PBS: Friday 2 May at 7.15pm
In 1871, an archaeologist discovered a strange symbol: a cross with angled arms. Originally, it was a sign of luck. But under the name swastika it came to stand for hatred, destruction and the Holocaust. Hitler even claimed to have designed it himself.
Harmless symbols repeatedly become dangerous propaganda tools. No political movement knew this better than the Nazi regime. These symbols often have origins that don’t fit with their later meaning, but their myth and their danger remain.
This documentary explores the history of five symbols in whose name people were hunted, tortured and killed: the Hitler salute, the swastika, the ‘Z’ of the Russian war against Ukraine, the ‘Q’ of QAnon and the Star of David.
