The swastika (gammadion, "fylfot") symbol became a popular symbol of luck in the Western world in the early 20th century. Although the Nazi Party adopted the symbol in the 1920s, it continued in use in Western countries with its original meaning until the Nazi association became dominant in the 1930s. The term swastika is first attested in English in 1871, and first refers to the Nazi emblem in 1932.

The swastika (from Sanskrit) is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing (卐) form or its mirrored left-facing (卍) form. Archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates from the Neolithic period. It occurs mainly in the modern day culture of India, sometimes as a geometrical motif and sometimes as a religious symbol. It remains widely used in Eastern religions / Dharmic religion such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

Though once commonly used all over much of the world, the symbol has become stigmatized and sort of taboo in the Western world because of its iconic usage by Nazi Germany, and it has notably been outlawed in Germany if used as a symbol of Nazism (usage of the sign by religious groups is tolerated). Many modern far right and neo-nazi groups such as Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging , the Syrian Social Nationalist Party and Russian National Unity use stylized swastikas or similar symbols.