Arrow Cross

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An arrow cross is a cross whose arms end in arrowheads, also known as a cross barby or cross barbée in the traditional terminology of heraldry.

History

In Christian use, the ends of this cross resemble the barbs of fish hooks, or fish spears. This alludes to the Ichthys symbol of Christ, and is suggestive of the "fishers of men" theme in the Gospel.

In modern use, the symbol has become associated with fascist organisations after the Arrow Cross (Nyilaskereszt) symbol was used in Hungary in the 1930s and 1940s as the symbol of a Hungarian National Socialist political party, the Arrow Cross Party.

The symbol consists of two green double-ended arrows in a cross configuration on a white circular background, much like the German national socialist swastika. The arrow cross symbol remains outlawed in Hungary.[1]

A similar symbol, the Crosstar, is used by the Fascist Movement, a White fascist, patriotic organization based in the United States.

References

  1. European Court of Civil Rights Case of Vajnai v. Hungary, "The use of totalitarian symbols: “(1) A person who (a) disseminates, (b) uses in public or (c) exhibits a swastika, an SS-badge, an arrow-cross, a symbol of the sickle and hammer or a red star, or a symbol depicting any of them, commits a misdemeanour..."