So, Hitler is popular in India.

[JuniperWoolf]

I remember this being mentioned on litnet a few months ago, and I've been coming across more and more mentions of the trend. Discuss?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/11/30/hitler-s-strange-afterlife-in-india.html

[SilentMute]

I have learned to be cautious in passing judgment on other cultures. I'm an English tutor. Some of the things my students have said to me has literally caused blood to drain from my face. It would be easy to start loathing foreigners...but I have tried to understand them. What I have found is that they really don't see things the way we do. While this might be quite obvious, what I mean is that their minds don't go to the same places ours do...so they don't see the side which we base our own judgments. I wish I could explain this better.

It would be interesting to learn the background of these kids and what exactly the extent of their knowledge of Hitler is. Another thing is that these are young people, and young people tend to be immature. They also don't tend to fully research their ideas. They quickly adopt ideas that are superficially appealing and often don't really understand what they represent.

Yes, Hitler was a good orator in that he managed to rally his people. Initially, he probably did inspire patriotism. Perhaps in his twisted way, he was doing what he thought was right. Ghandi's principles...they would be hard for an immature mindset to comprehend. I can see how young people, who might live in frustrating circumstances, might admire Hitler over Ghandi.

As I get older, I realize how fortunate I am. However, there have been times in my life, where I have been very insecure over my circumstances. During this time, I have often been resentful of others--for instance, the girl who keeps having babies with different men, and who the government helps out...and I didn't qualify for assistance when my family was actually poorer than hers. During these times, I often thought how nice it would be if some people didn't exist. I saw them as leeches who took away from worthier people. Had a charismatic politician came along with promises...who knows?

As I get older and develop, I see a larger picture. I truly understand moral concepts and why I should follow them. When I was younger, I was taught moral concepts...and I followed them because I suppose I had faith in the people who taught them to me. However, I didn't really understand them...and because of this, I was always vulnerable in being lead astray. Fortunately, I never strayed too far. It is actually, in my late thirties, that I truly am beginning to understand abstract ideas and appreciate them.

[Charles Darnay]

The article seems accurate. I have spoken with a few native Indians that aren't Ghandi fans - thinks he was corrupt, or not a good representation of the nation &c. And for someone who is so far removed from WWII - who has no ties whatsoever - admiring Hitler, while disturbing - is not unthinkable. We tend to idolize some of the great barbarians of the past because we only remember them for their leadership or rhetoric. I was talking with someone recently about how the name St. Cyril Catholic School is a really unfortunate name for a school. St. Cyril was pretty much Hitler on a smaller scale 1600 years ago. We today have no direct connection to his actions, being so far removed, and so most will not e disturbed by a school named after him (until you start digging.)

If all you associate Hitler with is his leadership and rhetoric, than he is a marvelous figure to be admired.

[SilentMute]

I spoke to one of my Indian friends. I was amazed to hear a complaint that people in the United States often have.

My friend claims that there are a lot of foreigners coming to India. They set up businesses and make a lot of money--and then they send the money out of the country, so India doesn't really profit. Meanwhile, many Indians--even if they get a good education--are finding it hard to get a job. They keep going to school and getting more degrees. They are extremely educated...but they don't have a job. I can totally relate to this frustration.

A few years ago, I took a medical coding course. For ten months, I worked hard at my studies. I sacrificed every enjoyable thing. They promised I would get a job because medical coders were in great need. What they failed to mention was that certified coders were in great need--but my education didn't get me certification. I was going to get certified, but then it turned out I was also allergic to the TB test...and they said they no longer allowed people to get chest x-rays. I was so angry and disappointed. Tuberculosis is not really common among Americans. It is a problem with the island people. I know it was awful, but I hated them so much then. I wanted them to go away, but I didn't really think about them as people. I just wanted a job, and it seemed no matter how hard I worked, I could never get one. I felt bad about myself, and I blamed others for my lack of opportunity.

