What does Heil Hitler mean? No matter what they say, the ridge is a Nazi salute

A greeting used by German Nazis in the 1930s and 40s and common among the neo-Nazi movement. This gesture looks like a straightened arm thrown up at an angle of 45 degrees. The fingers are gathered together, the palm is pointing down. As you can see, the body movement is very sweeping and noticeable - coupled with standing up at the command “Attention!” body and shouting "Heil Hitler!" (“Long live Hitler!”) it added solemnity to communication among Nazi military structures.

The neo-fascist movement adopted the manner of “zigging” from its predecessors very willingly. True, no one bothered to translate the accompanying chants into their native language, so the words “Heil Hitler!” We never received a Russian-language equivalent.

The ridge gesture itself was one of the elements of the Fuhrer’s personality cult; it was officially introduced in government institutions of Nazi Germany, and was compulsorily used in the NSDAP and the SS. He was also loved in the unofficial sphere. The inscriptions "Heil Hitler!" found at the end of acts, orders and even personal letters. As for the ridge, its full version described above was not always used. For cases when the greeting and farewell did not take place with Hitler himself or the high military command, medium and small ridge were used. In the first case, this is an outstretched arm parallel to the ground with a lowered palm; in the second, it is a not fully raised arm with a bent elbow. The small ridge is very similar to a normal raised hand greeting. Neo-Nazis use all variations of these greeting gestures, although the most solemn of them (the big ridge) has caught on the best.

As is the case with any symbol or gesture remembered by mankind, they are trying to look for the roots of the ridge in a history more ancient than the interwar period of the twentieth century. Drawing on Hitler's love of ancient symbols and sources of various dubiousness, the ridge is alternately attributed to the ancient Romans, Celts and Slavs. The latter concept especially warms the soul of Russian neo-Nazis, who emphasize their Slavic-Aryan origins. Their concept proclaims the triumph of the white race, and calls the ancestors of the Slavs “Aryans” - a tribe that migrated from Slavic lands to Europe and gave birth to other white peoples. According to neo-Nazis, during the Second World War, Hitler had nothing against the Slavs, who also considered themselves to be the white race, and the Ost plan did not exist, since the original document has not survived to this day; other evidence was forged. In this way, neo-Nazis explain their admiration for the ideologists of the Reich and Hitler: they cared for the purity of the white race and tried to clear territories for its development.

The skinhead subculture is often associated with the neo-Nazi movement, but this is not entirely true. Skinheads emerged in the late 1960s as informal antagonists of the hippies, who rejected the position of peace and love and sought to make a tough statement of their position. Only NS skinheads are close to neo-Nazi ideology - one of the later branches of the subculture.

In Russia, skinheads and neo-Nazis are practically not separated, since the nationalist vision of the movement is more developed in the country. Russian neo-Nazis not only “throw the sieg” at illegal parades and meetings, but also use one of its variants in daily communication, replacing the greeting with a sieg and the words “Sieg Heil!” ("Viva victory!"). The latter was also adopted from the legacy of the Nazi Reich and is used by modern Nazis more often than glorifications of the Fuhrer. One of the most popular chants of Russian NS skinheads and neo-Nazis is “Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! We will build a new paradise!” The construction of paradise in this case means the triumph of the white race and the physical extermination of representatives of national minorities, in particular Gypsies, Jews, Caucasians, Azerbaijanis and other emigrants with a skin tone darker than that of the Slavs.

NS skinheads can be recognized not only by the zig greeting, but also by other signs, such as the presence of accessories or jewelry with a swastika or Slavic symbols. A distinctive sign of representatives of the skinhead subculture is a shaved head or a very short haircut. Most neo-Nazis hide their faces with a bandage or neckerchief stretched from the chin to the eyes.

Nata Zinkevich

To the question What phrase in German sounds like Sieg Heil?? And how is it translated into Russian**? given by the author Vasilisa the best answer is Meaning: Long live victory!

Answer from Elena Bogdanova[guru]
Sieg Heil! (German: Sieg Heil! - “Long live victory!”) - a common Nazi slogan shouted simultaneously with the Roman salute - raising the right hand at an angle of about 45 degrees. Adolf Hitler and other party leaders most often repeated these words at the end of their speeches three times: “Sieg ... heil! Sieg... heil! Sieg... heil! »
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 moment Rudolf Hess, who was standing next to him, impressed by the Fuhrer’s speech, began chanting: “Sieg Heil!” A crowd of thousands immediately took up this slogan.

