Sieg Heil

Nazi salute, Hitler salute, German salute(German) Deutscher Gruß, Hitlergruß) in the Third Reich consisted of raising the right hand at an angle of approximately 45 degrees with the palm straightened (among high ranks - half-bent, privates or in front of senior ranks - fully straightened) and exclamation. Heil Hitler!- “long live Hitler, glory to Hitler” (usually rendered in Russian as Heil Hitler) or just dumb. Heil!. When greeting addressed to the Fuhrer himself, he was usually not called in the third person, but said Heil! or Heil, mein Führer!. It was part of Hitler's personality cult. It was accepted in government institutions, NSDAP, SS, but was widely used unofficially.

Phrase Heil Hitler! was widely used in in writing, usually at the end of letters (including private ones), announcements, orders.

Story

The Nazi salute is often confused with the Roman salute, as it was borrowed by the Nazis from Italy, where it was used as a Fascist salute and called the Roman salute. However, in the Roman salute the hand comes from the heart to the greeting gesture, while in the Nazi salute it comes straight from the ground. The fascist greeting combined the historical ancient Roman salute and the solemn gesture of Christians, dating back to Old Testament times (Gen. 14:22).

According to Nazi ideologues, raising one's hand and shouting Heil! was adopted by the ancient Germans when electing kings; the gesture was interpreted as a greeting with a raised spear. The term "German greeting" was often used as an official name. IN Ancient Rome a similar gesture was initially used by clients as a greeting and wish for health to their patron (there is a version that initially this gesture was used to point to the hill on which the temple of the god of health was located), later, when the emperor became the “patron of all Romans” - to greet the emperor.

On July 23, 1944, three days after the coup attempt, which involved many military personnel, the Nazi salute became mandatory in the Wehrmacht. Before this, it was optional, and most military personnel used the standard salute, using the Hitler salute only in response to the same treatment from party or SS officials.

Sieg Heil!

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The call of Gauleiter of Thuringia Fritz Sauckel to use the “German salute” Heil Hitler as a sign of gratitude The Nazi salute, Hitler salute, German salute (German Deutscher Gruß, Hitlergruß) in the Third Reich consisted of ... ... Wikipedia

The call of Gauleiter of Thuringia Fritz Sauckel to use the “German salute” Heil Hitler as a sign of gratitude The Nazi salute, Hitler salute, German salute (German Deutscher Gruß, Hitlergruß) in the Third Reich consisted of ... ... Wikipedia

Sieg Heil!- (Sieg Heil! Long live victory!), one of the Nazi salutes. It first came into use at the Nuremberg party congresses. After one of his speeches in front of a huge audience, Hitler fell thoughtfully silent for a moment, and at that... ... Encyclopedia of the Third Reich

- (German Heil) from German grace, also luck, happiness, well-being, in the church environment implies salvation. Antonym unheil (German: Unheil) trouble, misfortune. Used as part of various German greetings... Wikipedia

The call of Gauleiter of Thuringia Fritz Sauckel to use the “German salute” Heil Hitler as a sign of gratitude The Nazi salute, Hitler salute, German salute (German Deutscher Gruß, Hitlergruß) in the Third Reich consisted of ... ... Wikipedia

The call of Gauleiter of Thuringia Fritz Sauckel to use the “German salute” Heil Hitler as a sign of gratitude The Nazi salute, Hitler salute, German salute (German Deutscher Gruß, Hitlergruß) in the Third Reich consisted of ... ... Wikipedia

There is a common story that Benito Mussolini once watched a film by an Italian director about Ancient Rome. The Roman legionnaires in his film allegedly saluted each other with the “Roman salute” - with their arm extended forward. They say that this made such an impression on Mussolini that he introduced the gesture into widespread use (he probably felt like at least a Caesar - yes, yes!). Cinema is a great power! And the German fascists adopted saluto romano from the Duce. Another version is expressed in his book “Benito Mussolini: A Biography” by historian Christopher Hibbert. He writes that it was from the Italian army that “the Nazis adopted the Roman salute by raising the hand, making it their own salute.” From whom the Italian soldiers adopted this greeting, Hibbert unknown reasons is silent...

American Pioneers: “Be Prepared! Always ready!

