Bharadwaj Profile picture
Oct 30, 2021 33 tweets 12 min read Read on X
A pernicious attempt to connect Hinduism with Nazism.

Audrey (@audreyTruschke) claims Indic philosophy inspired Nazism & Nazism inspired Hindu revivalism.

She comes from a long line of protestant Indologists making such connections

But is it really so?

[Myth breaking THREAD] Image
@AudreyTruschke Audrey insists Nazi "Hakenkreuz" is nothing but "German translation" of Swastika.

She even goes on to say the Nazi translation did not erase "the basic meaning and history" of swastika.

Is this really so?

This thread EXPOSES closely guarded academic secrets about this topic ImageImage
@AudreyTruschke As I have mentioned elsewhere, Hitler never used the word Swastika himself. He used the word Hakenkreuz.

This claim is FALSE.

Germans did not use "Hakenkreuz" for Swastika. They used it for Christian hooked cross.

Hakenkreuz is literal German translation of "hooked cross" Image
@AudreyTruschke But what is Hakenkreuz/ Hooked cross? What did Nazis understand by it?

What were they so enamored by this symbol? Did they see the symbol as mere translation of Indic symbol Swastika?

Did they see the Hakenkreuz as an ancient Indian symbol? Did they borrow this Indian symbol?
Only the contemporary Nazi literature can tell us what the Nazis actually thought about Swastika.

I begin by considering the views of Erich Koch. Koch was a top officer of Nazi Germany. He organised Nazi concentration camps. He was sentenced to life imprisonment after the war. Image
However, Erich Koch was not just a Nazi who gαssed people to dεath in concentration camps.

He was a president of German protestant Church Synod. He was a scholar of Bible and would recite the entire New Testament orally.

As such, his views about Hakenkreuz are very revealing Image
"Truly, Christ has returned. The second coming of Christ has happened.

Christ has now come in the form of Hitler. He has come to exterminate the Marxists and the irreligious. He now comes not with a cross but with the hooked cross (Haken Kreuz)"

- Erich Koch.
Koch was a brutal, ruthless Nazi of the first order. He personified Nazi barbarity by playing a leading role in the murdεr of thousands of Jews and their deportation to camps.

Yet, even in his post war testimony, he insisted that he was doing nothing but the work of Christ! Image
Koch was not alone.

Even Joseph Goebbels, one of Hitler's closest acolytes, held similar eschatological Christian views about "hooked cross".

He saw Nazism as an apocalyptic movement that personifies Christ's mission of destroying Anti-Christian Jewish and Marxist forces.
At the end of his autobiographical diary named Michael, Joseph Goebbels declares-

"The war we are now waging today is a struggle between Jesus Christ and Marx" Image
Hans Schemm was an educator and a top minister of Nazi Germany.

He famously declared -"Our religion is Christ, our politics is motherland".

Explaining the meaning of Nazi Hakenkreuz, he also alluded to Hitler as a personification of Christ. Image
"In its first appearance, the cross used to be straight because Christ had come with love.

Now, the day of judgement has arrived. The cross is hooked (referring to Hakenkreuz) because Christ has come with wrath. Redeem yourself"

- Hans Schemm
Christian eschatology was at the core of Nazi ideology since inception.

When Nazi party was founded, Hitler announced 25-point Program.

Point 24 says Nazi Party advocates "positive Christianity".

It "combats Jewish spirit within & around us"

alphahistory.com/nazigermany/na… Image
It is clear that Hakenkreuz of Nazis had absolutely nothing to Swastika of Hindus.

Nazi Hakenkreuz had a Christian eschatological concept of second coming of the Christ with the hooked cross.

Why then has the Nazi hooked cross been dissociated from its Christian background?
Why has Nazi Hooked Cross been dissociated with its Christian roots & identified with Hindu swastika?

There is absolutely NO EVIDENCE that Nazis borrowed this symbol from India.

In fact, hooked cross has always been one of Church motifs.

