The World Loved Swastika Before WWII: 12 Vintage Photos Show the "Symbol of Luck" in Everyday Life in the Early 20th Century

In the beginning of the twentieth century the swastika was widely used in Europe. It had numerous meanings, the most common being a symbol of good luck and auspiciousness. Because of its use by Nazi Germany, the swastika since the 1930s has been largely associated with Nazism and white supremacy in most Western countries. As a result, all of its use, or its use as a Nazi or hate symbol is prohibited in some countries, including Germany.

1. A Canadian girls' hockey team from Edmonton, ca. 1916.

2. The Windsor Swastikas hockey team in Canada, ca. 1905-1916.

3. The 1908 San Francisco YMCA basketball team proudly displaying their swastikas.

4. Members of the Red Swastika in Shanghai during World War II.

5. The 1909 Chilocco Indian Agricultural School basketball team.

6. Clara Bow wearing a swastika in the 1920s.

7. A woman putting a hip flask into her Russian boot which fastens at the ankle in 1922. The pattern on the tile floor is more interesting.

8. The Swastikas girls' hockey team from Edmonton, Canada, ca. 1916.

9. Kids dressed up for a Halloween party in 1918.

10. A Swastika Laundry delivery van in Dublin, founded in 1912.

11. A Calsberg delivery truck in Copenhagen.

12. A swastika Coca-Cola pendant from the 1920s.

(via ViralNova)