Eventually, I discovered a talent I didn't know I had, and I created my own business. My frustration with my life disappeared, and my thoughts towards others were much kinder. I saw people who wanted a better life just like me, who also worked hard towards the same goal. I saw families. I remembered my earlier thoughts and felt so ashamed of myself.

As I get older, I find that there are fewer things I can say "I would never do". I actually haven't done anything that bad, but my thoughts have sometimes been very bad. I try to stay off my moral high horse and not judge people too harshly for human failings. Of course, sometimes I get caught in the saddle and still fail to do that.

I don't know India's situation. I have heard that it is a poor country. I have heard there is a caste system. I have heard that the people believe that if your lot in life is bad, it is because you are paying for sins you committed in another life...or somehow it is just your fate, and therefore they don't believe in helping such people. I don't know how much of this is true...but if it is, then I can understand how much frustration there probably is. When you feel that you can't even support yourself or your family, the despair that you feel can really take you to some dark places.

However, I would also suspect that there are gaps in their knowledge about Hitler. I know their concepts of America are totally warped, so probably there is a good chance they don't know totally what happened in Germany. My students watch a lot of old TV shows from America, and this has lead them to believe that all Americans are cowboys that listen to disco music. They use slang from the 1950s. I always think how terrible it is for them if they ever come here, because the America they imagine stopped existing--if it ever did exist--a long, long time ago.

[Delta40]

If the Indian kids watched the latest programs, do you think they would have a more accurate concept of what America is like and would figures like Hitler be less popular?

[OrphanPip]

The article seems accurate. I have spoken with a few native Indians that aren't Ghandi fans - thinks he was corrupt, or not a good representation of the nation &c. And for someone who is so far removed from WWII - who has no ties whatsoever - admiring Hitler, while disturbing - is not unthinkable. We tend to idolize some of the great barbarians of the past because we only remember them for their leadership or rhetoric. I was talking with someone recently about how the name St. Cyril Catholic School is a really unfortunate name for a school. St. Cyril was pretty much Hitler on a smaller scale 1600 years ago. We today have no direct connection to his actions, being so far removed, and so most will not e disturbed by a school named after him (until you start digging.)

If all you associate Hitler with is his leadership and rhetoric, than he is a marvelous figure to be admired.

The association with Hindu nationalism is a bit upsetting though. In general, I think any rampant nationalism is a red flag for bad things to come, and then combining Hitler with that nationalism... well it's troubling.

[cafolini]

Everytime a fool praises Hitler, you guys go bananas and think there are many like that in India. It's only a small percentage. Most Indians appreciate Ghandi and are not stupid like that.

[SilentMute]

If the Indian kids watched the latest programs, do you think they would have a more accurate concept of what America is like and would figures like Hitler be less popular?

Well, admittedly, television always gives a distorted image of reality...so I do see your point. However, the time period that something comes from is going to teach values of that period. For instance, as an example: Many years ago, a teacher came across a textbook that had been used in...ugh, I forgot the date. However, it was many years before the Civil Rights movement. The teacher was shocked when the textbook promoted that slavery had been a good thing for the blacks because it brought them to America and taught them Christianity. It totally omitted any references to the suffering that slavery had caused or that even it is wrong--even though it promoted that America is the "land of the free".

Now, if someone in another country read that textbook, they would have a totally different concept about America and its values as it is now. These people are watching really OLD movies. The ones with disco are actually sometimes the most recent stuff that they watch. Somehow, they don't realize how out-of-date the movies are. If this is happening with America, I'm certain that it is happening with other countries as well.

However, I'm not saying that people shouldn't be concerned either. Anger and ignorance can be a deadly combination. When influenced by the media (and let's face it, everybody--no matter what country they come from--is influenced by the media), it can definitely lead to bad things.

Speaking of being influenced by the media...this article can give someone the idea that Indians are a bunch of Nazis. For all we know, this could be a very small portion of the population...as big as how many Americans are Ku Klux Klan members. Cafolini makes a valid point.

[Gladys]

If the Indian kids watched the latest programs, do you think they would have a more accurate concept of what America is like and would figures like Hitler be less popular?

