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SS runes

Insignia based on runes used by the Nazi paramilitary group

SS runes

Insignia based on runes used by the Nazi paramilitary group

Note

esoteric insignia used by the Schutzstaffel

The SS runes with names
SS runes as featured on the [[SS-Ehrenring

SS runes () is a generic name given to a collection of pseudo-runes used by the Schutzstaffel (SS), from the 1920s to 1945, for Nazi-occultism purposes. SS runes were featured on flags, uniforms and other items as symbols of various aspects of Nazi ideology and Germanic mysticism. They also represented virtues seen as desirable in SS members and were based on völkisch mystic Guido von List's pseudo-runic Armanen runes, which he loosely based on the historical runic alphabets; however, the SS runes also included other esoteric symbols not borrowed from Armanen runes. Post–World War II, these insignia continue to be used by neo-Nazi individuals and groups.

SS runes

ImageNameMeaningDescription
[[File:Hakenkreuz SS-rune.svg50pxcenterclass=skin-invert]]HakenkreuzNationalismThe Hakenkreuz ("hook-cross") or swastika symbolised nationality and was used by the SS as an extension of its state use.
[[File:Sonnenrad SS-rune.svg50pxcenterclass=skin-invert]]SonnenradThe Germanic Sun GodThe Sonnenrad ("sunwheel") or Black Sun represented the Germanic pagan sun god. It consists of a swastika with its hooks swung inwards to make it round.
[[File:Sig SS-rune.svg50pxcenterclass=skin-invert]]Sig-RuneVictoryThe Sig-Rune ("Victory rune") or Siegrune symbolised victory (Sieg). The names of the Sig-Rune (on which the Siegrune was based) translate as "sun" (see Sowilo). However, von List reinterpreted it as a victory sign when he compiled his list of Armanen runes.
[[File:Double Sig SS-rune.svg50pxcenterclass=skin-invert]]Doppelte Sig-RuneSchutzstaffel
[[File:Ger SS-rune.svg50pxcenterclass=skin-invert]]Ger-RuneCommunal spiritThe Ger-Rune ("spear") was used to symbolise the communitarian ideal of the SS. The 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division "*Nordland*", a Waffen-SS unit, adopted the rune as a variant of its divisional insignia.
[[File:Wolfsangel SS-rune (Ger analog).svg50pxcenterclass=skin-invert]]WolfsangelLiberty and independenceThe Wolfsangel ("wolf hook") was used as a heraldic symbol alluding to a wolf trap, and is still found on the municipal arms of a number of German towns and cities. It was adopted by a fifteenth-century peasants' uprising, thus acquiring an association with liberty and independence. The Nazi Party adopted the symbol during its early years and it was subsequently widely used by the SS, including by units such as the 2nd SS Panzer Division ("Das Reich").
[[File:Wolfsangel SS-rune (Eif analog).svg50pxcenterclass=skin-invert]]Wolfsangel (squat)
[[File:Opfer SS-rune.svg50pxcenterclass=skin-invert]]Opfer-RuneSacrificeThe Opfer-Rune ("sacrifice"), analogous to the Eif-Rune, is a rotated version of the Eihwaz rune () – preceded the Nazis, as it was first adopted after 1918 by Der Stahlhelm war veterans' movement that eventually merged with the Sturmabteilung (SA). The symbol was adopted by the Nazis after 1923 to commemorate the party members who died in Adolf Hitler's failed Beer Hall Putsch.
[[File:Eif SS-rune.svg50pxcenterclass=skin-invert]]Eif-RuneZeal/enthusiasmThe Eif-Rune ("zeal/enthusiasm"), analoguous to the Opfer-Rune, is a rotated and reflected version of the Eihwaz rune (). During the early years of the SS it was used by Adolf Hitler's personal adjutants, such as Rudolf Hess.
[[File:Lebensrune SS-rune.svg50pxcenterclass=skin-invert]]Leben-RuneLifeThe Leben-Rune ("life rune"), also known as the Lebensrune, was based on the upright Algiz rune and was used by the Lebensborn, the SS body responsible for the Lebensborn programme which supported the "racially, biologically, and hereditarily valuable families" of SS members and other "Aryans". This interpretation of the "man" rune is not based on List, but it occurs as early as the 1920s in the literature of Germanic mysticism, and it came to be widely used within the Nazi Party and Nazi Germany, e.g. in official prescriptions for the various uniforms of the Sturmabteilung. The Yr rune came to be seen as the "life rune" inverted and interpreted as "death rune" (Todesrune). During the World War II era, these two runes ( for "born", for "died") came to be used in obituaries and on tombstones as marking birth and death dates, replacing asterisk and cross symbols (* for "born", [†]() for "died") conventionally used in this context in Germany.
[[File:Todesrune SS-rune.svg50pxcenterclass=skin-invert]]Toten-RuneDeathThe Toten-Rune ("death rune") or Todesrune (also just Tot) is the inverted version of the Lebensrune ("life rune"). It was based on the downturned Algiz rune (), which existed in Elder Futhark as a stylistic choice, later becoming the Norse standard, being renamed in Younger Futhark as Ýr, meaning "yew". It was used by the SS to represent death on documents and grave markers in place of the more conventional cross (†) symbol used for such purposes.
[[File:Tyr SS-rune.svg50pxcenterclass=skin-invert]]Tyr-RuneLeadership in battleThe Tyr-Rune followed the design of the Tiwaz rune () which was named after Týr, a god in Germanic paganism sometimes associated with war. Based on the link between the historical rune and battle, the SS developed the idea of the insignia as the "Kampf" or battle rune, symbolising military leadership.
[[File:Heilszeichen SS-rune.svg50pxcenterclass=skin-invert]]HeilszeichenProsperityThe Heilszeichen ("whole symbol") appeared on the SS death's-head ring and were used to symbolise good fortune and success.
[[File:Hagall SS-rune.svg50pxcenterclass=skin-invert]]Hagall-RuneFaith in NazismThe Hagall-Rune (borrowed from the Armanen runes) was widely used in the SS for its symbolic representation of "unshakeable faith" in Nazi philosophy, as Himmler put it. It was used in SS weddings as well as on the SS-Ehrenring (death's head ring) worn by members of the SS. The rune was also used as division insignia of the 6th SS Mountain Division Nord.
[[File:Odal SS-rune.svg50pxcenterclass=skin-invert]]Odal-RuneKinship, family, and blood unityThe Odal-Rune was used by the SS to symbolise several values of central importance to Nazi ideology. It was based on the Elder Futhark othala rune (), with further addition of "feet" or "serifs". During the World War II it was used by the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division *Prinz Eugen* and the 23rd SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division "Nederland", as well as the SS Race and Settlement Main Office, which was responsible for maintaining the racial purity of the SS.

References

Sources

References

  1. "Extreme Right Wing symbols, numbers, and acronyms". Greater Manchester Police.
  2. "SS Regalia".
  3. Hermann Schwarz, ''Gott jenseits von theismus und pantheismus'', Junker und Dünnhaupt, 1928.[https://books.google.com/books?id=TX5CAAAAIAAJ&q=lebensrune]
  4. Robert Ley, ''Organisationsbuch der NSDAP'' (1943)[https://books.google.com/books?id=dCwMAQAAIAAJ&q=lebensrune].
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