In the second half of the 19th century, the novel Looking Backward, written by a former journalist of the Springfield Union newspaper, a prominent Baptist, Edward Bellamy, was extremely popular in the United States. This novel made Bellamy a cult figure in the States. His novels sold out like hot cakes, his ideas were discussed and taken up by young people and venerable elders... The ideas of “Look Back” have always been relevant in the USA. In 1892, on the American holiday of Columbus Day (October 12), the writer proposed to accompany the raising of the US national flag with something like a prayer, which he called the “Solemn Oath of Allegiance.” It contained the following words: “I promise to be loyal to my Flag and the Republic that it symbolizes.” And along with the prayer... ugh, the “Oath,” Edward Bellamy suggested using the following gesture: right hand rises up and heads straight towards the flag. Where he got it from, history is silent. But there was never a word about the ancient Romans. And here's what it looked like:

The gesture was immediately nicknamed the “Bellamy salute” and began to be used in pioneer (that is, scout) camps:

In schools - they are children:

In kindergartens, they are also children:

At public events, let them enjoy themselves, the main thing is that everyone is happy:

This could be considered a mere coincidence. They say where is the USA and where is Germany. There was no Internet then, so how could the fascists know what was popular with American pioneers and pensioners? But, as it turns out, the world is much smaller than we think.

Long live American-fascist friendship! Hurray-ah-ah-ah! Ah... Ah...

As soon as Hitler came to power and began to establish his new order“As the Americans realized: it’s better to be friends with such a determined scoundrel than to fight. But unlike Soviet Union, which limited itself to signing a non-aggression pact, the United States decided to “be active friends”!..

In 1933, the German American Bund organization was created in the States, declaring that Americans and Germans are friends, comrades and brothers forever. The first GAS branches were opened in Chicago, Illinois, and soon the activities of the Union acquired a national scale.

The German-American Bund held large meetings throughout the country, published magazines and newspapers, and organized summer camps for American youth. Naturally, the US flag was raised in the camps. And Americans have welcomed the flag since the end of the 19th century - with what? Right! - "Salute to Bellamy." Look, this is Camp Siegfried near New York (1937):

And this is the American Scout badge:

Does anyone else doubt that North Americans and Bavarian fascists, without any Internet, had the closest and, as it turned out, friendly relations? Practically, mutual love and adoration. Well, who adopted the “Roman salute” (also known as the “Bellamy salute”) from whom is already clear without explanation.

The fascists, however, subsumed their own philosophy behind this. Since the Fuhrer was obsessed with the occult and other world, then the Bellamy salute became an almost religious gesture with a mystical meaning and mystery. So, the mystique was taken away.

In the Nazi interpretation, this gesture had to be done by division, like this:

1) The right hand is brought to the heart, palm down.
2) Smoothly straightens to the right and up at approximately head level.
3) Falls down along the body.

The gesture received an official name - Deutscher Gruß (German greeting) and began to be used together with the phrase “Heil Hitler!” (“Glory to Hitler!”), to which it was supposed to respond with the phrase “Sieg Heil!” (“Sieg Heil!” - “Long live victory!”). Hence, by the way, the modern colloquial name for this gesture is “zig”.

It remains to add that the “Bellamy salute” in the USA itself existed right up until 1942, when President Roosevelt, under pressure from the anti-fascist public, replaced this gesture with a shortened version - “hand-over-the-heart”, - so touching... At first the palm was (as in the fascist salute) directed downwards.

There is a certain confusion regarding the meaning of runic occult symbolism and greetings. The enormous negative experience accumulated by humanity throughout its history, and especially during the 20th century, has imposed a kind of taboo on many gestures and signs. Not only their use, but also any talk about them is prohibited in many countries. However, here and there a swastika is depicted on the wall, and a ridge is used as a greeting. This always causes protests from most of society. Maybe the whole point is that the gesture is interpreted incorrectly? Or is it being executed incorrectly?

Historical sources of ridge

In Ancient Rome, both legionnaires and ordinary citizens often greeted each other by raising their right hand, first placing it on their heart. The original meaning is a wish for health, prosperity and showing respect by directing towards the sun from the heart. At the same time, ordinary people gesticulated energetically, and high-ranking “patrons” responded less diligently, only raising their palm on their half-bent right hand. The traditional ancient Roman greeting can be seen captured in the statue of Marcus Aurelius. Slavic peoples They also greeted in a similar way. For example, the half-lowered hand of Dmitry Dolgoruky (monument in Moscow) is perhaps also a kind of ridge. This does not mean that the gesture contains any hint of Nazism, nationalism or fascism. By the way, on numerous Soviet monuments, Lenin and other prominent figures of the Communist Party also extended their right upper limb.

