American rapper Kanye West, who is now known as Ye, had his Twitter account suspended on Friday, December 2, a few hours after he tweeted an image of the Hakenkreuz intertwined with the Star of David, as a logo for his presidential election campaign.

While The Star of David is a recognized symbol for Judaism, the Hakenkreuz, or the Nazi Swastika is considered a symbol of Hitler’s Nazi Party. The tweet was deleted by West hours before his account got suspended for posting the anti-Semitic picture. Twitter-CEO Elon Musk stated that Ye’s account was suspended for incitement to violence.

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What is a Hakenkreuz?

In the post World War-I Germany, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party adopted the ancient cultural and religious symbol of the Swastika. In 1920, the symbol officially started being used as the Nazi symbol after certain changes were made. It came to be known as the Hakenkreuz, or the Hooked Cross. The sign was used on the party’s flag, badge, and armband of its followers. 

In his autobiography, Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler wrote about the ultimate derivation of the symbol, saying, “I myself, meanwhile, after innumerable attempts, had laid down a final form; a flag with a red background, a white disk, and a black hooked cross in the middle. After long trials, I also found a definite proportion between the size of the flag and the size of the white disk, as well as the shape and thickness of the hooked cross.”

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How is the Hakenkreuz different from Swastika?

The Nazi emblem, Hakenkreuz, was a modified black swastika, rotated by 45 degrees on a white circle against a red background. It has been stated by many that the swastika is dissimilar from the Nazi symbol.

Religious groups such as Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains suggested the use of the name ‘Hakenkreuz’ for the Nazi emblem as the Swastika is considered a sacred symbol in these religions. The symbol is also known as the Nazi Swastika to differentiate it from the religious symbol.

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After rapper Kanye West’s tweet, a debate emerged on the Musk-owned platform, with many claiming the symbol was the Swastika while others corrected them, pointing out the differences between the two signs. 

See some of the tweets here: