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I'm on episode 5 of Black Lagoon, and I noticed this symbol being used by the Nazis on a flag and on a red arm band worn by one of the leaders of the group.

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What's this symbol called, assuming it corresponds to something in real life? Is there any reason this should be used over a more recognisable symbol like the swastika? It doesn't correspond to anything listed on the Wikipedia page for Nazi symbolism.

EDIT: In response to the idea that it might have been censorship specific to Funimation, I decided to look up the episode on a Chinese streaming site I use. The symbol there was identical to the one in the Funimation episode. Of course, this doesn't mean that there couldn't have been censorship on the Chinese end as well.

Maroon
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    just speculation but i'd dare say that it's to avoid the negative connotations assigned with the Swastika, much like how in a reenactment of *Raiders of the Lost Ark* by Disney Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida despite the fact that Nazi's are in it anyway. also the west often confuses the [Buddhist symbol with the Nazi's one](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika#Misinterpretation_over_imported_Asian_products_in_Western_countries) – Memor-X Aug 12 '14 at 23:38
  • @Memor-X: I figured that _might_ be the reason for it, but I wasn't sure so asked. – Maroon Aug 12 '14 at 23:46
  • well i only speculate why the Nazi's here aren't using their normal Swastika for this anime and for all i know Funimation has done some censoring and the symbol your seeing here may have been the Swastika in Japan, it's not like they haven't done graphics editing in anime before during localization – Memor-X Aug 12 '14 at 23:53
  • @Memor-X: checked and edited my response into the question. I will however note that I have a suspicion some of the vague nudity in Sailor Moon was touched up on the same streaming site, so it's hard to say. – Maroon Aug 13 '14 at 00:06
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    A key note here is that they are Neo-Nazis. – кяαzєя Aug 13 '14 at 00:20

2 Answers2

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This is the symbol of the Sturmabteilung, a paramilitary organization within the German Nazi Party, whose methods of violent intimidation played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power.

It's made up of an "S" (in lightning bolt shape) and an "A" and is probably a reference to Neo-Nazi groups evading the Swastika ban by using other related symbols.

SA logo

Memor-X
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кяαzєя
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  • I'm not sure which Swastika ban you are referring to, but according to Wikipedia use of this emblem is prohibited by the [same law in Germany](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strafgesetzbuch_section_86a) as for the Swastika (in Nazi context). Just for info. – LiveWireBT Jan 19 '15 at 07:43
  • @LiveWireBT Many Nazi-related symbology are banned in European countries as an effort to curtail neo-Nazism. Even when banned, such symbols are still far less recognizable than swastikas, and thus serve as more discreet symbols of white supremacy. – кяαzєя Jan 19 '15 at 19:35
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That's the symbol for the Sturmabteilung, or Storm Division of the Nazi Party. They always wore the brown uniforms, and were the main tool used to strike fear into political enemies of Adolf Hitler. It was in fact used during WWII by the SA, so it's not a Neo-Nazi creation. It's not a reference or an attempt to avoid Swastika bans as this was a genuine symbol used. They didn't use the symbol on their armbands. I'm 99.99% sure all armbands worn had the Swastika on them. The Waffen Schutzstaffel took their place after the Nazis REALLY kicked in.

Eric Johann
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