Ziga and the Nazis

The Third Reich was conceived as a successor to previous empires with ancient Roman traditions. Its official symbols included the swastika (distorted, with the opposite direction of rotation) and the imperial eagle holding the said sign in its talons. Instead of the usual “guten morgen” or “guten tag”, members of the NSDAP, and later the entire population of Germany, used ridge. This greeting, like the symbol of eternity - the swastika - has also undergone changes. Now the palm was not applied to the heart, but went straight from the thigh. In addition to this difference, there was a certain semantic load that was unusual for ancient Roman traditions. The "zig" gesture expressed highest degree personal devotion to him, the “great and infallible” Adolf Hitler, the Fuhrer of the people. The entire population of Germany was reminded of this by the verbal appendage to the greeting: “Sieg Heil - Heil Hitler!” So that they always remember in whose honor they zig. The gesture no longer had anything to do with wishes for prosperity.

There are different types of zigs

Both in Ancient Rome, and in fascist Italy, and in Nazi Germany, subordination existed, and a very clear one, manifested, in particular, in greetings. If an ordinary party member had to stretch his hand with all his might at an angle of 45 degrees, then the bonze, depending on his rank, could use a long, medium or short gesture to greet. In the latter case, he only slightly raised his palm, as if brushing off overly annoying admirers of his own genius. Medium - for field marshals, generals and high-ranking officials of the Reich. A long ridge is the lot of plebeians, even if they are at least three times representatives of a superior race.

Who's zigging today

In the modern era, a raised hand evokes unambiguous associations with the Nazi salute. In many countries, greeting in this or a similar way is prohibited by law: Hitlerism brought too many troubles to the peoples of Europe. However, there are far-right organizations that use symbols and gestures (sometimes slightly modified “for the sake of blaze”) borrowed from the terrible past. Sometimes members of neo-Nazi structures even pretend that they have no idea what ziga means and insist on the ancient Roman or ancient Slavic meaning of the gesture. In fact, they are adherents of Hitler’s methods of “population control” of migrants and foreigners. They should remember that all people have an equal right to life simply by virtue of the fact of their birth, and they cannot be killed. This has already happened and led to very unfortunate consequences.

In addition, psychologists say that a hand raised above the head indicates that the speaker obviously promises more than he can deliver, and he himself knows this very well.

But it was also widely used unofficially.

Phrase Heil Hitler! It was also widely used in writing, usually at the end of letters (including private ones), announcements, orders.

Story

The Nazi salute is often confused with the so-called "Roman salute", a welcoming gesture of the Italian Fascists, later adopted by the National Socialists. However, with the Roman salute, the hand goes straight up from any position of the hand to the salute from the heart, while in the Nazi salute it goes straight up from any position of the hand.

According to Nazi ideologues, raising one's hand and shouting Heil! was adopted by the ancient Germans when electing kings; the gesture was interpreted as a greeting with a raised spear. The term “German greeting” was often used as an official name.

On July 23, 1944, three days after the coup attempt, which involved many military personnel, the Nazi salute became mandatory in the Wehrmacht. Before this, it was optional, and most military personnel used the standard military salute, using the Hitler salute only in response to the same treatment from party or SS officials.

Sieg Heil!

Persecution for refusing to make a Nazi salute

The Nazis required people in Germany to say the Nazi salute. But, according to Jehovah's Witnesses, uttering the expression “Heil Hitler!” would mean expressing the hope that salvation will come from Hitler, which directly contradicts the basic tenet of the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses that the only Savior sent by Jehovah is Jesus Christ (Luke; 1 John).

After World War II

The Nazi salute is used by neo-Nazis in a historical or modified form; as a replacement for Heil Hitler many far-right people use the letter combination hh or the number 14/88.

