hakenkreuz

IPA/hˈeɪkəŋkɹˌuːz/
IPA/hˈeɪkəŋkɹˌuːz/

hakenkreuz — noun

1. A hooked cross symbol that the Nazi Party of Germany used as its official emblem

1.nounC1
Definition

A hooked cross symbol that the Nazi Party of Germany used as its official emblem during the 1930s and 1940s; the swastika in its Nazi, hate-symbol form. In several European countries, displaying this symbol in public is a criminal offense.

Example

The Berlin Museum placed a cloth hakenkreuz from a Nazi rally inside a glass case.

collocation: a cloth hakenkreuz; placed (sth) in a glass case

Under German law, displaying a hakenkreuz in public can lead to a prison term.

legal context: displaying a hakenkreuz is a criminal offense

Common collocations
  • display a hakenkreuz
  • bear a hakenkreuz
  • a cloth hakenkreuz
  • project a hakenkreuz
  • hakenkreuz flag
  • hakenkreuz symbol
  • banned hakenkreuz
Synonyms
  • swastika

    General term for the hooked cross symbol; 'hakenkreuz' specifically names the Nazi version, while 'swastika' can refer to the ancient religious symbol in Asian cultures.

  • Nazi emblem

    Descriptive phrase; less precise than 'hakenkreuz' because the Nazi party used multiple emblems (the eagle, the SS insignia).

Grammar Patterns

the hakenkreuz

a hakenkreuz

Usage Note

Countable noun. Often appears in discussions of hate-speech laws, museum curation of Nazi artifacts, or historical analysis. The word is a German loanword (Haken 'hook' + Kreuz 'cross') and is more specific than the general term 'swastika', which also refers to a pre-Nazi religious symbol used in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.

Common Mistakes

The ancient temple had hakenkreuz carvings from 200 BCE.
The ancient temple had swastika carvings from 200 BCE.
'Hakenkreuz' refers specifically to the Nazi version of the symbol, not the older religious form used in Asia.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While 'swastika' is the broader term for the hooked-cross motif found in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain art for millennia, 'hakenkreuz' (German for 'hooked cross') refers specifically to the rotated, tilted version adopted by the Nazi Party in 1920. English speakers use 'hakenkreuz' when they want to distinguish the hate-symbol form from the sacred Asian swastika, or when writing about German legal bans that use the term Hakenkreuz. 'Hooked cross' is a literal English translation but is far less common. 'Nazi emblem' is a descriptive phrase, but it is imprecise because the Nazi regime used several symbols (the eagle, the SS bolts). In practice, a historian writing about a 1935 rally flag would say 'the flag bore a hakenkreuz', while an art historian describing a first-century Buddhist carving would say 'the carving bore a swastika'.

swastika ↗hooked crossNazi emblem卐

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • display a hakenkreuz
  • bear a hakenkreuz
  • ban the hakenkreuz

Etymology

GermanEnglish

Borrowed directly from German Hakenkreuz, a compound of Haken ('hook') and Kreuz ('cross'). The word was coined in German in the late 19th century as a neutral descriptive term for the hooked-cross symbol. It became strongly associated with the Nazi Party after 1920, when Adolf Hitler adopted the symbol as the party emblem. English borrowed the term in the 1920s–1930s as news coverage of the Nazi movement increased.