Sieg Heil
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Sieg Heil is a German phrase, which means "Victory Hail" or "Hail Victory". During the Nazi era, it was a common call at political rallies. When meeting someone, it was customary in Nazi Germany to give the Hitler salute and say the words "Heil Hitler". "Sieg Heil" was reserved for mass meetings such as the ones at Nuremberg where "Sieg Heil" was shouted in unison by thousands. Often a Nazi official would shout into a microphone "Sieg" and the crowd would answer with "Heil," and there might be several repetitions of this at times in ever-increasing volume. At such rallies there was often a display of banners carrying the slogan "Sieg Heil" along with the swastika. The NSDAP (Nazi Party) made a pin badge in 1933 displaying a victory wreath, the Swastika, and the words "Sieg Heil".
The expression itself is older than Nazism as it is a salute to Lady Victory, or Victoria, atop the Berlin Victory Column.[citation needed] A popular marching song of the Nazi period was "Sieg Heil Viktoria", attributed to the SS. It has been said that Joseph Goebbels used "Sieg Heil" in a meeting and all supported the phrase (however, an early associate of Hitler, Ernst Hanfstängl, claimed to have devised its use for the Nazi Party). Since Nazism argued that war was a way to determine the superior race and that Germans were that superior race, hailing war was to hail the struggle that would eliminate all others and establish the "New Order."
Today in Germany, using the greeting in written form, vocally, and even extending the right-arm without the phrase are forbidden.[1] It is a criminal offense punishable by up to three years of prison (StGB, section 86a).[2] The same is true for expressions that might be mistaken for "Sieg Heil". Usage for art, teaching and science purposes is exempt from punishment.
[edit] Imitations
Other regimes modelled on Nazi-Germany had similar salutes, such as the Hlinka Guard's "Na stráž!" ("On guard!"), or the Arrow Cross Party's "Kitartás! Éljen Szálasi!" ("Don't give up! Hail to Szálasi!). In Independent State of Croatia during World War II, the Ustaša used a salute "Za dom! Spremni!" ("For Homeland; ready!" in Croatian).
[edit] See also
- Hitler salute
- Bellamy salute
- Za dom spremni (Croatian: "For home - ready!")
[edit] Notes
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