UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS RUSSIAN SWASTIKAS & SALUTES
How Stalin,
Mao & Hitler and the USSR & PRC & NSDAP
were influenced by socialists in the USA, the Pledge
Of Allegiance etc.,
Swastikas, Red Stars, Hammer and Sickle
http://rexcurry.net/swastika4.gif
The Swastika's two crossed S-letters stand for "Soviet Socialist."
The USA's Pledge of Allegiance (& the military
salute) was the origin of Adolf Hitler's "Nazi" salute under the National
Socialist German Workers Party (Nazis). http://rexcurry.net/pledge2.html
^ Hammer and
Sickle Tattoos of the USSR and
Soviet Socialist Swastikas are related to tattoo topics
in the USSA (United Socialist States of America) http://rexcurry.net/tattoos.html
Soviet Socialist Swastikas are scary
reminders of similar symbolism under the National Socialist German
Workers Party. The swastika, although
an ancient symbol, was also used to represent "S" letters joined for
"socialism" under the German National Socialism (Nazis), similar to the
alphabetical symbolism for the SS Division, the SA, the NSV, and the
VW logo (the letters "V" and "W" joined for "Volkswagen"). http://rexcurry.net/bookchapter4a1a2a1.html
Oppose the National Socialist German
Workers' Party and its socialist legacies that exist
in today's government.
For more
information regarding Nazi policies in the USA see
http://rexcurry.net/police-state.html
A lot
of fascinating research examines how socialists and
their propaganda have haunted the world. Many authors
worry today about a future filled with persecution and
global socialism. Those worries find relevance in the enormous
size and scope of government worldwide.
After 1917, socialism was imposed in Russia when
the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
was formed after the Russian Revolution of 1917, and
the Russian Civil War of 1918-1920. The propaganda machinary
introduced a new symbol for the new government: the swastika.
http://rexcurry.net/ussr-socialist-swastika-cccp-sssr.html
The Soviet swastika was so popular
that paper money printed with the dates 1917 and 1918
carried large swastikas in the center of the bills (on
denominations of 250, 1000, 5000, & 10,000). Three of the denominations
bore three separate swastikas across the front (the 250 denomination bore
one swastika). The Soviet swastika notes continued to be issued after
the 1917 revolution(s). http://rexcurry.net/ussr-socialist-swastika1917-1000b.JPG
In 1919, the same 250 ruble note
that had carried the swastika carried at the very
top of the soviet socialist bill the phrase "Proletarier
aller Länder vereinigt Euch" in the German language
and in English (Workers' of the world unite!") and in other languages.
The USSR was actively and openly spreading socialism
in Germany (and globally) and using non-russian languages to do so:
German, English, and other languages that use the "S" letter for words
like "Soviet" and "Socialist." The 250 ruble note also contained
Soviet Socialism's new version of the soviet swastika: the hammer
and sickle. http://rexcurry.net/swastika4.gif
A similar fad
grew in Germany, where the swastika symbol was popular
with socialists and became the sign of the National
Socialist German Workers' Party (NSGWP).
The double-S symbol of the swastika was used as a
socialist symbol for an alternative to the widespread symbol for
capitalism and capitalist money (the dollar sign or "$"). http://rexcurry.net/socialisthate.html
Soviet Socialists and German Socialists
also saw that the swastika was adopted by American soldiers
in the 45th Infantry Division and in the Escadrille Lafayette
Americaine during World War I and adorned American soldiers'
shoulder patches, flags and planes used in the fight against
Germany. http://rexcurry.net/45th-infantry-division-swastika-sooner-soldiers.html
The swastika was also on American cars (e.g. the Krit Motor Car Company
of Detroit) long before it was used under Soviet socialism or German socialism
(i.e. German cars and the Volkswagen VW). Was the Krit logo the design inspiration
for the hakenkreuz under the NSGWP? http://rexcurry.net/krit_motor_car_company_detroit.html
Through the work of socialists in
the USA, the USSR, and Germany respectively, the
swastika became a global symbol of socialism.
At the time that the Soviet swastika began, there existed the
Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, usually called the
Petrograd Soviet. It was the soviet (workers' council) in Petrograd (Saint
Petersburg), Russia established in March 1917. A workers' soviet
had been created in Saint Petersburg (the name for Petrograd before the
First World War had begun) in 1905 (the St Petersburg Soviet). This was
a group of workers and soldiers who had formed in 1917. Soviets were rather
like councils. Thus the "Soviet socialist" concept existed at the time
that the crossed S-letters of the Soviet Swastika were used in Russia. The
Swastika's two crossed S-letters symbolized "Soviet Socialism." That concept
eventually evolved into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Eventually,
Soviet socialists switched from the swastika to the
hammer and sickle. The hammer and sickle resembles the
earlier Soviet swastika flipped horizontally. The USSR's
hammer and sickle might have been intended as a visual
reminder of the Russian version of its own earlier swastika.
The swastika
flag under German National Socialism was influenced
by the Soviet swastika and by the hammer and sickle of
Soviet socialism. The swastika of German socialists and
the hammer and sickle of Soviet socialists have visual
similarity. Each symbol resembles the other symbol pointing
in the opposite direction.
In the same way that the
swastika was two "S" letters crossed to represent
socialists joining together, the hammer and the sickle were
crossed to represent workers joining with peasants, or factory
workers joining with agricultural workers.
At that time, the swastika was
also a symbol of "superior society" or the "super society
of socialism" for the new "super socialist man" in the New
World Order (NWO). To learn more see George Bernard Shaw
"Man and Superman" (1903), read about his visit with Stalin (the
socialist tsar / czar) in the 1930s, and consider this quote from his
letter to Henry James of 17 January 1909: "I, as a Socialist, have
had to preach, as much as anyone, the enormous power of the environment.
We can change it; we must change it; there is absolutely no other
sense in life than the task of changing it. What is the use of writing
plays, what is the use of writing anything, if there is not a will
which finally moulds chaos itself into a race of gods." Having
visited the USSR in 1930s, Shaw became an ardent supporter of Stalin
and Soviet Socialism. After being duped by a carefully managed tour
of the country, Shaw declared all the stories of the socialist Wholecaust
were slander. In private, Stalin disparaged Shaw. Shaw was asked
why he did not want to stay permanently in the "earthly paradise"
of the Soviet Super Society.
