I Was Afraid To Choose The Swastika As A Topic For My Book

Our brief was to choose a subject within the visual communication industries discipline and gain expert knowledge through the research. I could have chosen anything, but I chose the Swastika.

It was really difficult to work on this topic because some of my classmates looked at me like I was some crazy Nazi. However, I have decided not to be afraid and continue on this controversial topic. I must add that the whole book is based on facts and other's people opinions. I am interested in symbols overall and there are many people in the world who recognise the Swastika only as a Nazi emblem and they do not know anything about its history. I consider it quite fascinating and I am convinced that everyone should know the symbol’s origins. We can learn a lot from our history and we need to know it to understand today’s world. Plenty of men see the Swastika as something evil, but it is us who should be feared - the human race.

The book describes a history of the symbol, usage of the Swastika and today's people opinions. I also made a questionnaire and asked 100 young people about their thoughts. 60 % were men and 40 % women. The average age was between 20 and 25 years.

"When do you think the Swastika appeared for the first time?" There were five answers to chose from. Only 20 % of interviewees knew the right answer (10 - 15 000 years ago). However, 66 % guessed the closest answer which was 5 - 10 000 years ago. "What is the original meaning of the Swastika?" I offered seven options. 56 % chose the correct answer (good fortune), which surprised me. I did not expect such a good score. 17 % thought that the symbol means power and domination, and 15 % voted for love.

The last and probably the most interesting question was: “Do you think the Swastika can become a symbol of good fortune (in Europe) again?” From the 100 interviewees, 72 % said no. 16 % voted for yes and 12 % claimed that they have no idea.

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