It is easy to be wise in retrospect. Hitler, the saviour of downtrodden Germany following the oppressive Treaty of Versailles, committed appalling atrocities. America, the land of the free, persecuted black slaves and Red Indians for generations. Turkey, the modern democracy, exterminated Armenians. Australia, the land of opportunity, gave none to its indigenous blacks. Today, in the West, everything is, of course, different, thanks be to God.

There is good and bad, simultaneously, in all political systems. In areas where certain restraints are minimal, or in times when certain restraints are removed, absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely. President Nixon was one of America's most effective leaders if one overlooks, is ignorant of, or simply forgets about Senator McCarthy's witch trials, civilian atrocities in Cambodia and elsewhere during the Vietnam War, abuses in Latin America, J. Edgar Hoover's machinations, medical experimentation on prisoners and soldiers, and the Watergate trials. And what don't we know about Nixon and, maybe, never will? Nevertheless, Nixon may have been one of the better US presidents, if history were an open book.

Admiration, for a popular leader or our next door neighbour, ought to be tempered with healthy scepticism. Admiration for the good she achieves should flow like a river.

[JBI]

The article seems accurate. I have spoken with a few native Indians that aren't Ghandi fans - thinks he was corrupt, or not a good representation of the nation &c. And for someone who is so far removed from WWII - who has no ties whatsoever - admiring Hitler, while disturbing - is not unthinkable. We tend to idolize some of the great barbarians of the past because we only remember them for their leadership or rhetoric. I was talking with someone recently about how the name St. Cyril Catholic School is a really unfortunate name for a school. St. Cyril was pretty much Hitler on a smaller scale 1600 years ago. We today have no direct connection to his actions, being so far removed, and so most will not e disturbed by a school named after him (until you start digging.)

If all you associate Hitler with is his leadership and rhetoric, than he is a marvelous figure to be admired.
The Indians do have direct ties to WW2 though... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Army_during_World_War_II

[Lokasenna]

Everytime a fool praises Hitler, you guys go bananas and think there are many like that in India. It's only a small percentage. Most Indians appreciate Ghandi and are not stupid like that.

Three of my housemates are Indian, and they've told me in the past about the popularity of Mein Kampf in their country. All three of them have differing political views: one is a Marxist, one a conservative, and the other apolitical. Interestingly, none of them have anything nice to say about Ghandi either.

[Yami]

Guys firstly I would like to say that I feel very bad to see all of you guys writing Gandhi as Ghandi.

Well I am an Indian and I can say that there are still many people here who admire Gandhi and still Idolize him...If Hitler was a patriot so was Gandhi.He did all he could to unite the Indians when it was most needed.Yes some of Hitler's qualities are worth admiring , but he definitely had his negative sides too.Even Gandhi had his negatives but it depends on a person what way he/she perceives.

The classroom referred to in the given article may have more people admiring Hitler but that is not necessarily the case for every Indian.

[SilentMute]

[QUOTE=Yami;1192616]Guys firstly I would like to say that I feel very bad to see all of you guys writing Gandhi as Ghandi.
Well, no offense is meant. I think we write it the way it is pronounced in English, therefore we use Gha for the "gah" sound. Actually, though, you are right...I've seen it spelled Gandhi. However, I suppose it is easy to fall into phonetics. I'm not even sure if we pronounce the name the same way an Indian would.

[mona amon]

Everytime a fool praises Hitler, you guys go bananas and think there are many like that in India. It's only a small percentage. Most Indians appreciate Ghandi and are not stupid like that.

Hear! Hear! :)

[Yami]

[QUOTE=Yami;1192616]Guys firstly I would like to say that I feel very bad to see all of you guys writing Gandhi as Ghandi.
Well, no offense is meant. I think we write it the way it is pronounced in English, therefore we use Gha for the "gah" sound. Actually, though, you are right...I've seen it spelled Gandhi. However, I suppose it is easy to fall into phonetics. I'm not even sure if we pronounce the name the same way an Indian would.