The Soviet
swastika was unusual to most swastikas (but the same
as the German swastika) due to these features: it
was 45 degrees to the horizontal (in a diamond shape),
it was pointed clockwise, it was squared at its corners,
and it was proportionally the same as the swastika used
later by German National Socialists. Swastikas can point
either way and are often flat on one side. The Soviet swastika
and the German swastika were the same swastika. The swastika
had been used by socialist groups in Germany before 1917, however
the earlier use was never the same as the Soviet swastika, and
the symbol was almost always flat on one side and likely to point
in either direction. When German National Socialists altered their
swastika it occurred after the debut of the Soviet swastika in 1917.
The definitive version of the swastika under German National Socialism
(e.g. the version on the flag) was inspired by the Soviet swastika.
The Soviet
swastika's unusual orientation emphasizes the appearance
of alphabetic "S" lettering.
Although
the swastika was an ancient symbol, the historian
Dr. Rex Curry (author of "Swastika Secrets") discovered
that it was also used sometimes by German National Socialists
to represent "S" letters for their "socialism."
The leader of German National Socialism rotated the symbol 45
degrees and had newer uses oriented clockwise. Adolf Hitler
altered his own signature to use the same symbolism, and similar
alphabetic symbolism still shows on Volkswagens. http://rexcurry.net/book1a1contents-swastika.html
The NSGWP's
use of the swastika as "S" letters in alphabetic symbolism
for "Socialism" was inspired by the Soviet swastika.
The USSR's swastika was seen as a union of "S" letters
for "Soviet Socialist" as in the "Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics" (In German: "Union der Sozialistischen Sowjetrepubliken").
After the swastika became the symbol of German National
Socialists, the symbol was altered to represent intertwined
"S" letters for "Sieg Socialism" (Socialist Victory) or "Socialist
Solidarity" or representing socialists from different groups
joining together under the NSGWP (especially after other groups
were banned in another example of German socialists copying Soviet
socialists).
If the
acronym "USSR" used a swastika to replace the two "S"
letters, then it would illustrate the symbolism of
the Soviet swastika, similar to how it appeared in the
center of paper currency under Soviet socialism. In
1917, some Soviet Socialists might have interpreted
the symbol more generally as "Soviet Socialists" or "Union
of Soviets" or "Union of Socialists" ("Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh"
or "Soyuz Sovetskikh" or "Soyuz Sotsialisticheskikh" from "Soyuz
Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik" or SSSR).
German
National Socialists and Soviet Socialists have a history
of aping each other. The flag color for German
National Socialists was influenced by Soviet Socialists.
One
country mimicked the other in the adoption of the
salutes that they imposed on their civilians, and both
countries mimicked the United States (the origin of their
salutes). Dr. Rex Curry showed that the USA's early Pledge
of Allegiance (to the flag) used an extended-arm salute and
it was the origin of the salute of the German National Socialists
and Soviet Socialists. Francis Bellamy created the pledge
to the USA's flag, and he was a self-proclaimed socialist in
the nationalism movement in the USA. The USA's original pledge
began with a military salute that then stretched out toward
the flag. Dr. Curry showed that, due to the way that both gestures
were used sequentially in the pledge, the military salute led
to the salute adopted later by German Socialists and Soviet Socialists.
Their salutes are extended military salutes via the USA's pledge.
http://rexcurry.net/book1a1contents-pledge.html
Bellamy's
original pledge stated that the palm should be turned
upward with the arm gracefully curved upward. In actual
practice in the USA, the second part of the gesture
was performed with a straight arm and palm down by children
who merely extended the military salute while perfunctorily
performing the forced ritual chanting. That was the origin
of the hard stylized salute adopted later by German National
Socialists. See the video documentary at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BssWWZ3XEe4
The Soviet
socialist salute is arguably closer to Bellamy's first
description of the Bellamy salute because in the USSR the
arm is in more of a military salute position, and maintained in a curved
position as if the American salute was started but
not completed. Soviet socialists then followed the American
practice of not turning the palm upward. http://rexcurry.net/ussr-cccp-sssr-young-pioneers-salute1.jpg
Videos can be viewed on the web (e.g. Youtube) of Soviet socialist children
performing the gesture and worshipping flags in the manner adopted from the
USA. The videos can be found under searches for "Soviet Pioneer Song: May
There Always Be Sunshine" (Russian song name: "Пусть всегда будет солнце"
Official song name: "Солнечный круг") and the Young Pioneers organization.
The USA had been performing Bellamy's socialist chanting, military salutes/nazi-salutes,
and flag worship for about three decades (from 1892) before Young Pioneers
under Soviet socialism adopted the America's bad habits. The Young
Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union (Всесою́зная пионе́рская организа́ция
и́мени) began in 1922. It was a mass youth organization of the USSR for children
of age 10-15 in the Soviet Union between 1922 and 1991. http://rexcurry.net/pledge2.html
The National
Socialist German Workers’ Party began in 1920,
gained electoral breakthroughs in 1930, dictatorship
in 1933, and in 1939 it joined as allies with the Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics to invade Poland in a Pact
to divide up Europe, spreading WWII. http://rexcurry.net/socialists.html
They USSR embraced the swastika
symbol even more then, and the hammer and sickle was
displayed proudly next to and in partnership with the socialist
swastika.
The dogma of
socialists in the United States, Germany, Russia and
elsewhere led to the socialist Wholecaust (of which
the Holocaust was a part): ~60 million slaughtered under
the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; ~50 million under
the Peoples' Republic of China; ~20 million under the
National Socialist German Workers' Party. http://rexcurry.net/socialists.jpg
In the book "The Americans: 1587-1914" by Joseph Chamberlain
Furnas (1969) page 726 it references Edward Bellamy with:
"Gorky classed Bellamy with Henry George and Jack London as
American influences important among Russian radicals."
***************
Alfred
Rosenberg was another notorious socialist who was
active in Russia (in 1917) and in Germany (in the National
Socialist German Workers' Party). The noted historian
Dr. Rex Curry has suggested that this may have been the
inspiration behind the adoption of the swastika as alphabetic
symbolism for "socialism" by the National Socialist German
Workers' Party.
Rosenberg
was born to Baltic German parents in Reval (Tallinn)
Estonia, then part of the Russian Empire. He studied
architecture at the Riga Polyechnical Institute and engineering
at Moscow University, completing his Ph.D. studies
in 1917.
After
the Russian Revolution of 1917, he emigrated to Germany
(in 1918) along with his friend Max Scheubner-Richter.
Rosenberg was one of the earliest (January 1919) members
of the German Workers Party and it became the National
Socialist German Workers Party and adopted the swastika as
its symbol and used the symbol to represent "S" letters for
"socialist." In 1921, Rosenberg became editor of the Völkischer
Beobachter ("Folkish Observer"), the newspaper of the National
Socialists.
Rosenberg
also became a member of the Thule Society, founded
August 17, 1918. Rosenberg and Thule Society touted
oddball ideas about socialism, universal brotherhood,
and the Aryan race that were all borrowed from the
notorious socialist and occultist Madame Blavatsky and her
Theosophical Society, formed in New York in 1875. The
Thule Society used a swastika as its symbol, however the
Thule swastika was not the same swastika used by German National
Socialists. The swastika used by German National Socialists
was the same swastika that had been used for forty years by Madame
Blavatsky as a symbol for her utopian "socialist society."
http://rexcurry.net/theosophy-madame-blavatsky-theosophical-society.html
Thule
Society members maintained close contacts with followers
of Theosophy and the followers of Helena Blavatsky.
It is also interesting to note that the names of both
groups had the same "TS" initials that the Theosophical
Society had used in its symbolism for decades.
************************
Vladimir
Lenin (the first leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics) was fluent in German, English, and other languages.
Many educated Russians were fluent in other languages.
Lenin
is credited with translating Karl Marx's Manifesto
from German into Russian. Marx was German.
The book
"Lenin - A New Biography," page 8. ISBN 0-02-933435-7
by Dimitri Volkogonov states that Lenin's antecedents
were Russian, German, Swedish, and others.
Lenin
had previously lived in Munich, Germany and in Vienna,
Austria (Both cities were essentially the hometowns
of the leader of the National Socialist German Workers'
Party).
Lenin's
original name was not "Lenin." He adopted the pseudonym
"Lenin" in Germany. His previous name was: Vladimir
Ilyich Ulyanov. The name Lenin was acquired while
he was staying near Lehnin Abbey, in Brandenburg, Germany.
It is fascinating to note here another ominous parallel
with the life of the leader of German National Socialism
who resided at Lambach Abbey in Austria, and first saw the swastika
symbol on the Abbey's exterior decorations.
Lenin
had been in Germany shortly before returning to the
USSR in 1917. He traveled throughout Germany and Europe
meeting other socialists and making plans. Lenin collaborated
with powerful socialist politicans in Germany, including
Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht (They are sometimes referred
to as "The Three L's" for Lenin, Luxemburg and Liebknecht).
Another of the many socialist groups that existed in Germany
at that time was the German Workers' Party, in existance since
1902, and later to become the National Socialist German
Workers' Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei
in 1919. The leader of the NSGWP had wanted to call the group
the "Social Revolutionary Party"). Some of the many socialist
groups were known as Freikorps and they already used the swastika
symbol in Germany (although at that time the symbol was always flat
on one side and likely to point in either direction). On November
9, 1918, Liebknecht declared the formation of a "Deutsche Freie
Sozialistische Republik" (German Free Socialist Republic). Some
Freikorps groups were used in aid of the new socialist provisional
government in Germany.
At the
time of the overthrow of Tsar Nicholas II (March 1917)
at Petrograd in the 1917 February Revolution, Vladimir
Lenin was residing in Switzerland (during WWI) but,
with the aid of the German government, he was able to return
to Russia quickly. Fritz Platten, a swiss citizen, made special
arrangments with the German government for Lenin and his
company to travel through Germany by train. Once past Germany,
Lenin continued by ferry to Sweden, and the rest of the trip through
Scandinavia was arranged by Otto Grimlund and Ture Nerman.
Back
in his own Fatherland, Lenin was accused of being
a traitor and an agent of Germany by Aleksander Kerensky
and others. The Soviet swastika might be more evidence
that supports that accusation.
After
murdering so many people, Lenin died (1924) of complications
years after a murder attempt (in 1918) by an assassin
who accused him of being a traitor. On August 30, 1918,
Fanya Kaplan shot Lenin three times and later explained
that she considered Lenin a traitor, and particularly so for
Lenin's banning of other socialist groups, including her group.
She was a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party (It
is interesting to note that the leader of the NSGWP had originally
wanted to call his party the "Social Revolutionary Party").
An earlier (and possibly unrelated) assassination attempt had
occurred on January 14, 1918, when gun shots had been fired
at Lenin as he rode in a car with Fritz Platten (the person who
had arranged Germany's aid in returning Lenin to Russia).
Lenin's dogma was the same dogma that
led to the socialist Wholecaust (of which the
Holocaust was a part): 65 million slaughtered under the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; 49 million under the
Peoples' Republic of China; 21 million under the National
Socialist German Workers' Party.
Assassination is always risky because
the replacement might turn out to be as bad or worse than
the tyrant killed. Lenin was replaced by Stalin, who shares
with Lenin one of the worst records for mass slaughter in the
socialist Wholecaust.
A similar problem became evident after
the National Socialist German Workers' Party (and its leader)
was obliterated through the efforts of its earlier ally,
the Union of Soviet Socialist Repubics (and others). Soviet Socialists
went on to kill more than twice as many people as had been killed
by German National Socialists.
The USA had assisted Soviet Socialists
in defeating German Socialists, and then watched as Soviet
Socialists set new and more horrid records for genocide.
Mao was still alive after WWII, and he
and his fellow socialists went on to kill more than twice
as many people as had been killed by German National Socialists.
Perhaps a reason that assassination is
rare is because civilians fear that their death-deserving rulers
will be replaced by a twin or worse.