There is Hooked Cross motif in Vatican Image
After Nazis lost the war & were disgraced when their crimes were out for the world to see, any association with Nazis was deemed unpopular.

Christian apologists spilled a lot of ink to

1) Dissociate Nazism from Christianity.

2) Dissociate Hooked Cross with Christian cross
Hitler's autobiography Mein Kampf was translated into English by Christian pastor James Murphy.

He translated "Hooked Cross" as "Swastika" which was a visually similar but completely unrelated symbol.
"Swastika" coming from "Swasti" (well being) was infact truly opposite to it
With this intentionally flawed translation, he wanted to kiII two birds in one shot.

1) Dissociate Nazis with Christianity.

2) Associate Nazis with Hinduism.

This was later followed by all other translators.
So deeply entrenched and widely prevalent is this propaganda that even NCERT textbook says

"Hitler understood the significance of rituals ....and used ancient Swastika to install unity" Image
The evidence exists for all to see

In their rallies, the Nazis frequently used Hooked Cross in association with cross.

Here is a Nazi rally at berlin. Notice the hooked cross in association with the biblical cross on the flag Image
During Nazi era, both the cross and hooked cross were very frequently intertwined and exchanged for one another.

Here is the official flag of German Christian movement. Notice the hooked cross signifying the second coming of Christ depicted in place of Jesus on the cross Image
Berlin. Luther day 1933. Speech by bishop Hossenfelder

The symbol of hooked cross inscribed on Biblical cross can be clearly seen Image
Hooked cross on Antoniter Church altar. 1935.

Devotees visiting the church used to touch the hooked cross and utter "Das ist Jesus Christus" ( "That is Jesus Christ").

How can this be Hindu symbol? Image
The meaning and interpretation of hooked cross and its association with Christianity will be explored further.

Taking a brief detour to Audrey's thread.

Here, she associates Nazism with Hindu revivalism and Savarkar again. Image
She claims that Savarkar's swastika is actually Nazi.

She claims that Hindu Nationalists intentionally displayed the angle of Swastika midway between Nazi and Indian uses?

But is that really so? This tweet completely exposes Audrey's ignorance. Image
Audrey claims that any Swastika depicted with a slanting angle is not Hindu Swastika but Nazi symbol.

This betrays Audrey's utter ignorance about the subject.

Hindu Swastikas are often depicted with a slanting angle. It is very common to see slanting swastikas on Hindu temples. ImageImage
It is funny that Audrey associates Savarkar's book Hindutva with Nazism

She would not have made such clueless & ignorant remarks had she read that book.

Far from showing any anti-semitic Nazism, Savarkar actually expresses in that book his desire for a Jewish homeland in Israel Image
Like her protestant Indologist predecessors, Audrey connects Hinduism with Nazism.

Like them, Audrey also has links with Christian missionaries.

Why should her personal religion be our problem? Well, but for the fact that they don't keep it confined to their personal space!
Ausrey's father-in-law Nathan Rehn is a pastor belonging to a fundamentalist Christian organization "Win India for Christ”.

fbcmonterey.org/staff/

Like Aurangzeb whom she admires, Audrey's father in law is also an outspoken critic of "idol worship".

vimeo.com/164337487 Image
These protestant Indologists ignore that the Nazi Hooked Cross was conceived in a Christian context.

Hitler’s upbringing was at the Benedictine Christian Monastery in Austria which features hooked cross motifs.

It was from a Christian milieu that they picked up "hooked cross" Image
While protestant Indologists continue to manufacture fake association between Hinduism and Nazism, German bishops have recently admitted their role.

"We were complicit in Nazi crimes"- German Bishops.

thetimes.co.uk/article/we-wer…
While Bishops admitted their role in Nazi Crimes, they havent admitted their role in this false association of Hooked Cross with Swastika.

It is interesting to note that the first English translation of Mein Kampf by Edgar Dugdale did not have "swastika"

library.abundanthope.org/index_htm_file…
Edgar Dugdale correctly translates "Haken Kreuz" as hooked cross.

