Azov Battalion Badge: Nazi Symbolism or Indigenous Heritage?

Is a Swastika in the Ukrainian Azov Battalion badge? What is the symbolic and historical context? Klovekorn the Relic Hunter provides a historical overview that empowers you to make the final moral judgement.

[vladyslavtodorchuk]

Very interesting, but I do not understand one thing. Why, despite the fact that the second symbol that was created by Ukrainians in the 90s and called it "the idea of ​​the nation" you call "wolf hook". The fact that they are similar does not give the right to call it the same. You don't think that's right?. Let me pronounce the Latin letter "B" as in Cyril “B” only because they are similar. Funny and stupid. This symbol is called the "idea of ​​the nation".

[corail]

People fail at understanding context in almost everything these days. Interesting video.

[gennarosavastano]

Simple minded think once something was used by bad individuals that means it's bad and should be banned. Ridiculous mentality of ignorance nowadays serves just that, further spread of ignorance

[theoriginalt-paine]

This is interesting. It’s definitely true that all of these symbols predate the Nazis, by thousands of years in the case of the swastika. However, the notion of any European nation state, or people group using a swastika for their symbol really does convey a level of ambiguity that an Indian, or Central Asian group using a swastika. That part of the world was untouched by the Nazi side of WWII, they only dealt with the horrors of the Japanese, so there is a level of detachment from the Nazi history of WWII that does not exist in the context of a Ukrainian group. I don’t claim to know whether or not Azov have Nazi sympathies. Those symbols can be interpreted either way, and while I haven’t seen much about the political/ideological aspects of Azov, I honestly would not be surprised if a significant number of them have Nazi sympathies, honestly. Opposition to closeness with Russia does come from the far right in terms of far right nationalist groups as well, not just from the liberal, and left-leaning people in Eastern Europe. I hope that Azov are not Nazis, I would not be shocked if they were, but I hope they are not. However, I think it is worth noting, if I were the Ukrainian government right now, even as a Jewish-American, I would not be above working with Azov to defeat the Russians. Even if many of those in the Azov do have Nazi views, I’d still do it. While some in Azov probably really do have Nazi leanings, they are a small regional group of Ukrainian citizens, with all the political rights they are afforded. On the other side you have the Russian Federation, an entire nation state that is invading your territory with a full scale technological army. As bad as even a small minority of militant Nazis are, they’re nothing compared to an entire nation state, so Russia is the bigger threat. Azov might well turn out to be a far right militant problem that you have to put down after the Russians have been pushed back into their own territory and contained, but the Russians are there now, and you’re in no position to turn down help, no matter where it comes from. So, you down play just how far to the right Azov is for now, and you take care of the Russian invasion. Then, once that is done, you pívot, and you acknowledge Azov for their service to Ukraine, but you don’t support Nazis. Realistically, the Nazis in Azov won’t stand much of a threat electorally, and that’s all that really matters. So long as they do not constitute a threat to the freedom & democracy of Ukraine since they are a fringe group, let them do their thing. If they commit any crimes, ensure that they are held accountable, but let them believe their bullshit because at the end of the day they’re just a fringe group of radical loonies that will sit in their holes, and spout their nonsense, but ultimately not pose a threat to Ukraine taking its rightful place among European nation states that stand for freedom, democracy, and human rights. It just makes sense. I’m sorry, if China invaded the US, and the American Nazi Party was taking up arms against the Chinese invaders, then yes, even as a Jew I would fight alongside them, knowing that ideologically they represent quite a small minority of the overall population, and believing that they could be prevented from having any significant impact on American politics after the invaders had been expelled. I’m sure plenty of people would disagree with me on that, and I can’t say that I blame them entirely, there are many good reasons to oppose taking that stance. However, it is my view, and it would seem the view of Zelensky, that you, temporarily until the Russians have been pushed out of your country, empower any group that is willing to actively fight the Russians, including the radical right wing, because as long as you do a good job running your country, and putting your people first during the recovery period after the war, there is virtually no way in hell they could ever pose a lethal threat to your government. Feel free to disagree, maybe I am wrong, but that’s where I’m at all this Azov shit.