************************
Vladimir
Lenin returned to Russia through Germany in April
1917. After his return, he and his supporters used the
slogan "All Power to the Soviets!" It referred
to creating totalitarian military socialism by transferring
current state power from the Provisional Socialist Government
to the workers' and soldiers' councils known as "Soviets."
The soldiers' councils sometimes behaved as independent
socialist militia groups similar to the German Freikorps.
Lenin
adopted military socialism and used the Military Revolutionary
Committee (and used soldiers' councils or "soviets")
to increase his power.
In September
1917, General Lavr Kornilov, the recently appointed
Commander-in-Chief of the Russian army, denounced Lenin
and his 'German spies,' and declared that they should be
hanged. He was dismissed from office by Alexander Kerensky.
Lenin
blocked the elected All Russian Constituent Assembly
(Vserossiyskoye Uchreditelnoye Sobranie) from where
it convened at Tauride Palace.
On 25
October 1917, Lenin's group initiated a military
coup and the overthrow (known as the October Revolution)
of the Provisional Government via the Petrograd Soviet
and the Military Revolutionary Committee. The overthrow coincided
with the convocation of the Second Congress of Workers' and
Soldiers' Soviets.
On October
26, Lenin closed any newspaper that criticized him
(For an account see Nikolai Sukhanov. The Russian Revolution,
1917, Oxford University Press, 1955, pp.649-650).
The Socialist
Revolutionary leadership increasingly viewed Lenin’s
government as a German proxy, and moreso after the
signing of the peace Treaty of Brest-Litovsk by Lenin’s
government on March 3, 1918.
Lenin
supported imperialism. In the late 18th century, the
newly independent Second Polish Republic began securing
its eastern territories annexed by Russia in the partitions
of Poland. That was part of the Soviet socialist excuse
for the Polish-Soviet War in 1919. With the socialist revolution
in Germany, Lenin viewed that as the perfect time and place to
"probe Europe with the bayonets" of the Soviet socialist army.
Lenin saw Poland as the bridge that Soviet Socialists would have
to cross in order to link up with supporters in Germany's socialist
revolution, and to abet other socialist movements in Western Europe.
However the Polish-Soviet War did not go as desired by Lenin
and it delayed his plans. Lenin's imperialistic plans were revived
by his cohort and successor Stalin in cooperation with the leader
of the National Socialist German Workers Party. In 1939, they
joined as allies to invade Poland in a pact to divide up Europe. WWII
spread. It led to the socialist Wholecaust.
Wikipedia is announcing more discoveries by
the historian Dr. Rex Curry about the Soviet socialist state's
swastika. Although it was an ancient symbol, it was used by socialists
in modern times as S-symbolism for "socialism." Dr. Curry's
work is probably the most referenced historical research on
Wikipedia. http://rexcurry.net/ussr-socialist-swastika-cccp-sssr.html
The designer of that banknote was
an ethnic Latvian Rihards Zariņš (he spelled his name: Zarriņš
or Richarda Zarrina; June 27, 1869 – April 21, 1939). He
studied at the School of Kurzeme Knighthood in Griva and elsewhere
in Latvia, St. Petersburg, and then in western Europe in Berlin,
Munich, and Vienna. he became employed by the Russian Imperial Printing
Office in St. Petersburg, where he worked from 1899 to 1919, acting
from 1905 on as technical director of the Soviet Socialist
State printing house, where the banknotes were printed. Later
he designed the first postage stamps of the Soviet Socialist
State.
In 1919 he returned to Latvia and
directed the Government Printing House (1919-1933) and became
a Professor serving as head of the graphic arts workshop at the
Latvian Academy of Arts (1921-1938). He created designs of paper
money, postage stamps, certificates and more. He enjoyed the
socialist symbolism of the swastika and he used it frequently, as in
the banknote mentioned.
Latvia also used swastikas on their war planes and
the swastika evolved to resemble the same swastika style of Soviet
Socialist and German Socialism (under the National Socialist German
Workers' Party). It is not clear if there was a relationship to Zarins'
work. However, the earlier swastikas on Latvian planes used the Z-direction
swastika, consistent with Zarins' signature on his art, and the later
Lativan planes used the the S-direction swastika, consistent with Zarin's
work under Soviet Socialism. http://rexcurry.net/fotw-flags-of-the-world-vexillology.html
Among Zarins' works of applied art are the design
of the Latvian coat of arms, as well as several designs for bank
notes issued by the Printing Office, and several coins of the Latvian
lats.
It is sad to note that Zarins died in 1939,
the same year that the National Socialist German Workers' Party
joined with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as allies in
a pact to divide up Europe, spreading World War II, and the socialist
Wholecaust (of which the Holocaust was a part): 62 million slaughtered
under the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; 49 million under the
Peoples' Republic of China; 21 million under the National Socialist
German Workers' Party.
In 1940, Latvia was incorporated into the USSR
and Zarins' lats were replaced by the Soviet ruble.
The Soviet socialist state during the time
of its swastika was known as the "PCOCP" which, with slight
alteration, became simply "CCCP" (USSR or Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics). Transliterated it is known also as
the R.S.F.S.R., the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist
Republic (aka Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic) (Росси́йская
Сове́тская Федерати́вная Социалисти́ческая Респу́блика,
РСФСР).
It is relevant to note that the Soviet
socialist state's abbreviations have the pattern of double
letters in PP, CC and SS. Hence, the double S letters of the
Soviet socialist state's swastika stand for "Soviet Socialist"
(the corresponding letters in RSFSR).
The RSFSR began in 1917
and was the largest and most populous of the fifteen
former republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics,
which became known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
in December 1922. The Russian SFSR became the modern
day Russia after the collapse of the USSR, officially dissolved
on December 31, 1991.
After the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia
in 1918, a large variety of different currencies were in circulation
including ostrubles and ostmarks (east rubles, east marks),
German reichsmarks, the so-called Tsar rubles and kopecks, and
the so-called Money of Duma.
On December 11, 1918, the Minister of Finance
set official exchange rates for the currencies in circulation,
thus recognizing three foreign currencies as legal tender including
Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
On March 22, 1919, the Provisional Government
of Latvia authorized the Minister of Finance to issue the first
money notes of the Republic of Latvia - Treasury notes; they
were named Latvian rubles and Latvian kopecks, named after the
money in circulation under Soviet Socialism. Five Latvian artists
designed the money, including Rihards Zarins, who had designed the
soviet socialist swastika rubles under the Soviet Socialism (the
Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic). Issues of Treasury notes
marked the beginnings of an independent Latvian monetary system although
Russian and German currencies continued as legal tender in Latvia.
In order to impose socialism, control the economy,
and inflate (counterfeit) money, the Constitutional Assembly
adopted the law to socialize money (as well as other things) and
imposed the Bank of Latvia on September 7, 1922. The power to issue
currency was seized and turned into a socialist monopoly (along with
many other things) and vested with the Bank of Latvia. On November
2, 1922, the Bank of Latvia issued the first provisional banknotes -
500-ruble notes with an overprint.
In 1923, 100-lats banknotes were issued. The
graphical design of the note was worked out by artists Rihards
Zarins and Karlis Krauze.
The Ministry of Finance issued State Treasury
notes in denominations of 5, 10 and 20 lats. These notes were
printed at the State Securities Printing House. The authors of
the graphical designs of these notes were Rihards Zarins, Karlis
Krauze and Harijs Gricevics.
Coins were issued in denominations of 1, 2 5,
10, 20 and 50 santims, and 1, 2 and 5 lats. The designs of the
coins were created by three artists: Rihards Zarins (santims coins
of the 1923 issue and 5-lats coins), Janis Roberts Tilbergs (1-
and 2-lats coins) and Ludolfs Liberts (santims coins, the 1937 issue).
It is sad to note that Zarins died in 1939,
the same year that the National Socialist German Workers' Party
joined with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as allies
in a pact to divide up Europe, spreading World War II, and the
socialist Wholecaust (of which the Holocaust was a part): 62 million
slaughtered under the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; 49 million
under the Peoples' Republic of China; 21 million under the National
Socialist German Workers' Party.
In 1940, Latvia was incorporated into the USSR
(Zarins' previous employer) and Zarins' lats were replaced by
the Soviet ruble. Latvia was occupied by the Soviet Socialist Army
on June 17, 1940, and on August 5 Latvia was incorporated into the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Beginning with October 10, 1940,
the Latvia Republican Office of the State Bank of the USSR, which
was a constituent part in the centralized Soviet socialist banking
system, took over the the Bank of Latvia. The USSR's monetary system
was gradually re-introduced in Latvia. With the resolution of the Popular
Council of Commissars of the Latvian SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic)
passed on November 25, 1940, the exchange rate of the lats against the
USSR ruble was determined (1 lats = 1 ruble). That marked the beginning
of a simultaneous circulation of two currencies in Latvia, which lasted
for four months. Without prior notice, the lats was withdrawn from
circulation on March 25, 1941. The USSR ruble became the socialist monopoly
legal tender in Latvia.
Latvians also refer to the symbols as Pērkonkrusts (Thunder
cross). The sign's name tells that it was associated with the most powerful
Latvian god Pērkons (Thunder). Another name for it is Ugunskrusts (Fire
cross).
In June 1941, German troops under the National
Socialist German Workers' Party advanced into Latvia. Right after
the entrance of the German socialist army, the Bank of Latvia
resumed its activity; however, the Bank did not regain its right
to issue currency. The occupation power implemented a policy that
was tailored specially for occupied countries, its aim being the suppression
and robbing of these countries, in keeping with the socialist dogma
as previously imposed under Soviet Socialism. The instrument to achieve
this was the introduction of a special currency - reichsmarks. German
socialist Reichsmarks circulated alongside Soviet Socialist rubles,
the exchange rate being 10 rubles = 1 reichsmark.
After the Second World War, Latvia was again
incorporated into the Soviet financial system. The State Bank
of the USSR (Gosbank) both issued money and functioned as the State
Treasury. The monetary system of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic
was entirely controlled by the Gosbank.
In 1987, the Latvia Republican Office of the
State Bank of the USSR was renamed the Latvia Republican Bank
of the State Bank of the USSR; however, it did not become a central
bank with the right to issue the national currency.
On March 2, 1990, the Supreme Council of the
Latvian SSR passed the Resolution "On the Bank of Latvia". It
stipulated that the Bank of Latvia, a local central bank, was established
(actually restored) in the Latvian SSR. This was a central bank - an
independent state bank, which had the exclusive right to issue the national
currency.
However, it was only after the declaration of
independence of the Republic of Latvia on May 4, 1990 and the
collapse of Soviet Socialism that in accordance with the Resolution
of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia "On Reorganization
of Banks in the Territory of the Republic of Latvia" passed on September
3, 1991 the Bank of Latvia was re-established as the socialist monopoly
bank of Lavia with its own socialist monopoly money.
The amazing discoveries in Dr. Curry's work
have been discussed by members of the group Flags Of The World,
a well-known group in the field of vexillology (the study of
flags). Dr. Rex Curry's historical discoveries have been recognized
by members of Flags Of The World Group (FOTW) and members of other
vexillological groups. The acknowledgment occurred when the president
of the group conceded defeat in a scholarly debate challenge about
Dr. Curry's news-making work. http://rexcurry.net/fotw-flags-of-the-world-vexillology.html
The Flags of the World web site contained
an error. A fan of RexCurry.net wrote in to point out an
error on the Flags of the World web site that has caused confusion
among members of the North American Vexillological Association.
The error is at http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/lv%5Eair.html
That web page attempts to provide
information about Latvia's Airforce Flag and Aircraft Marking
and shows a swastika symbol (45 degrees to the horizontal
and pointed clockwise) with the headline "1918-1940." That
seeming error caused some members of the North American Vexillological
Association to incorrectly believe that the symbol was always
45 degrees to the horizontal (as if in a diamond orientation). One
NAVA member said "I checked Latvia's Air Force markings 1918-1940
and found a red swastika on its point (as in the National Socialist
German Workers' Party) on white." A more searching review of the
links on that FOTW page shows that the swastika symbol on Latvian
planes originally was on its side (with horizontal orientation) and
not 45 degrees to the horizontal. It is unclear from FOTW, and the links,
when and why the change occurred in Latvia from 1918-1940.