Answer from Sailor suit[guru]
Greetings

Answer from chevron[guru]
In German it’s eckish, and in Russian it’s a sandwich.

Answer from Help[newbie]
Sig Heile we will build a white paradise

Answer from Edward Yandulsky[newbie]
I am constantly amazed by the ability of the Russian people to make the incredible out of the obvious. Having been imprisoned by Herr Müller in Munich prison for his participation in the creation of the Weimar Socialist Republic in Bavaria, Comrade Schicklgrubber, to pass the time, wrote the well-known book Mein Kampf. Is it true. In Russia, only a few readers from high-ranking party bosses read it. The bosses announced to the bulk of readers that the book was harmful and dangerous, and therefore should not be read. After serving two years in prison and being released, Comrade Hitler began to popularize his book at meetings of the National Socialist Workers Party, citing quotes from it in his speeches, directing listeners to fight for the ideals formulated in the book and the party program. The fight must end ONLY in VICTORY. Herr Goebbels, in order to fix this maxim in the minds of his listeners, shouted: “ONLY VICTORY.” Which sounded like SIG HEIL. The crowd supported this call. And historians and mystics formalized the ritual, which became a party, and later, a state greeting.

Answer from Maxim Makakievich[newbie]
"Sieg Heil!" - "Long Live the Victory! "

Answer from Denisov Roman[newbie]
Sieg Heil! (German: Sieg Heil! - “Long live Victory!” or “Glory to Victory!”) is another common slogan shouted along with the Nazi salute (especially at mass gatherings). Not used as an official greeting. Adolf Hitler and other party leaders most often repeated these words at the end of their speeches three times: “Sieg ... heil! Sieg... heil! Sieg... heil! - which is clear from “Triumph of the Will” and other documentary sources.
The slogan was invented by Rudolf Hess: at one of the NSDAP congresses in Nuremberg, after Hitler’s speech, when he stood for a long time in thought, Hess, who was nearby, impressed by Hitler’s speech, began shouting the phrase “Sieg Heil!”, which was immediately picked up by a crowd of thousands listening Fuhrer.

Answer from PROROK[active]
The Nazi salute, the Hitler salute, the party salute (German: Deutscher Gru?, Hitlergru?) 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 exclamations. Heil Hitler! - “Long live Hitler!”, “Glory to Hitler!” (usually rendered in Russian as Heil Hitler) or simply nem. Heil! When greeting the Fuhrer himself, he was usually not referred to in the third person, but was said Heil! or Heil, mein Fuhrer! It was part of Hitler's personality cult. It was accepted in government institutions, the NSDAP, the SS, but was also widely used unofficially

Call by Gauleiter of Thuringia Fritz Sauckel to use the “German salute” Heil Hitler! in gratitude

Hitler salute, party salute, German salute(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 the exclamation Heil Hitler! - “Long live Hitler!”, “Glory to Hitler!” (usually rendered in Russian as Heil Hitler) or simply Heil! When greetings addressed to Hitler himself, he was usually not named in the third person, but said Heil! or Heil, mein Führer! It was accepted in government institutions, the NSDAP, the SS, but 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, and 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, in 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.

Hitler greets marching stormtroopers

A group of Nazi leaders. From left to right: Gertrud Scholz-Klink, Heinrich Himmler, Rudolf Hess, Baldur von Schirach, Arthur Axmann

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 first documented use is in photographs from a rally in Munich, late January 1923.

By 1926, the greeting had become common among the Nazis, as evidenced by its widespread use during the 1927 Nuremberg party congress.

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 military salute, using the Hitler salute only in response to the same treatment from party or SS officials.

Sieg Heil!

Sieg Heil!(Sieg Heil! - “Long live Victory!” or “Glory to Victory!”) is another common slogan shouted along with the Nazi salute (especially at mass gatherings). Not used as an official greeting. Adolf Hitler and other party leaders most often repeated these words at the end of their speeches three times: “Sieg ... heil! Sieg... heil! Sieg... heil! - which is clear from “Triumph of the Will” and other documentary sources.

The slogan was invented by Rudolf Hess: at one of the NSDAP congresses in Nuremberg, after Hitler’s speech, when he stood for a long time in thought, Hess, who was nearby, impressed by Hitler’s speech, began shouting the phrase “Sieg Heil!”, which was immediately picked up by a crowd of thousands listening Fuhrer.