Yes pronounciation difference :)

[Alexander III]

Geee how surprising, when democracy is implemented in a nation which does not have the sufficient level of prosperity and education democracy requires to work effectively; said nations populace both Rich and Poor come to think of democracy as a cultural construct of their elders which needs to be rebelled against in the same way that the excessive conformity of western mores in the first half of the century prompted the subsequent generations to think of their elder's morals and beliefs as a mere and wrong cultural construct against which they had to rebel.

[OrphanPip]

Geee how surprising, when democracy is implemented in a nation which does not have the sufficient level of prosperity and education democracy requires to work effectively; said nations populace both Rich and Poor come to think of democracy as a cultural construct of their elders which needs to be rebelled against in the same way that the excessive conformity of western mores in the first half of the century prompted the subsequent generations to think of their elder's morals and beliefs as a mere and wrong cultural construct against which they had to rebel.

It has nothing to do with youth, extreme Hindu nationalism has been around quite a while, they're the ones who assassinated Gandhi to begin with.

[lawpark]

Recently read an article by Ashis Nandy about Gandhi:

http://www.littlemag.com/2000/nandy.htm

[Alexander III]

It has nothing to do with youth, extreme Hindu nationalism has been around quite a while, they're the ones who assassinated Gandhi to begin with.

The article was somewhat set in a middle-school.

[Nikhar]

I am an Indian, I live in one state, my grandparents are from another and I have studied in two different states and yet I am to meet a Hitler follower. Gandhi though is respected. Sure a few of his decisions are questioned by people today but that's all there is to it. I do think a newspaper article about a minority shouldn't be taken as thoughts of the entire nation.

[OrphanPip]

The article was somewhat set in a middle-school.

Right, so your opinion is that 10 year olds are consciously rebelling against democracy, instead of just parroting decades old conventionally nationalistic rhetoric that is coming from their parents.

[Alexander III]

Right, so your opinion is that 10 year olds are consciously rebelling against democracy, instead of just parroting decades old conventionally nationalistic rhetoric that is coming from their parents.

When I was 12 I only wore jeans. Why? Because Jeans were cool, everyone else my age wore jeans, Trousers I only saw on old people who were boring and conventional because all my peers knew they were boring and conventional and I had to know it too because I was cool.

Did I realize what was going on there when I was 12? No. But now you and I can plainly see that at 12 we all wore jeans and hated trousers because jeans were cool and trousers were uncool. But those words now have meaning. Cool meant following the zeitgeist of my peers who were asserting their selves through rebelling against an axiom of their elders. What was Uncool meant simply the absence of rebellion, and thus the absence of asserting oneself as an individual rather than as a mere product of ones parents.

In a nutshell this Hitler love is the same thing. One generation grows loving Gahndi, the next by default must hate him. Fashion, politics, religion, morals they always follow the same pattern. Aristotle noticed it, he likened politics to an elastic cord. When it is pulled to far to one side it shall snap and violently and suddenly fly over to the other opposite end, where it shall settle, then it shall be pulled and pulled on that end until it snaps and suddenly and violently flings back to the other opposite end.

[OrphanPip]

Apart from the asinine pop-historiography truisms, Alex. There are a number of issues with your assessment.

1. The past generation was not overwhelmingly fond of Gandhi.
2. The partition agreement, which Gandhi supported, has been a sore spot for Hindu nationalists since the 50s.
3. Hindu nationalists have a history of favourable views of Hitler, mostly amongst extreme anti-muslim members.
4. The kids' only knowledge of Hitler likely comes out of the popular rhetoric of these old and long existing strains in Indian political thought.

There is nothing reactionary or new about the kids positions, they are mostly conventional and misguided views coming out of a long tradition of Hindu nationalism.

[Whosis]

I had thought it was just a coincidence that India had a symbol similar to the one Hitler adopted (as in Iron Sky, I believe).

[cacian]

India? well that is no surprise there. everywhere else it is the same there is always an insignificant group that is deluded. delusion they seek like the worship they feed. they cannot exist without it. a sad streak of affair.

