JasonUnbound

Hakenkreuz

Most interesting book I worked on today:

Hein, Alois Raimund. Maander, Kreuze, Hakenkreuze und urmotivische Wirbelornamente in Amerika. Wien: Alfred Holder, 1891.

A rough title translation—and it must be rough, as two of the title words are put to novel use here—is: Meanders, crosses, swastikas and primal-themed swirly ornaments in the Americas.

After a quick look around, this is the earliest book I can find in German to discuss the history of the swastika in detail. The book gives a little space to the well known history of the swastika in Asia, but it's interesting that it's mainly about Native American use of the symbol. Following Hitler's rise to power, there were dozens of books published on the subject, but this publication, from 1891 Vienna, offers a view of the swastika without its modern taint.

Posted by Jason at April 29, 2004 10:38 PM