August Landmesser among the shipyard workers did not raise his hand in the Nazi salute

after World War II

After World War II, Nazi salutes and exclamations were used in some countries Heil Hitler! And Sieg Heil! were prohibited by law. In Germany, according to § 86a of the current Criminal Code, the use of this greeting is punishable; Austria has a similar law. In Russia, a bill is being considered to introduce fines for the Nazi salute or for a salute similar to it.

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.

see also

• Kershaw, Ian The “Hitler myth”: image and reality in the Third Reich. - 2, reissue. - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. - ISBN 0192802062.
• Michael, Robert; Doerr, Karin. Nazi-Deutsch/Nazi-German. An English lexicon of the language of the Third Reich. - Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2002. - 480 p. - ISBN 0-313-32106-X.
• Winkler, Martin M. The Roman Salute: Cinema, History, Ideology. - Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 2009. - ISBN 0814208649.
• World fascism. A historical encyclopedia / Blamires, Cyprian. - Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2006. - ISBN 1-57607-940-6.

To the question how to translate from German SIG HAI??? (hopefully correct) given by the author I-beam the best answer is The Nazi salute, the Hitler salute (German: Hitlergruß) in the Third Reich consisted of the so-called “Roman salute” (raising the right arm 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 exclamations. Heil Hitler! - “long live Hitler, glory to Hitler” (usually rendered in Russian as Heil Hitler) or simply dumb. Heil!. When greeting the Fuhrer himself, he was usually not referred to in the third person, but was said Heil! or Heil, mein Führer!. It was part of Hitler's personality cult. It was accepted in government institutions, the NSDAP, the SS, but was also widely used unofficially. The phrase Heil Hitler! It was also widely used in writing, usually at the end of letters (including private ones), announcements, and orders. 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. 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 assassination attempt on Hitler, in which many military personnel took part, the Nazi salute became mandatory in the Wehrmacht (before that it was optional, and most military personnel used the standard salute, using the Hitler salute only in response to the same address by party or SS officials). Sieg Heil! NSDAP leaders at a rally in Nuremberg, September 1934. Still from the film "Triumph of the Will". Sieg Heil! (German: Sieg Heil! (pronounced: zik heil) - “Long live victory!”) is another common slogan shouted along with the Roman salute (especially at mass gatherings). It was not used as an official greeting. Adolf Hitler and other party leaders most often repeated these words at the end of their speeches three times: “Sieg ... heil! Sieg... heil! Sieg... heil! ” - which is clear from “Triumph of the Will” and other documentary sources. 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 picked up by a crowd of thousands listening to the Fuhrer.
Ban After the war in some countries the Roman salute and the exclamation Heil Hitler as well as Sieg Heil! were prohibited by law. The Nazi salute is used by neo-Nazis in a historical or modified form; The number 88 is used as a replacement for Heil Hitler by many on the far right.

Answer from Throw[newbie]
glory to victory

Answer from Alexey roro Morozevich popo[newbie]
1. Not “hai”, but “heil”. 2. Translation: Glory to victory!

Answer from Maxim Makakievich[newbie]
Sieg Heil! "Long Live the Victory! "

Answer from Staff[guru]
not hi, but heil... long live, if I'm not mistaken

Answer from Aristahies Ashkael[newbie]
everything is correct here... literate.... it came from the Germans. Heil Odin! Heil Dagr! Sieg Odin! everyone has long known about the Fuhrer's admiration for the ancient Vikings... their fearlessness and desire for Valghalla. Half of the Nazi symbols of individual combat units are completely dotted with Norwegian runes and all sorts of ancient Germanic symbols.

Answer from Wind[guru]
Sieg Heil is more correct, literally, a double greeting, and so is the greeting of a person who is significantly higher than “almost a god”

(now a famous Orthodox figure, head of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society) finds a complete response in my soul. Our friendship began in the 1960s, we both worked in the Editorial and Publishing Department of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church together with Father Innocent (Anatoly Prosvirnin) and comprehended the semiotics of rituals, including Nazi ones. "Sieg Heil!" - literally in German means “Long live (heil) victory (sieg).” Here is the berserk poem “Camp in the Teutoburg Forest” that expressed our then passionarity (Lisova N.N. Circle of the Earth: Poems and Poems / Artist V. Borisov. - Moscow: Sovremennik, 1989, pp. 36-38):

... And in the German camp,
Twilight of smoke,
Golden torches
The leader is honored.

Are there signs of fate?
Are attack flags -
The torches are dancing, the torches are dancing,
Beating the beat.

And teasing with grins
Horse mugs:
The leader, sung by the skalds, -
Heil, heil, heil!

And in a crimson glow
Flying into the distance:
Leader, valiant warrior, -
Heil, heil, heil!