A fan writes, "It is interesting to note
that a lot of the pictures available through the FOTW reference
are only illustrations and not photographs. One illustration
did note the change in the markings. Also interesting to note that
the planes seem to be German, mostly or exclusively? And that in 1920
they were being used against the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
There was also a response about Finland's use of the swastika. Can
anyone provide more information about when Finland first used the symbol
on its planes, why, and where the plane(s) came from? Was it a German
source also?"
It is additional proof of Dr. Curry's work
showing the use of the swastika as S-shapes for "socialism"
under Soviet Socialists, German Socialists, and in Latvia and
Finland, Great Britain, and that they all followed after the United
States of America. http://rexcurry.net/45th-infantry-division-swastika-sooner-soldiers.html
In Finland the swastika was used as the official
national marking of the Army between 1918 and 1944, and
also of the Finnish Air Force at that time. The swastika
was also used by the Lotta Svärd organisation. The blue
swastika was the symbol used by the family of Swedish Count Eric
von Rosen, who donated the first plane to the Finnish White Army
during the Finnish Civil War. At that time, Rosen was socialist
in his philosophy and socialism was growing like a cancer worldwide.
Rosen's socialism grew too and, after the National Socialist German
Workers' Party was formed, Rosen altered his use of the symbol
to be the same as that of the National Socialist German Workers'
Party when Rosen became one of the founding members of Nationalsocialistiska
Blocket, a Swedish Socialist political party, that took advantage
of the overlapping S-shapes of the swastika. Rosen also gained a closer
connection to Germany when Hermann Göring married Carin von Kantzow,
whose sister was married to Rosen.
The National Socialist Bloc was formed
in the end of 1933. It was formed by the merger of Nationalsocialistiska
Samlingspartiet, Nationalsocialistiska Förbundet and
local national socialist units connected to the advocate Sven
Hallström in Umeå. Later Svensk Nationalsocialistisk
Samling merged into NSB. The leader of the party was the colonel
Martin Ekström. The party maintained several publications,
Landet Fritt (Göteborg), Vår Kamp (Göteborg),
Vår Front (Umeå), Nasisten (Malmö) and Riksposten.
NSB differentiated itself from other Swedish national socialist groups
due to its liaisons with the Swedish upper class.
It is interesting to note that Finland had the choice
to discontinue the use of a swastika as a prominent national
symbol at any point after 1933. It did not do so until forced to
do so by the Allies after the defeat of Germany. The fact that the
Finnish swastika was slightly visually different to the German swastika
seems like a minor possible excuse. The Finnish symbol was sufficiently
similar to the German swastika to share the same visual identity and thus
association - in trademark terms it was still 'passing itself off' as
the German National Socialist symbol and was still associated with socialism
in Finland. The Finns made no attempt to make it more different.
Was anyone who wanted to use the swastika as a prominent
national symbol after that time "choosing" to associate their nation
with German socialism, just as the adoption of the red star and
hammer & sickle by governments and militia post-war were choosing
to associate themselves with Soviet socialism and its atrocities?
The swastika in Finnish is "Hakaristi," which in
a more literal or phonetic translation is "hooked cross," similar
to the German word "Hakenkreuz." It was a type of cross. It became
known as the "Von Rosen Cross" and that term is still used sometimes
today in Finland.
There was German involvement in the Finnish Civil
War (January-May 1918). The Hakaristi was used by the German-allied
Whites during that Civil War.
The swastika also appeared in many
Finnish medals and decorations. In wartime medals of honor
it was a visible element, first drafted by Akseli Gallen-Kallela
1918–19. In Germany and Austria at the same time period,
the swastika was also being used by socialist groups.
The hakaristi (Finnish) was seen often on aircraft
and armour, including Brewster Buffaloes, StuGs.
The hakenkreuz (German) decorated the planes of
Herman Kunz (plane: Albatross Jasta 7) and Paul Billik (Albatross
Jasta 12) and Werner Voss (Albatross). All three aircraft were roughly
contemporaneous - Spring, 1917. Raoul Lufberry of the Layfayette
Escadrille Americaine flew a swastika-marked SPAD VII in roughly
the same time period as well.
The Brewster Buffalo, or Brewster F2A, was an American
fighter plane that saw extensive service with both Allied and
Axis air forces during World War II. They were successful in combat,
especially in Finland where Brewster F2A fighters saw their longest
and most intensive service with the Ilmavoimat (Finnish Air Force),
during 1940-48.
American soldiers used the swastika as their
symbol early in World War I, and up to 1941, against Germany.
The symbol was used by Americans in the French Escadrille Lafayette,
by the 45th Infantry Divison, on Boeing P-12 planes. http://rexcurry.net/45th-infantry-division-swastika-sooner-soldiers.html
Up to June 1941, the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics was as closely allied to the National Socialist German
Workers Party as the Finns were in 1939-40. After Barbarossa,
the Soviet Socialist leader (Stalin) judged it much better to maintain
his agreement with Finland: there was no advantage to Soviet
Socialists acquiring another active enemy north of Leningrad.
German Socialists received oil and food from Soviet
Socialists. The National Socialist German Worker' Party and
the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics were allies in 1939 when
they jointly attacked Poland as part of a larger pact (Molotov-Ribbentrop)
to divide up Europe. The Soviet Socialist Navy escorted a German
raiding ship to the Pacific via Siberia and the Bering Strait. Soviet
Socialists opposed Lend-Lease in the U.S. and preached collaboration
in Nazi-Sozi occupied Europe.
In Barbarossa, Finland allowed tens of thousands
of German troops to deploy secretly in Finland, and that gave the
USSR a casus belli. Before Barbarossa, Finland had already agreed
to join the German Socialist attack. German troops were deploying
in Finland. Soviet Socialists pre-emptively attacked before
any attack was made from Finnish territory, but the Axis/Finnish attack
was coming regardless. Stalin had no choice about acquiring another
active enemy north of Leningrad.
By 1944, the 1940 settlement was a dead letter.
It no longer influenced either country as such; that is, the Finns
and Soviets both agreed to the settlement of 1944 on the basis
of the facts of battle at the time, not whether the new settlement matched
the 1940 settlement.
