Fascist symbolism is the use of certain images and symbols which are designed to represent aspects offascism. These include national symbols of historical importance, goals, and political policies.[1] The best-known are thefasces, which was the original symbol of fascism, and theswastika ofNazism.
Organized fascist movements havemilitarist-appearing uniforms for their members; use historical national symbols as symbols of their movement; and use orchestrated rallies forpropaganda purposes. Fascist movements are led by a "Leader" (e.g.Duce,Führer,Caudillo) who is publicly idolized in propaganda as the nation's saviour. A number of fascist movements use astraight-armed salute.[citation needed]
The use of symbols, graphics, and other artifacts created by fascist,authoritarian, andtotalitarian governments has been noted as a key aspect of their propaganda.[2] Most fascist movements adopted symbols ofAncient Roman orGreek origin, for example, the German use of Roman standards during rallies and the Italian adoption of thefasces symbol. The SpanishFalange took its name from the Spanish word for the Greekphalanx.
Organized fascist movements typically use military-like uniforms with the symbol of their movement on them.
In Italy, the Italian Fascist movement in 1919 wore black military-like uniforms and was nicknamedBlackshirts. In power, uniforms during the Fascist era extended to both the party and the military which typically borefasces or an eagle clutching a fasces on their caps or on the left arm section of the uniform.
In Germany, the fascist Nazi movement was similar to the Italian Fascists in that they initially used a specifically colored 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 Brownshirts. 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 movements. 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 theirCarlist supporters. The SpanishBlue Division expeditionary volunteers sent to the Eastern Front of WWII in (relatively indirect) support of the Germans likewise wore blue shirts, berets and their army trousers.
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Fascist governments often saw the need to change theheraldry of their nations; in Germany, the arms ofCoburg, featuring the head ofSaint Maurice, was looked down upon for its religious and un-Aryan nature. It was replaced in 1934 with a coat of arms featuring a sword and swastika.Thuringia also saw the need to support the Nazi regime by adding a swastika to the paws of the lion on its coat of arms.[3] In Italy, thechief of a coat of arms is often used to indicate political allegiance. Under the government of Mussolini, many families and locales adopted a red chief charged with a fasces to indicate allegiance to theNational Fascist Party; this chief was called thecapo del littorio.[4]Francisco Franco, Chief of State ofFrancoist Spain, used a personal coat of arms featuring theRoyal Bend of Castile, a heraldic symbol used by the Crown of Castile.[5][6]
The original symbol of fascism in Italy underBenito Mussolini was thefasces. This is an ancientImperial Roman symbol of power carried bylictors in front ofmagistrates; a bundle of sticks featuring anaxe, indicating the power overlife anddeath. Before the Italian Fascists adopted the fasces, the symbol had been used by Italian political organizations of various political ideologies, calledFasci ("leagues") as a symbol of strength through unity.
Italian Fascism utilized the colorblack as a symbol of their movement, black being the color of the uniforms of their paramilitaries, known asBlackshirts. The blackshirt derived from Italy's daredevil eliteshock troops known as theArditi, soldiers who were specifically trained for a life of violence and wore unique blackshirt uniforms.[7] The colour black, as used by the Arditi, symbolized death.[8]
Other symbols used by the Italian Fascists included theaquila, theCapitoline Wolf, and theSPQR motto, each related to Italy's ancient Roman cultural history, which the Fascists attempted to resurrect.
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The nature of German fascism, as encapsulated inNazism, was similar to Italian Fascism ideologically and borrowed symbolism from the Italian Fascists such as the use of mass rallies, the straight-armedRoman salute, and the use of pageantry. Nazism was different from Italian Fascism in that it was officiallyracist. Its symbol was theswastika, at the time a commonly seen symbol in the world that had experienced arevival in use in the western world in the early 20th century. Germanvölkisch Nationalists claimed the swastika was a symbol of theAryan race, who they claimed were the foundation of Germanic civilization and were superior to all other races.
As the Italian Fascists adapted elements of their ethnic heritage to fuel a sense of Nationalism by use of symbolism, so did Nazi Germany. Turn-of-the-centuryGerman-Austrian mystic and authorGuido von List was a big influence onReichsführer-SSHeinrich Himmler, who introduced various ancient Germanic symbols (filtered through von List's writings) more thoroughly into theSS, including the stylized doubleSig Rune (von List's then-contemporaryArmanen rune version of the ancientsowilorune) for the organization itself.
The black-white-red tricolor of theGerman Empire was utilized as the color scheme of the Nazi flag. The colorbrown was the identifying color of Nazism (and fascism in general), due to its being the color of theSA paramilitaries (also known asBrownshirts).
Other historical symbols that were already in use by the German Army to varying degrees prior to the Nazi Germany, such as theWolfsangel andTotenkopf, were also used in a new, more industrialized manner on uniforms and insignia.
Although the swastika was a popular symbol in art prior to the regimental use byNazi Germany and has a long heritage in many other cultures throughout history - and although many of the symbols used by the Nazis were ancient or commonly used prior to the advent of Nazi Germany - because of association with Nazi use, the swastika is often considered synonymous withNazism and some of the other symbols still carry a negative post-World War II stigma in Western countries, to the point where some of the symbols are banned from display altogether.[9]
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The fascistFalange in Spain utilized theyoke and arrows as their symbol. It historically served as the symbol of the shield of the monarchy ofFerdinand and Isabella and subsequentCatholic monarchs, representing a united Spain and the "symbol of the heroic virtues of the race".[10] The original uniform of theFalangistas was the blue shirt – derived from the blue overalls of industrial workers – which was later combined with the redberet of theCarlists to represent their merger byFranco.
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Finnish fascist Lapua Movement used the logo of a bear-rider with a club, referencing the coat of arms ofLapua and theCudgel War peasant uprising. The leader of the movementVihtori Kosola even claimed to be a descendant ofKlaus Fleming, one of the main figures of the war. After Lapua Movement was banned for a failed uprising of its own, its successorPatriotic People's Movement re-used the symbol with minimal alterations.[11]
Several neo-Fascist organizations like theBlue-and-Black Movement use the paganKalevalaic "Hands of the runesigners" as their symbol.[12][13]
Older far-right organizations in Poland, such as the «National Party» and the «Camp of Great Poland» used the «Mieczyk Chrobrego» symbol ofBolesław the Brave. A modern interpretation of the symbol is used by the «All-Polish Youth» party.
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Organizations espousing «National-Radicalism» («National Radical Camp», «National Party») have used the «Falanga» symbol to identify themselves. A modern interpretation of the symbol is used by the «National Rebirth of Poland»[14][15] andthe modern incarnation of the «National Radical Camp».
Organizations such as «Zadruga» and «Niklot» have also used the«Toporzeł» symbol.[16] A variant of this symbol exists called the «Topokrzyż», which replaces the eagle's head with a cross, was to identify churches that «weren't owned by the Jewish people».[16]
Many other fascist movements did not win power or were relatively minor regimes in comparison and their symbolism is not well-remembered today in many parts of the world, although the BUF'sFlash and Circle was later used by the non-fascistPeople's Action Party ofSingapore.
In alphabetical order by nation:
Someneo-Nazi organizations continue to use the swastika, but many have moved away from such inflammatory symbols of early fascism. Someneo-fascist groups use symbols that are reminiscent of the swastika or other cultural or ancestral symbols that may evoke nationalistic sentiment but do not carry the same racist connotations. The use of fascist symbols is subject to legal restrictions in many countries.
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