The idea of Slavs being swastikaphiles is nonsense

Tomáš Klubert, a historian, speaks about the abuse of ancient symbols by extremists - and neo-pagans.

Historian Tomáš Klubert works at the Nation's Memory Institute.Historian Tomáš Klubert works at the Nation's Memory Institute. (Source: Marko Erd)

Historian Tomáš Klubert was asked by the National Crime Agency (NAKA) to give his expert opinion on the symbols sold by musician Jaroslav Pagáč, who is closely linked to the far-right political party ĽSNS. The artist faces criminal charges for spreading extremist materials.

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In the interview, the historian claims that symbols having nothing to do with history have become popular with the followers of ancient Slavism. At the same time, neo-Nazis like using them instead of the well-known swastikas.

When we enter “Slavic symbols” into a search engine, we come across bracelets, pendants and T-shirts decorated with the Black Sun and “Kolovrat” symbols and variations of swastikas. There are people who buy such things, including neo-Nazis. Were some of the symbols really known to Slavs?

Some symbols were used by our ancestors. The problem today is they have been given completely different characteristics than they actually had, or their meaning is unknown.

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