[mona amon]

I'm from india. I see the swastik symbol everywhere. I walk into shops called Swastik Stores. People name their kids Arya or Aryan. Right now I'm wearing a kurta printed with swastikas. It has nothing to do with Hitler. Look up 'Swastik' on Wikipedia.


a sad streak of affair.

Cacian, you win my admiration for being the person who can string up words in the most unique permutation ever.

[cacian]

I'm from india. I see the swastik symbol everywhere. I walk into shops called Swastik Stores. People name their kids Arya or Aryan. Right now I'm wearing a kurta printed with swastikas. It has nothing to do with Hitler. Look up 'Swastik' on Wikipedia.

really? but is it not that a nazi relic?


Cacian, you win my admiration for being the person who can string up words in the most unique permutation ever.
why I thank you mona amon. :)

[Lokasenna]

The nazis appropriated the swastika from Middle-East and Asian mysticism, in which it has been a prominent symbol for over 6,000 years - sad, really, that the Third Reich has been able to taint this symbol and change its meaning so completely in the European context.

[cacian]

The nazis appropriated the swastika from Middle-East and Asian mysticism, in which it has been a prominent symbol for over 6,000 years - sad, really, that the Third Reich has been able to taint this symbol and change its meaning so completely in the European context.

I never knew it to be a prominent symbol until just now.

[mal4mac]

Could it be that Hitler caused a little bit of trouble for their British oppressors? Superficially, perhaps an understandable reason, but, if this is the reason, I think Hitler's Indian supporters need to look deeper:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Order_(Nazism)#Hitler.27s_plans_for_India

In 1930 Hitler spoke of the Indian freedom movement as the rebellion of the "lower Indian race against the superior English Nordic race".

In 1937 he told the British Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax that the British should "shoot Gandhi, and if this doesn't suffice to reduce them to submission, shoot a dozen leading members of the Congress, and if that doesn't suffice shoot 200, and so on, as you make it clear that you mean business."

[Iain Sparrow]

I'm from india. I see the swastik symbol everywhere. I walk into shops called Swastik Stores. People name their kids Arya or Aryan. Right now I'm wearing a kurta printed with swastikas. It has nothing to do with Hitler. Look up 'Swastik' on Wikipedia.

There are early editions of Rudyard Kipling's work that feature a swastika on the binding, it was of course being used as a symbol of good fortune. Though shortly before his death, as the Nazis were coming to power, Kipling ordered his publisher to stop using the symbol on all subsequent printings.

Unfortunately, the Cult of Hitler goes a bit deeper in India...
http://www.npr.org/2012/12/23/167911062/hitlers-hot-in-india

[mona amon]

Could it be that Hitler caused a little bit of trouble for their British oppressors? Superficially, perhaps an understandable reason, but, if this is the reason, I think Hitler's Indian supporters need to look deeper:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Order_(Nazism)#Hitler.27s_plans_for_India

In 1930 Hitler spoke of the Indian freedom movement as the rebellion of the "lower Indian race against the superior English Nordic race".

In 1937 he told the British Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax that the British should "shoot Gandhi, and if this doesn't suffice to reduce them to submission, shoot a dozen leading members of the Congress, and if that doesn't suffice shoot 200, and so on, as you make it clear that you mean business."

Allying with Hitler against the British was never a factor, except for a very small breakaway group of nationalists under Subhas Chandra Bose, who, impatient with Gandhi's non-violent civil disobedience tactics, tried to enlist the help of Nazi Germany and Japan to get rid of the British. The largest group of Indian nationalists, The Indian National Congress, did not want India to join the War, but strongly denounced Nazi Germany. As it turned out, almost 2.5 million volunteer soldiers from India fought against the Axis powers. "Indian participation in the Allied campaign remained strong. The financial, industrial and military assistance of India formed a crucial component of the British campaign against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.[3] India's strategic location at the tip of the Indian Ocean, its massive production of armaments, and its huge armed forces played a decisive role in halting the progress of Imperial Japan in the South-East Asian theatre.[4] The Indian Army during World War II was one of the largest Allied forces contingents which took part in the North and East African Campaign, Western Desert Campaign and the Italian Campaign. At the height of the World War, more than 2.5 million Indian troops were fighting Axis forces around the globe." (From Wikipedia) - So as far as India was concerned, Hitler was just as much the enemy as for the Allies.