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Footnotes

1. , p. 184–185.
2. , p. 2.
3. , p. 46.
4. , p. 40, 51.
5. // Voropaev S. Encyclopedia of the Third Reich. - M.: Lockid-Myth, 1996. - 589 p. 5-320-00069-3
6. .
8. Johannes Steyer: - Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
9. King, Christine. “Leadership Lessons from History: Jehovah’s Witnesses.” The International Journal of Leadership in Public Services 7, no. 2 (2011): 178–185. doi:ezproxy.arcadia.edu:2075/10.1108/17479881111160168.
10. - , Auschwitz
11. . - Encyclopedia of the Holocaust. - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
12. . - Encyclopedia of the Holocaust. - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
13. Fackler, G., 2000. “Des Lagers Stimme” – Musik im KZ. Alltag und Häftlingskultur in den Konzentrationslagern 1933 bis 1936, Bremen: Temmen.
14. Weinreich, R. ed., 2002. Verachtet, verfolgt, vergessen:Leiden und Widerstand der Zeugen Jehovas in der Grenzregion am Hochrhein im "Dritten Reich", Hausern: Signum Design.
15. 1998. Zeugen Jehovas: Vergessene Opfer des Nationalsozialismus. , Vienna. (Referate und Berichte der vom Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstandes (DÖW) und dem Institut für Wissenschaft und Kunst (IWK) am 29. Jänner 1998 veranstalteten wissenschaftlichen Tagung
16. // Lenta.ru. - 11/15/2012. from the original source February 8, 2013.
17. // News. - 11/15/2012. from the original source February 11, 2013.

Sources

• Allert, Tilman. The Hitler Salute: On the Meaning of a Gesture / Translated by Jefferson Chase. - Picador, 2009. - ISBN 0312428308.
• Boime, Albert. Art in an age of Bonapartism, 1800-1815. - Chicago: University of Chicago Press (English)Russian, 1993. - Vol. 2. - (Social history of modern art).
• Evans, Richard J. The Rize of Nazism // The Coming of the Third Reich. - Penguin Group (English)Russian, 2005. - ISBN 0-14-303469-3.
• Kershaw, Ian. 1936-45 - Nemesis. - W. W. Norton & Company (English)Russian, 2000. - ISBN 0393049949.
• Kershaw, Ian. The "Hitler myth": image and reality in the Third Reich. - 2, reissue. - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. - ISBN 0192802062.
• Winkler, Martin M. The Roman Salute: Cinema, History, Ideology. - Columbus: Ohio State University Press (English)Russian, 2009. - ISBN 0814208649.