In conclusion, it is interesting to note that
Finland used the hakaristi as a symbol when Germany was allied
with a country attacking Finland, and blocked aid to Finland. Finland
continued to use the symbol when Finland was a co-belligerant with
Germany against the same country. Finland continued to use the
symbol when it was actively at war with Germany
The switch from the hakaristi to the white/blue/white
roundel was officially dated to April 1, 1945 - slightly before
the end of the war but effectively post-war so far as the Finns
were concerned (though the official peace treaty didn't follow until
February, 1947). The change was at the insistance of the the
Allied Control Commission (it was not happy with the Finnish hakaristi
symbol).
The NAVA members who referenced the FOTW web
page provided more support for Dr. Curry's work showing that
the swastika was used to represent overlapping "S" letters for
"socialism" under the National Socialist German Workers' Party
and in the Soviet Socialist State. http://rexcurry.net/book1a1contents-swastika.html
Notice how the
Socialist Repubics utilized various languages (including
German at the top) in an effort to spread sickly socialism
worldwide, and consistent with its use of alphabetic "S"
symbolism in its swastika symbol.
More evidence proves
the work of the historian Dr. Rex Curry in showing
that the swastika was used as alphabetic symbolism for
"socialism" by both the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
and by the National Socialist German Workers' Party, as
shown in the images above and below and at http://rexcurry.net/ussr-socialist-swastika-cccp-sssr.html
In 1917, socialism
was imposed in Russia when the former Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics (USSR) was formed after the Russian
Revolution of 1917, and the Russian Civil War of 1918-1920.
The propaganda machinary introduced a new symbol
for the new government: the swastika.
The Soviet Socialist
Swastika shows lettering around the swastika symbol
and also shows the swastika as two separate arms pointing
clockwise, representing separate "S" letters overlapping
http://rexcurry.net/ussr-socialist-swastika1919-1920cav.jpg
Soviet socialist money
openly used English, German and other languages in
an effort to spread sickly socialism worldwide, consistent
with its use of alphabetic "S" symbolism in its swastika
symbol. http://rexcurry.net/ussr-socialist-swastika1919-1920rubles250.jpg
On official badges,
the Soviet Swastika was yellow on a red background,
mimicking the other socialist symbol, the hammer and sickle
(Russian: серп и молот, "serp i molot" (serpent & mallet?)),
a symbol that also developed in the Russian Soviet Federated
Socialist Republic (RSFSR). Eventually, the national flag
mimicked the same color schemes and symbols. The swastika was even
displayed with the hammer and sickle http://rexcurry.net/swastika4.gif
as shown here http://rexcurry.net/ussr-socialist-swastika-may-day.jpg
Germany's socialist swastika had the
same meaning as the earlier Soviet Swastika and the Hammer
and Sickle: The German and Soviet swastikas were two "S" letters
that represented socialists joining together; the hammer
and sickle represented socialists joining together, particularly
workers joining with peasants, or factory workers joining
with agricultural workers.
The German term for "swastika" is "Hakenkreuz"
("hooked cross") because the symbol represented two separate
pieces crossed (two "S" shaped pieces).
In Mein Kampf, the German socialist
leader referred to the socialist swastika and the flag:
"In red we see the social idea of the movement, in white the
nationalistic idea, in the swastika the mission of the struggle
for the victory of the Aryan man, and, by the same token, the
victory of the idea of creative work..." (pg. 496-497). In German
the swastika reference was: "im Hakenkreuz die Mission des Kampfes
für den Sieg des arischen Menschen und zugleich mit ihm auch
den Sieg des Gedankens der schaffenden Arbeit,"
In his own words, Hitler stated
that the swastika referred to work (labor) and mimicked the
Soviet's "new" swastika replacement, the Hammer and Sickle
(two tools of workers). Hitler states that the Hakenkreuz (hooked
cross) represents two crossed "S" shapes known as "sieg" symbols.
Those "S" letters were used for "S" in other German socialist symbolism.
He made overlapping use of the word "victory" or "sieg" in German. The
red color and the "social idea of the movement" ties into socialism
for which Hitler claimed the National Socialist German Workers' Party
was struggling for victory. The so-called "swastika" represented two
"S" letters for "socialism" and is related to "Sieg Heil!" in the sense
of the NSGWP's cry of "Hail to the Victory of Socialism!"
His use of the term "arischen" mimicks the Soviet swastika and
the Soviet hammer and sickle in the effort to glorify workers (represented
by their tools in the hammer and sickle) as the new super soviet socialist
men. http://rexcurry.net/george-bernard-shaw-superman-socialist-swastika-socialism.html
German socialists were heavily influenced
by earlier Soviet socialists, even in regard to concentration
camps, purges, and genocide.
In 1939, the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics and the National Socialist German
Workers’ Party joined as allies to invade Poland in a Pact
to divide up Europe, spreading WWII. http://rexcurry.net/socialists.html
They USSR embraced the swastika
symbol even more then, and the hammer and sickle was displayed
proudly next to and in partnership with the socialist swastika.
The lettering around
the socialist swastika badge resembles "PCOCP" which,
with slight alteration, became simply "CCCP" (USSR). The
lettering and the swastika symbol refer to the R.S.F.S.R.,
the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (aka Russian
Soviet Federated Socialist Republic) (Росси́йская Сове́тская
Федерати́вная Социалисти́ческая Респу́блика, РСФСР). The
socialist swastika badge uses the pattern of double letters
in PP, CC and SS. Hence, the double S letters of the soviet socialist
swastika stand for "Soviet Socialist" (the corresponding letters
in RSFSR).
The RSFSR began in 1917
and was the largest and most populous of the fifteen
former republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics,
which became the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in
December 1922. The Russian SFSR became the modern day
Russia after the collapse of the USSR, officially dissolved
on December 31, 1991.
The USSR followed the
lead of the USA in beginning with a "federation" name
and then changing to a "Union" (a word that can be translated
also as "United") and even echoing the "U.S." initials. The
USSR was influenced by the socialist trend in the USA and by its
internationally famous socialists, including Edward Bellamy.
Through the work of socialists
in the USA, the USSR, and Germany respectively,
the swastika became a global symbol of socialism.
