is an attempt to classify and describe the swastika symbol as depicted in the Bharhut remains, especially railings. It was auspicious as well as decorative. The depiction of the said symbol is with the combined application of other symbols like srivatsa, nandipada, purna ghata, vessels of gems, conch shell, twin fish, elephant goad, flywhisk, lotus, wheel, parasol, throne, chuda, foot print, stupa, tree, etc.

The author discusses examples of the swastika on ceramic vessels from an early Slavic village excavated at site 5 in Ożańsk, Jarosław region in Poland and presents several parallels, on ceramics as well as other artifacts coming from different parts of the world, different times and cultures, thus showing the popularity of the ornament and its wide range of symbolic connotations. The swastika was initially associated with light, prosperity and good. It was incorporated as a motif on objects connected with Christianity, where it could have taken on a new meaning: the cross of Christ seen as a symbol of the Christians themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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At the 20th International Conference of the European Society for Astronomy in Culture, held in Slovenia in 2012, Reza Assasi (2013) presented the paper 'Swastika: The Forgotten Constellation Representing the Chariot of Mithras', in which he identified Mithras and his quadriga with the constellation Draco, centre of the zodiac in the map of the stars. Thus he proposed a new interpretation that contradicted that accepted by researchers of the Mithraic religion who associate Mithras with the sun. This article aims to show that, contrary to this new interpretation, Mithras should still be identified with the solar deity. Mithraic iconography and liturgy is analysed in the present work, paying special attention to the relationship between the two solar deities Helios and Mithras. The context in which the swastika is depicted is analysed, demonstrating that it never represented a constellation but instead represented the sun. We follow the theory of David Ulansey (1994), which asserts that Mithras should be identified with the "hypercosmic sun", the sphere of fire which Greek philosophers located beyond the starry heavens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The Assyrian Branch of Christianity began to appear in China in the 7th century. With the introduction of this form of Christianity, the Assyrian missionaries appeared to utilize seemingly Buddhist symbols, such as Lotus, to spread this new belief to the Chinese audience. Scholars generally maintained that the Lotus Symbol which appeared in Assyrian Christianity in China suggested a close link between Buddhist expressions and Assyrian Christian expressions in China, as these two faiths seemed to interact closely with each other. The Assyrian Christianity had declined in China since the 9th century and did not reappear until the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty in 13th, as many of the Mongols were Christians of the Assyrian Church. These Christians in the Yuan Dynasty usually carried a Bronze Cross (commonly yet wrongly referred to as Nestorian Cross) and many of these crosses contained the Swastika symbol. Based on the Buddhist - Christian relationship during Tang Dynasty, many scholars believe that the Swastika design in the Nestorian Cross further evidenced the continual close relation between Assyrian Christians and Buddhists just as they had done several hundred years ago with the Lotus symbol. The appearance of Lotus and Swastika in Assyrian Christians in China became the strong evidence to support such hypothesis. However this paper would like to suggest that the Lotus and Swastika found in the Assyrian Christian artifacts in China might be a legacy of the Aryan tradition carried over by Persians from Central Asia than syncretic integration from Buddhism in China. Such hypothesis may suggest that there is far less exchange between Assyrian Christianity and Buddhism in China than scholars wished to acknowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lauburu ("four heads'" in Basque) is a cross with four comma- shaped heads, similar to the swastika. Today it is one of the most important symbols of Basque identity. In this paper, I analyze its origins and history, which is full of contradictions, changes in name and shape, especially until the Spanish Civil War and World War II. The lauburu was created in the 17th century; and in the 19th century it symbolized the unity of four Basque Provinces. The lauburu was later identified with a swastika (symbol of the Basque nation, according Sabino Arana, the founder of the Basque Nationalist Party) almost identical to the Nazi symbol. The Basque nationalist movement used the lauburu until Hitler took power in Germany and permanently adopted the lauburu as it is used today. During the past few hundred years this symbol has been the object of endless interpretations by different political parties and social movements associated with Basque nationalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers questions of agency, materiality and identity through a focus on a landscape largely shaped by the German National Socialists in the 1930s: the former Nazi party rally grounds in Nuremberg. It looks at Nazi ideas about architecture and the agency of buildings as ‘words in stone’ and the Nazi intention that the built heritage would endure and continue to ‘speak’ over time. It then goes on to discuss some of the post-war struggle with the Nazi heritage (and more specifically the Zeppelin Building) and the ways in which agency has been variously attributed. This highlights contests and changes in the attribution of agency, and shows how such attributions are embedded in wider understandings and politics of identity (including processes of ‘de-Nazification’ and ‘facing the past’), as well as being co- shaped by the connotations and ‘suggestiveness’ of material forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A MIMO antenna with adequate compactness for applications like sensor heads, automotive radars and communication systems etc. is presented here. Significant size reduction with overall dimensions of 40 mm × 6 mm has been achieved. Substrate RT/duroid 5880 of 0.8 mm thickness was used for the fabrication of proposed antenna which has low dielectric constant (2.2) and low dielectric loss so it is suitable for high frequency applications. Incorporating two rectangular slots in the radiating patch has helped to reduced the coupling via surface wave propagation and use of defective ground as decoupling structure has contributed for significant isolation improvement. These were major design considerations in this work. Important parameters which enlighten the antenna characteristics e.g. S-Parameters, Total Active Reflection Coefficient (TARC), Radiation Patterns, Diversity Gain, Efficiency and Envelope Correlation Coefficient (ECC) were calculated, measured and compared. Isolation between multiple antenna is a paramount index for MIMO antenna, was achieved better than −35 dB. Adequate bandwidth of 4.44 GHz (21.43–25.87 GHz) with radiation efficiency up to 87% was optimized in this design. The efficiency plot has sharp dilapidation beyond the proposed band of interest which indicates a superior antenna performance for interference suppression. CST Microwave Studio has been used for modelling and simulation. Fabricated antenna was tested in an anechoic chamber and measured results were in agreement with the simulated results. Satisfactory results and miniaturized size make the proposed design highly suitable for radars, communication and sensor applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the increasing popularity of tattoos has challenged the previous associations with criminality and psychiatric illness, particular subsets of tattooed individuals may still have an association with unnatural deaths in a forensic context. A retrospective review of the autopsy database at Forensic Science South Australia was undertaken over a 23-year period from 1997 to 2019 for cases with swastika tattoos. Twenty-six cases (23 males and 3 females) were identified, ranging in age from 19 to 67 years ( M  = 36 years). The cases comprised seven (27%) suicides, seven (27%) accidents (including five vehicle crashes), five (19%) drug-related deaths (toxicity/overdose), four (15.4%) natural deaths and three (11.5%) homicides. There were significantly more unnatural deaths in the group with swastika tattoos compared to tattooed controls ( age  < 0.01). Multiple swastikas, expletives and white supremacist sentiments were also present in a number of cases. However, in one Asian male, the presence of a sacred Buddhist tattoo suggested that the swastika tattoo instead had religious rather than antisocial/racist significance. This study shows that in the population of individuals undergoing forensic autopsies, subgroups may be identified by their tattoos who have a predisposition to violent and unnatural death. Evaluation of this risk has to be tempered by considering the cultural/religious background of a decedent, as the symbol may have completely different connotations for certain religious groups such as Jains, Hindus and Buddhists.p  < 0.01). Multiple swastikas, expletives and white supremacist sentiments were also present in a number of cases. However, in one Asian male, the presence of a sacred Buddhist tattoo suggested that the swastika tattoo instead had religious rather than antisocial/racist significance. This study shows that in the population of individuals undergoing forensic autopsies, subgroups may be identified by their tattoos who have a predisposition to violent and unnatural death. Evaluation of this risk has to be tempered by considering the cultural/religious background of a decedent, as the symbol may have completely different connotations for certain religious groups such as Jains, Hindus and Buddhists.

The influence of the German occupation on the practice of sterilization of women and men in Norway afflicted with mental illness is presented.