As for Extreme Hindu nationalism, yes, some of the leaders were big Hitler fans, admiring him for his charisma, his success, the way he restored his country's national pride, and most disturbing, his 'race pride'. After the defeat of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany in World War II, Hindu nationalists distanced themselves from them, but every now and then someone from the extreme right will pop up to expresses admiration for Hitler.


I think Hitler's Indian supporters need to look deeper:

When did any extremist, terrorist, Xenophobic demagogue or opportunistic rabble-rouser (and these are the types who from all over the world who admire Hitler) ever pause in their hate mongering to "look deeper"? :) They see what they want to see and look no further.


Unfortunately, the Cult of Hitler goes a bit deeper in India...
http://www.npr.org/2012/12/23/167911062/hitlers-hot-in-india

There is no Cult of Hitler that I know of. Even the extremists I mentioned above only make an occasional reference to him. It's not like he's a mascot or something. I think this is pretty clear from the article you have linked. Most Indians don't care a jot about Hitler either way. To call someone 'Hitler' is a mild form of abuse for an bossy, tyrannical sort of person.

[aliengirl]

It'd be more accurate to say that Fascism (or a similar ideology) is popular in India. I don't want to take this discussion into a political zone but during the campaign of this assembly elections lots of statements were made that resemble Fascist ideology. Apart from the politicians, common people make such statements and I'm quite sure some of them had never heard of Hitler.

In India the sign of swastika is not associated with Hitler but with a particular religious community. It's not viewed as a symbol of Nazism/Fascism/violence.

Earlier in this discussion, someone associated liking Hitler as a rebellion from liking Gandhi. That's very amusing and far-fetched.

P.S. - Need I declare from where I am?

[mona amon]

It's probably something like a cultural misunderstanding, people from the West's reaction to anything to do with Hitler in India, and it's not just about the Swastik symbol, which the Nazis swiped. From our perspective, Hitler never invaded Indian territory and we never had anything like the history of anti-Semitism that existed in Europe even before the advent of Hitler. India has a very minuscule Jewish population, never persecuted. Most Indians are not educated enough about Hitler, perhaps like Idi Amin or Pol Pot in the West (and India too). Hitler just isn't in the historical or cultural consciousness of my country in the way he is in Europe or America.

Anyway, when I first saw this discussion, or perhaps one of the earlier ones on this subject, my reaction was, "Hitler and India? Balderdash!". Since then I've done some research, and while I'm happy to say that India's supposed preoccupation with Hitler still seems ridiculous to me, I was surprised to discover how deep rooted certain fascist tendencies (mentioned by Aliengirl in the post above) are in some parts of the country. I was aware of their existence, but coming from a part of the country where they are not prevalent, I was pretty ignorant as to the extent of the problem, so Yay! for the General Chat and Discussion threads. It doesn't do to be so completely immersed in the literature of the dead white male (wonderful though it is) that we forget what's happening in the world around us. :)

[Emil Miller]

This week's edition of The Times Literary Supplement has an interesting article about the considerable fortune generated from sales of Mein Kampf, a book that is banned in Germany but is published in the UK by Random House, ironically, owned by the giant German conglomerate Bertelsmann.
Here is an extract from the article:

'The book is banned in Germany but that doesn't stop the euros rolling in, from India, Turkey and other countries where it is a big seller.'

[mona amon]

I'm finding it very difficult to find a list of bestsellers in India. Google has let me down for once. :) The only figure I could get for Mein Kampf was 10,000 copies a year (from its Indian publishers, Jaico.) Personally I haven't laid eyes on a copy either in a bookshop or in anyone's home, though my cousin's daughter, a history student, said she'd read it in college.

