Nazi salute

The Nazi salute or Hitler salute (German: Hitlergruß – literally "Hitler Greeting") is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. The salute is performed by extending the right arm from the neck into the air with a straightened hand. Usually, the person offering the salute would say "Heil Hitler!" (Hail Hitler!), "Heil, mein Führer!" (Hail, my leader!), or "Sieg Heil!" (Hail victory!). It was adopted in the 1930s by the Nazi Party to signal obedience to the party's leader, Adolf Hitler, and to glorify the German nation (and later the German war effort). The salute was mandatory for civilians, but was mostly optional for military personnel who retained the traditional military salute until shortly after the failed assassination attempt on Hitler in 1944.

Use of this salute is currently a criminal offense in Germany, Slovakia, and Austria. In Canada, the Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and Russia, the salute is illegal hate speech if used for propagating Nazi ideology.

The salute was performed by extending the right arm to the neck and straightening the hand so that it is parallel to the arm. Usually, an utterance of "Heil Hitler!", or "Heil!" accompanied the gesture. If one saw an acquaintance at a distance, it sufficed to simply raise the right hand. If one encountered a superior, one would also say "Heil Hitler". If physical disability prevented raising the right arm, it was acceptable to raise the left. The form "Heil, mein Führer!" was for direct address to Hitler. "Sieg Heil" was repeated as a chant on public occasions. Written communications would be concluded with either mit deutschem Gruß ("with German regards"), or with "Heil Hitler". In correspondence with high-ranking Nazi officials, letters were usually signed with "Heil Hitler".

Hitler gave the salute in two ways. When reviewing his troops or crowds, he generally used the traditional stiff armed salute. When greeting individuals, he used a modified version of the salute, bending his right arm while holding an open hand towards those greeted at shoulder height.

The oral greeting "Heil" became popular in the pan-German movement around 1900. As a manner of address, Führer was introduced by Georg Ritter von Schönerer who considered himself leader of the Austrian Germans.

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