Excerpt describing the Nazi salute

At this time, along the road from the manor's house, two women and a man in a white hat appeared, walking towards the officers.
- Mine in pink, don’t bother me! - said Ilyin, noticing Dunyasha resolutely moving towards him.
- Ours will be! – Lavrushka said to Ilyin with a wink.
- What, my beauty, do you need? - Ilyin said, smiling.
- The princess ordered to find out what regiment you are and your last names?
- This is Count Rostov, squadron commander, and I am your humble servant.
- B...se...e...du...shka! - the drunk man sang, smiling happily and looking at Ilyin talking to the girl. Following Dunyasha, Alpatych approached Rostov, taking off his hat from afar.
“I dare to bother you, your honor,” he said with respect, but with relative disdain for the youth of this officer and putting his hand in his bosom. “My lady, the daughter of General Chief Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky, who died this fifteenth, being in difficulty due to the ignorance of these persons,” he pointed to the men, “asks you to come... would you like,” Alpatych said with a sad smile, “to leave a few, otherwise it’s not so convenient when... - Alpatych pointed to two men who were running around him from behind, like horseflies around a horse.
- A!.. Alpatych... Eh? Yakov Alpatych!.. Important! forgive for Christ's sake. Important! Eh?.. – the men said, smiling joyfully at him. Rostov looked at the drunken old men and smiled.
– Or perhaps this consoles your Excellency? - said Yakov Alpatych with a sedate look, pointing at the old people with his hand not tucked into his bosom.
“No, there’s little consolation here,” Rostov said and drove off. - What's the matter? he asked.
“I dare to report to your excellency that the rude people here do not want to let the lady out of the estate and threaten to turn away the horses, so in the morning everything is packed and her ladyship cannot leave.”
- Can't be! - Rostov screamed.
“I have the honor to report to you the absolute truth,” Alpatych repeated.
Rostov got off his horse and, handing it over to the messenger, went with Alpatych to the house, asking him about the details of the case. Indeed, yesterday’s offer of bread from the princess to the peasants, her explanation with Dron and the gathering spoiled the matter so much that Dron finally handed over the keys, joined the peasants and did not appear at Alpatych’s request, and that in the morning, when the princess ordered to lay money to go, the peasants came out in a large crowd to the barn and sent to say that they would not let the princess out of the village, that there was an order not to be taken out, and they would unharness the horses. Alpatych came out to them, admonishing them, but they answered him (Karp spoke most of all; Dron did not appear from the crowd) that the princess could not be released, that there was an order for that; but let the princess stay, and they will serve her as before and obey her in everything.
At that moment, when Rostov and Ilyin galloped along the road, Princess Marya, despite the dissuading of Alpatych, the nanny and the girls, ordered the laying and wanted to go; but, seeing the galloping cavalrymen, they were mistaken for the French, the coachmen fled, and the crying of women arose in the house.
- Father! dear father! “God sent you,” said tender voices, while Rostov walked through the hallway.
Princess Marya, lost and powerless, sat in the hall while Rostov was brought to her. She did not understand who he was, and why he was, and what would happen to her. Seeing him Russian face and upon his entrance and the first words spoken, recognizing him as a man of her circle, she looked at him with her deep and radiant gaze and began to speak in a voice that was broken and trembling with emotion. Rostov immediately imagined something romantic in this meeting. “A defenseless, grief-stricken girl, alone, left at the mercy of rude, rebellious men! And some strange fate pushed me here! - Rostov thought, listening to her and looking at her. - And what meekness, nobility in her features and expression! – he thought, listening to her timid story.
When she spoke about the fact that all this happened the day after her father’s funeral, her voice trembled. She turned away and then, as if afraid that Rostov would take her words for a desire to pity him, she looked at him inquiringly and fearfully. Rostov had tears in his eyes. Princess Marya noticed this and looked gratefully at Rostov with that radiant look of hers, which made one forget the ugliness of her face.
“I can’t express, princess, how happy I am that I came here by chance and will be able to show you my readiness,” said Rostov, getting up. “If you please, go, and I answer you with my honor that not a single person will dare to make trouble for you, if you only allow me to escort you,” and, bowing respectfully, as they bow to ladies of royal blood, he headed to the door.
By the respectful tone of his tone, Rostov seemed to show that, despite the fact that he would consider his acquaintance with her a blessing, he did not want to take advantage of the opportunity of her misfortune to get closer to her.
Princess Marya understood and appreciated this tone.
“I am very, very grateful to you,” the princess told him in French, “but I hope that all this was just a misunderstanding and that no one is to blame for it.” “The princess suddenly began to cry. “Excuse me,” she said.
Rostov, frowning, bowed deeply again and left the room.

- Well, honey? No, brother, my pink beauty, and their name is Dunyasha... - But, looking at Rostov’s face, Ilyin fell silent. He saw that his hero and commander was in a completely different way of thinking.
Rostov looked back angrily at Ilyin and, without answering him, quickly walked towards the village.
“I’ll show them, I’ll give them a hard time, the robbers!” - he said to himself.
Alpatych, at a swimming pace, so as not to run, barely caught up with Rostov at a trot.
– What decision did you decide to make? - he said, catching up with him.
Rostov stopped and, clenching his fists, suddenly moved menacingly towards Alpatych.
- Solution? What's the solution? Old bastard! - he shouted at him. -What were you watching? A? Men are rebelling, but you can’t cope? You yourself are a traitor. I know you, I’ll skin you all... - And, as if afraid to waste his reserve of ardor in vain, he left Alpatych and quickly walked forward. Alpatych, suppressing the feeling of insult, kept up with Rostov at a floating pace and continued to communicate his thoughts to him. He said that the men were stubborn, that at the moment it was unwise to oppose them without having a military command, that it would not be better to send for a command first.
“I’ll give them a military command... I’ll fight them,” Nikolai said senselessly, suffocating from unreasonable animal anger and the need to vent this anger. Not realizing what he would do, unconsciously, with a quick, decisive step, he moved towards the crowd. And the closer he moved to her, the more Alpatych felt that his unreasonable act could produce good results. The men of the crowd felt the same, looking at his fast and firm gait and decisive, frowning face.
After the hussars entered the village and Rostov went to the princess, there was confusion and discord in the crowd. Some men began to say that these newcomers were Russians and how they would not be offended by the fact that they did not let the young lady out. Drone was of the same opinion; but as soon as he expressed it, Karp and other men attacked the former headman.
– How many years have you been eating the world? - Karp shouted at him. - It’s all the same to you! You dig up the little jar, take it away, do you want to destroy our houses or not?
- It was said that there should be order, no one should leave the houses, so as not to take out any blue gunpowder - that’s all it is! - shouted another.
“There was a line for your son, and you probably regretted your hunger,” the little old man suddenly spoke quickly, attacking Dron, “and you shaved my Vanka.” Oh, we're going to die!
- Then we’ll die!
“I am not a refuser from the world,” said Dron.
- He’s not a refusenik, he’s grown a belly!..
Two long men had their say. As soon as Rostov, accompanied by Ilyin, Lavrushka and Alpatych, approached the crowd, Karp, putting his fingers behind his sash, slightly smiling, came forward. The drone, on the contrary, entered the back rows, and the crowd moved closer together.
- Hey! Who is your headman here? - Rostov shouted, quickly approaching the crowd.
- The headman then? What do you need?.. – asked Karp. But before he could finish speaking, his hat flew off and his head snapped to the side from a strong blow.
- Hats off, traitors! - Rostov’s full-blooded voice shouted. -Where is the headman? – he shouted in a frantic voice.
“The headman, the headman is calling... Dron Zakharych, you,” submissive voices were heard here and there, and hats began to be taken off their heads.
“We can’t rebel, we keep order,” said Karp, and several voices from behind at the same moment suddenly spoke:
- How the old people grumbled, there are a lot of you bosses...
- Talk?.. Riot!.. Robbers! Traitors! – Rostov screamed senselessly, in a voice that was not his own, grabbing Karp by the yurot. - Knit him, knit him! - he shouted, although there was no one to knit him except Lavrushka and Alpatych.