An interesting fact (at least to me) is that Mein Kampf was translated into my mother tongue Tamil as far back as 1944. I have no idea how this edition fared, but now it is freely available on the internet. I've also heard that business students buy it because Hitler is regarded as the ultimate management guru. Ah, the bizarre things that happen here!

[Emil Miller]

I'm finding it very difficult to find a list of bestsellers in India. Google has let me down for once. :) The only figure I could get for Mein Kampf was 10,000 copies a year (from its Indian publishers, Jaico.) Personally I haven't laid eyes on a copy either in a bookshop or in anyone's home, though my cousin's daughter, a history student, said she'd read it in college.

An interesting fact (at least to me) is that Mein Kampf was translated into my mother tongue Tamil as far back as 1944. I have no idea how this edition fared, but now it is freely available on the internet. I've also heard that business students buy it because Hitler is regarded as the ultimate management guru. Ah, the bizarre things that happen here!

That is interesting because, according to the TLS article, the US government seized the copyright during WWII but sold it to the publisher Houghton Mifflin in 1979 who, it is estimated, sell 15,000 copies annually. When I purchased an English translation, there were only two copies for sale in London's largest bookstore. Currently the book is under copyright until the end of next year when, as the article points out, it will become more readily available.

It's strange that Hitler is considered the ultimate management guru when Germany's economic miracle was engineered by the economist Hjalmar Schacht and it's later wartime economy by Albert Speer, unless it's considered that the Night of the Long Knives is a convenient way of removing one's rivals.

[Whosis]

I have also seen the swastika in American Indian cultures. I'm pretty sure I saw a picture of one at the Corn Palace in South Dakota. I guess that's not where Hitler borrowed the symbol, though.

I get something for searching "swastika" but not "swastik."

[mona amon]

Swastik (स्वस्तिक) is the original Sanskrit word. It is a fairly common brand name out here, usually accompanied by the symbol, so I'm used to saying Swastik rather than Swastika.

[Emil Miller]

The swastika is an ancient sun symbol that has been used for centuries throughout eastern countries, Hitler's decision to use it as the symbol of the National Socialist party was a brilliant promotional ploy that immediately differentiated their flag from those of other nationalist parties in Germany.
The black swastika in a white circle on a red background incorporated the black and white of the former German imperial flag with the red of the socialist/communist flag; thereby incorporating both sections of society.

[tonywalt]

This thread will survive long on earth after the roaches. You may very well wipe each other out.

[De_Lasalle]

This week's edition of The Times Literary Supplement has an interesting article about the considerable fortune generated from sales of Mein Kampf, a book that is banned in Germany but is published in the UK by Random House, ironically, owned by the giant German conglomerate Bertelsmann.
Here is an extract from the article:

'The book is banned in Germany but that doesn't stop the euros rolling in, from India, Turkey and other countries where it is a big seller.'

If I am not mistaken the copyright of Mein Kampf belongs to the state of Bavaria, and all profits earned from it are given to various charities fighting racism and anti-semitism. So, every time someones purchases a copy of the book they are indirectly contributing to charitable organisations which exist to fight against the ideology of the book. That is nice.

[Emil Miller]

If I am not mistaken the copyright of Mein Kampf belongs to the state of Bavaria, and all profits earned from it are given to various charities fighting racism and anti-semitism. So, every time someones purchases a copy of the book they are indirectly contributing to charitable organisations which exist to fight against the ideology of the book. That is nice.

That was the intention but charities that were approached got cold feet about accepting money from such a source when those that had originally accepted decided to send the money back, they refused to have anything to do with it and the money still remains with the Bavarian authorities.

[Shephali kullu]

Hitler had this fanatic thing in him when it came to his country .violence persists in greater or smaller forms in evry part of the world and so in india.There will be many taking violence to its extremest forms but just a few taking peace to extremes.Gandhiji is the only person I know who resorted to peaceful ways for bringing peace in india during colonial times.gandhiji will be always respected more than hitler ever would be because indian mothers will always bring up their children on the values of gandhiji.i would thus like to conclude that despite the enigmatic personality of hitler gandhiji would be respected more my majority indians