It was only the Christian Pastor Murphy who first used "Swastika" in place of "Haken Kreuz" in his (mis)translation of Mein Kampf Image

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Bharadwaj

Bharadwaj Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @BharadwajSpeaks

Jul 30, 2023
I offer unconditional apology and request for clemency (1/n) @Dev_Fadnavis @narendramodi Image
2/n Image
3/n Image
Read 5 tweets
Feb 22, 2023
Javed Akhtar's family including his father & father-in-law Kaifi Azmi were Pakistan supporters.
Azmi wrote poems in support of creation of Pakistan.

After partition, they stayed back to safeguard properties.

Azmi wrote poems warning of an uprising when somnath temple was built
If Javed Akhtar is criticising a bankrupt and broken Pakistan today, that is merely because he is flogging a dead horse and has nothing to lose.

He is the same person who compares RSS to Taliban, opposes CAA and hypes Jamia criminals as sheroes.
People hyping his speech have yet to realise that our biggest enemies actually exist on this side of the border.
Read 5 tweets
Jan 6, 2023
Savitribai was indeed a British Missionary. Nobody's declaration is needed.

She was trained by missionaries & her school was organized & funded by Missionaries.

This question was asked in KBC 13.

How does a Noball Prize fact checker miss basic facts?

opoyi.com/india/kbc-13-w…
Here is Savitribai Phule in her own words. In this letter, she proudly boasts that her husband was honored by the British Government for doing the work of Jesus
Savitribai Phule praised British rule and prayed for permanence of British rule. She wrote many poems praising Christian religion and Jesus Christ. She never hid her Christian affiliation and never made a secret of her missionary work
Read 20 tweets
Jan 3, 2022
Hotee was a Bengali Hindu widow.

She was a scholar of Sanskrit Poetry, Law, Mathematics and Ayurveda.

She established a School in Varanasi for women. She was awarded the title "Vidyalankar" by Kashi Pandits.

This was BEFORE Savitribai was even born.

First female teacher who? https://t.co/Q2DnxZ1V0N
Image
Hotee Vidyalankar died 21 years BEFORE Savitribai Phule was even born.

Why is she ignored and why is Savitribai Phule falsely acknowledged as "first female teacher"? Is it because Hotee was just an orthodox Hindu Brahmin lady and NOT an agent of British missionaries?
Harkunwar Sethani was an orthodox Jain lady. She built Maganlal Karamchand School for girls in Ahmedabad. The construction was started in 1847 (completed 1850) which was one year BEFORE Savitribai Phule's "school".

Why are hundreds of women like them ignored to hail Savitribai?
Read 22 tweets
Jan 1, 2022
How cute!

Your father was a member of Muslim league. Why did he stay back even after several members of your family left? What was the intention of staying back after contributing to partition and breaking up of the country?
Since the topic is Naseeruddin shah's ancestors, we should begin with his great great grandfather Jan Fishan Khan. He was originally from Afghanistan.

He served as a mercenary for British against Marathas and was granted a piece of land for his services.
In 1857, Jan Fishan Khan fought along with the British against the forces of Jhansi Lakshmi Bai.

For his loyal service, the British granted him land in India (Sardhana, UP) and a pension of 1,000 rupees. Then, he brought his family to India. Naseeruddin Shah is his descendant!
Read 5 tweets
Jan 1, 2022
New Year and Christianity:

It is often claimed that New Year is a Christian festival. And that the current Gregorian New Year on January 1 was first instituted by Pope Gregory in 16th century. Is that really so?

Thread
According to Bible, New Year does NOT occur in the winter month of January.

It rather occurs in Spring in the month of Nisan (March-April).

This was precisely when the Early Christians celebrated new year.

So how did the New Year "change"? Read on Image
Until 1752, Christians of England and US celebrated the New Year on March 25.

"The year begins on 25th day of March"

webexhibits.org/calendars/year… ImageImage
Read 8 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(