( Latvian for 'fire cross', 'cross of fire'; other names — ('cross of thunder', 'thunder cross), cross of

Perkūnas Perkūnas (, , Old Prussian: ''Perkūns'', ''Perkunos'', Sudovian language, Yotvingian: ''Parkuns'', Latgalian language, Latgalian: ''Pārkiuņs'') was the common Baltic languages, Baltic List of thunder gods, god of thunder, and the second m ...

, cross of branches, Cross of

Laima Laima is a Baltic goddess of fate. She was associated with childbirth, marriage, and death; she was also the patron of pregnancy, pregnant women. Laima and her functions are similar to the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. In Latvia In Latvian mythology, ...

) is the

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...

as a symbol in Latvian folklore. The swastika is an ancient

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

thunder cross symbol (; also fire cross, ), used to decorate objects, traditional clothing and in archaeological excavations. Latvia adopted the swastika, for its

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

in 1918/1919 and continued its use until the

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into three differe ...

in 1940. The cross itself was maroon on a white background, mirroring the colors of the Latvian flag. Earlier versions pointed counter-clockwise, while later versions pointed clock-wise and eliminated the white background. Various other

Latvian Army The Latvian Land Forces () together with the Latvian National Guard form the land warfare branch of the Latvian National Armed Forces. From 2007 to 2024, the Land Forces were organized as a fully professional standing army until the re-introduct ...

units and the Latvian War College (the predecessor of the

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces. Here, cadets of the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force train together before they go on to their respective service a ...

) also had adopted the symbol in their battle flags and insignia during the

Latvian War of Independence The Latvian War of Independence (), sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles () or the Latvian War of Liberation (), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaimed Republic of Latvia was invade ...

. A stylised fire cross is the base of the

Order of Lāčplēsis The Order of Lāčplēsis (also Lāčplēsis Military Order, ), the first and the highest Latvian military award, was established in 1919 on the initiative of Jānis Balodis, the Commander of the Latvian Army during the Latvian War of Independ ...

, the highest military decoration of Latvia for participants of the War of Independence. The

Pērkonkrusts Pērkonkrusts (, "Thunder Cross") was a Latvian ultranationalist, Anti-German sentiment, anti-German, anti-Slavic, and antisemitic political party founded in 1933 by Gustavs Celmiņš, borrowing elements of German nationalism—but being unsym ...

, an ultra-nationalist political organisation active in the 1930s and its successors in the 1990s–2010s, also used the fire cross as one of its symbols. File:Laimas krusts Lielvardes josta.jpg, The '

Cross' on the Lielvārde Belt File:Roundel of Latvia (1926-1940).svg, Latvian Air Force roundel until 1940 File:Stāmerienas pagasts COA.svg, Coat of arms of

Stāmeriena Parish Stāmeriena Parish () is an administrative unit of Gulbene Municipality, Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to t ...

File:Stradu pagasts COA.svg, Coat of arms of Stradi Parish File:Latvian Order of Lacplesis (cropped).jpg, The cross of the Order of Lāčplēsis File:Perkonkrusta karogs.svg, Flag of the

External links

Latvian signs, swastikas, and mittens
retrieved 9-Sep-2024

References

{{reflist Swastika Culture of Latvia