Cleaved by spears
Night from end to end.
Leader, giver of gold, -
Heil, heil, heil!

The paths are bequeathed to us
In the dark of the forest.
We have prophetic witches
We predicted the battle.

Blackened with corpses
White snows,
And she sang with trumpets
Ancient Fate:

Let there be no joy
Not in one century -
Besides the tart sweetness
In the death of the enemy.

Not drunk by the bucketful -
How much can fit -
Let them intoxicate you with battles
Hatred and revenge!

Let the smart guy laugh
To such a speech -
Light comes from the twilight
Like a sword out of its sheath!

And the bodies are tired
The spirit leaves -
Like an eagle over the rocks
Starts a circle.

And soaring to the zenith,
Terrible and powerful
Like a ray sparkling
Because of the blue clouds.

And in the German camp -
Step, step, step! -
The torches are dancing, the torches are dancing,
Beating the beat.

With free choice
There is no need for sadness.
The leader leading to death -
Heil, heil, heil!

Let it play with sparks
Combat steel.
The leader who leads to the truth -
Heil, heil, heil!

Hot blood of the sacrificial
Let's sprinkle the altar.
Leader, guarantee of immortality, -
Heil, heil, heil!

And all night over the camp -
Step, step, step! -
The torches are dancing, the torches are dancing,
Beating the beat.

And, shaking the shadows
blue branches,
The demons cackled
Heralding the day.

Where did the “Sieg Heil!” gesture come from? (in common parlance – “zig”)? The author of the e-newsletter “An Unconventional View of Traditional History” (history.netrad) brings clarity to this issue:

Ancient History: Heil Caesar!

It is argued that the fascist greeting 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):

The ancient Romans had a tradition of making columns in honor of something. For example, there is a column in honor of Marcus Aurelius... But let’s not get distracted, we are more interested in the one dedicated to Trajan. So, Trajan's Column is a rather big thing: its height is 38 m and its diameter is 4 m. It is made of marble and covered with a bas-relief depicting the war with the Dacians, the heroism of the Romans, etc.

Meticulous researchers discovered figures on the column allegedly greeting each other with a “Roman salute”:

But, to be honest, even without being too picky, these gestures are not very similar to saluto romano as we know it. Well, the men raised their hands up, so what?

Raising your hand as a greeting is a long-standing tradition. It is believed that in this way the warrior showed the person he met that his sword was in its sheath, as proof of peaceful intentions. So, most likely, this is not a “Roman fireworks”.

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:

As we can see, the father (on the right) gives swords to his sons (on the left), and they stretch out their hands to them. 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 more carefully, 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. What the artist wanted to show will most likely remain his little secret. And Titus Livius, quite possibly, has absolutely nothing to do with it.

Beginning of the 20th century: oh, this “Duce”!

Let's move on to times closer to us than Ancient Rome. But geographically we remain in place - in Italy. 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:

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 a ferocious dictator (“Il 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.

For example, Mussolini proclaims from the balcony of the Venice Palace: “The book and the rifle are symbols of a true fascist.” Let's assume he just has his hands full here.

But in other group photographs he is also in no hurry to raise his hand:

But at joint parades with Hitler, the “Roman salute” is used with might and main:

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?

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, Baptist Edward Bellamy, was extremely popular in the United States. This novel made Bellamy a cult figure in the States. His novels sold like hot cakes, his ideas were discussed and taken up by young people.

In 1892, on the American holiday of Columbus Day (October 12), the writer came up with a proposal to accompany the raising of the US national flag with something like a prayer, which he called the “Solemn Oath of Allegiance” (“Pledge of Allegiance”. It contained the following words: “ I promise loyalty to my Flag and the Republic it symbolizes." And along with the prayer... ugh, 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. 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 kindergartens (or whatever they had):

At public events:

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 the American pioneers... ugh, scouts. But, as it turns out, the world is much smaller than we think.

Long live American-fascist friendship! Hurray!

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.

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):

And this is the American Scout badge:

Does anyone else doubt that the Americans and the Nazis, without any Internet, had the closest and, as it turned out, friendly relations? Practically, mutual love and adoration. Well, who adopted the “Roman salute” (aka 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 the other world, the Bellamy salute became an almost religious gesture with a mystical meaning and mystery:

In the Nazi interpretation, this gesture had to be done 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!”).

It remains to add that the “Bellamy salute” in the United States 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”. At first, the palm was (as in the fascist salute) directed downward:

And then the gesture acquired a modern look, well known to many:

Here's the story.