It is stated that fascist salute originates almost from Ancient Rome. They say that the gladiators who greeted Caesar threw their hands up, and therefore this gesture began to be called saluto romano - “Roman salute.” Supporters of this legend usually cite two sources. The first is the images on Trajan's Column. This column - an architectural monument located in Rome, on the Capitoline Hill - was created by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus in 113 AD. e. in honor of the victory of the Roman Emperor Trajan over the ancient Romanian tribes (Dacians).

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Whether this gesture was considered military politeness by the Romans is not known for certain. Perhaps this is a later meaning of the gesture. Whether there was a greeting to the Roman Republic is not known. But in the imperial era there are many depictions of similar gestures between Roman commanders and the army. The commanders have their hand raised in a rhetorical gesture. In several images, some legionnaires are also shown with their hand raised.

The second source of the “prehistoric” origin of saluto romano is the story of the ancient Roman writer-historian Titus Livy about three brothers going to fight and taking an oath to their father like “not a step back.” This exciting moment was reproduced in his painting “The Oath of the Horatii” (that was the brothers’ surname) by the 18th century French artist Jacques Louis David

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Many believe that brothers take an oath in this way - by stretching out their arms. Some argue that this is the “Roman salute”.
But if we look closely, we will see an interesting thing: only one of the brothers (the one in front) extends his right hand, the other two threw their left hands forward. Agree, if this were a formally accepted custom, tradition, then everyone would make this gesture uniformly - with their right (or left) hand. So it doesn’t look like some kind of “Roman greeting” either.

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Taking as a basis the welcoming gesture of Roman gladiators going to their death also doesn’t work.

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Let's move on. French Revolution had a huge influence on subsequent revolutionary movements, and therefore gestures could also be borrowed. As an example, the painting by J.-L. David “The Oath of the Ballroom” (The Tennis Court Oath 1792). Because J.-L. David was the founder of the French academic school of art; many artists of the 19th century imitated him. It was imitated in particular in the depiction of the straight hand gesture in historical scenes of the Roman Empire.

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By the end of the 19th century, the gesture had become a general expression of approval (hence, apparently, the communist tradition of voting by raising one's hand - here you go, zigs in schools and on roadsides) and was used as a symbol of loyalty in several movements. A version of the Roman salute (as in the painting "Oath of the Horatii") was adopted as the Olympic salute

Let's move on to times closer to us. But let's return to Italy again. Here, in 1883, in the family of a rural teacher and a blacksmith, a boy was born who later became one of the most odious figures of the 20th century - Benito Mussolini.

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At the age of 36, he organized the “Italian Union of Struggle” (“Fasci italiani di combattimento”) and became the “father” of the famous term “fascism”. His party seized power in Italy, and Mussolini became dictator (“Duce”), almost a decade ahead of his German “colleague” Adolf Hitler.