In 1939, the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics joined as allies with the
National Socialist German Workers’ Party to invade Poland in
a Pact to divide up Europe, spreading WWII. It occurred under
the notorious Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which the Socialist
Republics never renounced. Seven million died in Poland.
As a result of the War, Finland had its Karelian Peninsula torn
away by the Socialist Republics and 10 countries Latvia, Lithuania,
Estonia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Romania, Bulgaria,
Hungary and Yugoslavia suffered under the Socialist Republics
for half a century. http://rexcurry.net/socialists.html
Three common abbreviations
(USSR, SSSR, CCCP) refer to a self-described socialist
entity that used the word "socialist" in its name, as did
the NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers' Party) which
used the double "S" letters of the Hakenkreuz - swastika.
Russian socialists used symbolism and the word "socialist"
in their group's name, before the German socialists and it
served as an example. http://rexcurry.net/bookchapter4a1c.html
CCCP led to the derisive
joke that it signified the "coalition of collectivist
crusaders for the proletariat." It also inspired
the old gag of someone asking which "C" stood for "Communist."
Of course, the abbreviation did not refer to communism,
it referred to socialism, as did the abbreviation and
symbol for the National Socialist German Workers' Party. http://rexcurry.net/bookpic-socialism-cccp-ussr.gif
Translated:
RSFSR was: Russian
Soviet Federated Socialist Republic
USSR was: Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics
Transliterated:
РСФСР was: Rossi?yskaya
Sovetskikh Federati?vnaya (or Soyuz) Sotsialisticheskikh
Respublika (RSFSR).
CCCP was: Soyuz Sovetskikh
Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik (SSSR).
CCCP is actually cyrillic.
In Latin letters it would be SSSR: Soyuz Sovetskikh
Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik (Soviet United/Federated Socialistic
Republic). Untransliterated it was CCCP, and transliterated
it was SSSR.
In Russian:
РСФСР was Росси́йская
Сове́тская Федерати́вная Социалисти́ческая Респу́блика.
CCCP
was Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик.
Another explanation:
РСФСР was Росси́йская
Сове́тская Федерати́вная Социалисти́ческая
Респу́блика.
Soviet
Socialist
Republic / Republics
CCCP was Сою́з Сове́тских
Социалисти́ческих
Респу́блик.
Translation of the left side:
ORDER
to troops of South-Eastern front
# 213
City of Saratov
<date> November 1919
A shoulder patch is approved for
Kalmyk units, according to the attached drawing and description.
The right to wear this patch is given
to officers and Red Army privates of existing Kalmyk units, as well
as the ones being raised, according to order of the Revolutionary
Military Council of the Republic, this year, # 11<6>.
(There follow the signatures of the front commander,
the Member of the Revolutionary Military Council (the commissar)
and chief of staff. The right side gives a description and picture.
Dimitri Volkogonov "Lenin - A New Biography", page 8. ISBN 0-02-933435-7
"Lenin's antecedents were Russian, Kalmyk,
Jewish, German and Swedish, and possibly others".
Свастика в Красной
армии
Кавалерия, Юго-Восточного
фронт 1919-20 г.г.:
Swastika in the Red
Army
Cavalry South-Eastern Front
1919-20 g.g.:
"according to the communication
V.O. Of daynesa, in the central Public Archive of
the Soviet Army is an application to the order to the forces
of southeastern Front № 213 in 1918, where is described new
emblem for the personnel: "the rhomb of yshchkhyy of centimeters
from the red cloth. In the upper angle pentagonal star, in the
center - venok, in middle of which "LYUNGTN" with the inscription
"R.S.F.S.R.". Stellar diameter 15 mm, Viennese 6 cm, size OF "LYUNGTN"
- 27 mm, letters - 6 mm. sign for the command and administrative
personnel are embroidered by gold and silver, also, for the Red
Army men stereotyped. Star, "LYUNGTN" and tape Viennese are embroidered
by gold (for the Red Army men by yellow paint), venok itself and
inscription - by silver (for the Red Army men - by white paint)."
[The mysterious abbreviation OF "LYUNGTN" designated
the here being untwisted swastika.
Novel Of bagdasarov "The
swastika: the sacred symbol."
(it sent Aleksandr)]
"По сообщению В.О. Дайнеса, в Центральном государственном
архиве Советской Армии имеется приложение к приказу
войскам Юго-Восточного фронта № 213 за 1918 г., где описана новая
эмблема для личного состава: "Ромб 15х11 сантиметров из
красного сукна. В верхнем углу пятиконечная звезда, в центре
- венок, в середине которого "ЛЮНГТН" с надписью "Р.С.Ф.С.Р.".
Диаметр звезды 15 мм, венка 6 см, размер "ЛЮНГТН" - 27 мм, букв
- 6 мм. Знак для командного и административного состава вышит золотом
и серебром и для красноармейцев трафаретный. Звезда, "ЛЮНГТН"
и лента венка вышиты золотом (для красноармейцев жёлтой краской),
самый венок и надпись - серебром (для красноармейцев - белой краской)."
[Загадочной аббревиатурой "ЛЮНГТН" обозначена
здесь раскручивающаяся свастика.
Роман
Багдасаров "Свастика: священный
символ." (прислал Александр)]
1918 - 1919, when Vasiliy
Ivanovich Shorin (Colonel, punished in the 30's) commanded
the Red Army at the southeastern Front
1918 - 1919 годах,
когда Красной Армией на Юго-восточном фронте командовал
Василий Иванович Шорин (полковник, репрессированный в
30-е годы)
Swastika in the army
OF USA 45-4 infantry division:
The soldiers of 45-1 infantry
division OF THE USA bore on the left sleeve the symbol
of yellow on the red rhomb:
On official badges,
the Soviet Swastika was yellow on a red background,
mimicking the other socialist symbol, the hammer and sickle
(Russian: серп и молот, "serp i molot" (serpent & mallet?)),
a symbol that also developed in the Russian Soviet Federated
Socialist Republic (RSFSR). Eventually, the national flag
mimicked the same color schemes and symbols. The swastika was even
displayed with the hammer and sickle http://rexcurry.net/swastika4.gif
as shown here http://rexcurry.net/ussr-socialist-swastika-may-day.jpg
