When The Sound of Music was edging toward the end of its run in Toronto a decade ago my long-suffering wife finally convinced me to attend with her. While I admit that I was reluctant,, I quickly realized that it was an excellent production and enjoyed the ride. I was unsettled in the final act when large, Nazi swastika flags were unfurled to help create the mood of the German takeover of Austria. This symbol has been a statement of hatred and destruction for more than 80 years now. For decades the swastika has evoked strong responses yet, sadly, there has been a bold resurgence with White Supremacist groups in Germany, the United States and elsewhere.
I recently read an article by Khyati Joshi called The swastika and the 4 H’s in which she speaks of the history of the symbol for different religions, and the current proposals to ban it as a hate symbol in some areas of the United States. Long before being co-opted by the Nazis it was a symbol of good fortune and prosperity, something I knew but to which I've given little thought. Perhaps I figured it was historic for Hindus and those of other religions, rather than a meaningful symbol in the present.
Joshi concedes that most people associate the swastika with three H’s: hate, Hitler and the Holocaust. Yet for her there is a fourth association which is Heritage. As a child of Hindu parents in America she wasn't aware of the grim connotation of the swastika. But by the time she was a teenager she saw her Christian friends wearing crosses and her Jewish friends wearing Star of David or Chai pendants, aware that she would need to choose some other symbol than the swastika.
At her Hindu wedding she was separated from her groom by a traditional cloth with a swastika, yet she took considerable care beforehand to speak with Jewish attendees, including a bridesmaid, about the ancient symbol.
This article is certainly a challenge to cultural assumptions and points out the complexities of living in a multi-cultural society. I'm glad I came across it.
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