There is a common story that Benito Mussolini once watched a film by an Italian director about Ancient Rome. It is unknown whether the director studied Trajan’s Column or was a fan of the paintings of Jacques Louis David, but the Roman legionnaires in his film allegedly saluted each other with the “Roman salute.” They say that this made such an impression on Mussolini that he introduced the gesture into widespread use. (Probably, at the very least, he felt like a Caesar.) And the German fascists adopted the saluto romano from the Duce.

Another version is expressed in his book “Benito Mussolini: A Biography” by historian Christopher Hibbert. He writes that yes, it was from the Italian army that “the Nazis adopted the Roman greeting by raising their hands, making it their own salute.” But he believes that the “Duce” copied this gesture from the famous Italian writer and adventurer Gabriele d’Annunzio. The historian Richard Collier agrees with Hibbert, who in his book “Duce. The Rise and Fall of Benito Mussolini” reports that the Italian Fuhrer also borrowed the idea of ​​​​black shirts from D’Annunzio, making them the uniform of the fascists. However, Collier also considers this gesture a greeting to the Roman legionnaires.

However, this version seems not to have been fully developed by historians. If we look at photographs of Mussolini before his meeting with Hitler, we do not see saluto romano in them - even in those situations where a “corporate” greeting would seem to be necessary. But at joint parades with Hitler, the “Roman salute” is used with all its might.

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Perhaps it was not Hitler who copied the saluto romano from the Duce, but, on the contrary, Mussolini from Hitler? But where did the possessed Fuhrer learn this gesture? Who was his inspiration?

Let's move overseas. In 1892, on the American holiday of Columbus Day (October 12), Baptist Edward Bellamy proposed to accompany the raising of the US national flag with something like a prayer, which he called the “Solemn Oath of Allegiance.” It contained the following words: “I promise loyalty to my Flag and the Republic that it symbolizes.” And along with the oath, Edward Bellamy suggested using the following gesture: the right hand rises up and goes straight to the flag. Where he got it from, history is silent. But there was not a word about the ancient Romans. The gesture was immediately nicknamed the “Bellamy salute” and began to be used in scout camps, schools, gardens and public events.

The “Bellamy salute” in the USA existed right up until 1942, when President Roosevelt, under pressure from the anti-fascist public, replaced this gesture with a shortened version - “hand-over-the-heart”.

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What do the Nazis have to do with it? Read on. As soon as Hitler came to power and began to establish his “new order,” the Americans realized: it was better to be friends with such a determined scoundrel than to fight. But unlike the Soviet Union, which limited itself to signing a non-aggression pact, the United States decided to “actively be friends.”

In 1933, the German American Bund organization was created in the States, declaring that Americans and Germans are friends, comrades and brothers forever. The first GAS branches were opened in Chicago, Illinois, and soon the activities of the Union acquired a national scale.

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The German-American Bund held large meetings throughout the country, published magazines and newspapers, and organized summer camps for American youth. Naturally, the US flag was raised in the camps. And Americans have welcomed the flag since the end of the 19th century - with what? Right! - "Bellamy's salute." Look, this is Camp Siegfried near New York (1937)

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The fascists, however, subsumed their own philosophy behind this. According to Nazi ideologists, raising one's hand and shouting Heil! was adopted by the ancient Germans when electing kings; the gesture was interpreted as a greeting with a raised spear. Since the Fuhrer was obsessed with the occult and the other world, the Bellamy salute became an almost religious gesture with a mystical meaning and mystery.

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The gesture received an official name - Deutscher Gruß (German greeting) and began to be used together with the phrase “Heil Hitler!” (“Glory to Hitler!”), to which it was supposed to respond with the phrase “Sieg Heil!” (“Sieg Heil!” - “Long live victory!”). Hence, by the way, the modern colloquial name for this gesture is “zig”.

The slogan was invented by Rudolf Hess: at one of the NSDAP congresses in Nuremberg, after Hitler’s speech, he began shouting it; the slogan was immediately taken up by a crowd of thousands listening to the Fuhrer. In the photo, Hess is third from the left.

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On July 23, 1944, three days after the multi-military coup attempt, the Nazi salute became mandatory in the Wehrmacht. Before this, it was optional, and most military personnel used the standard salute, using the Hitler salute only in response to the same treatment from party or SS officials.