The swastika is an ancient symbol that was in use in many different cultures for at least 5,000 years before Adolf Hitler made it the centerpiece of the Nazi flag. Its present-day use by certain extremist groups promotes hate.
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![Group portrait of German girls posing outside their school in front of a Nazi flag. [LCID: 97273]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/thumb/4830c4c2-79f1-4d3b-8da9-eef43c23cd9e.jpg)
![Illustration from an antisemitic children's primer. [LCID: 10640c]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/thumb/4c6348d1-d3e6-4be3-aae5-b12761f4f20a.jpg)
![Women survivors huddled in a prisoner barracks shortly after Soviet forces liberated the Auschwitz camp. [LCID: 31450b]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/thumb/8fdec1b8-47fa-40f1-9a27-06e7262bad5e.jpg)
![Listing of Jews for deportation to Riga, Latvia [LCID: 2015gq8x]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/thumb/632c26c5-5d44-43eb-888e-3a706f91acea.jpg)
![At a rally, members of the Hitler Youth parade in the formation of a swastika to honor the Unknown Soldier. [LCID: 85513]](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/images/thumb/cdadf487-50d7-4b0c-a912-ce6d9001f52a.jpg)
