germany freedom-of-speech religion
Is it legal to display Buddhist/Hindu swastikas in Germany?
<p>In Germany, it is illegal to publicly display Nazi symbols, including the swastika. However, the swastika (and its chiral counterpart, the sauwastika) are Buddhist and Hindu religious symbols with thousands of years of history.</p>

<p>Would it be legal in Germany for someone to display swastikas in a specifically Buddhist or Hindu religious context (e.g. incorporating them into the architecture of a Buddhist or Hindu temple)?</p>

<p>I did a Google search and all I could find were pages talking about how the swastika wasn’t always a Nazi symbol.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Would it be legal in Germany for someone to display swastikas in a specifically Buddhist or Hindu religious context (e.g. incorporating them into the architecture of a Buddhist or Hindu temple)?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Yes, it would be legal, since through the religious context it is clear that the conditions set in <a href="https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_stgb/englisch_stgb.html#p0868" rel="nofollow noreferrer">86 StGB</a> (Dissemination of propaganda material of unconstitutional organisations) are not fulfilled. </p>

<p>The <a href="http://das-buddhistische-haus.de/pages/en/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Das Buddhistische Haus in Berlin</a>, founded in 1924, may be able to give more information about how this was delt with in the aftermath of the war. </p>

<hr>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>Erlaubt wurden später aber Hakenkreuze, die den Nationalsozialismus objektiv nicht befürworten:</strong></p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>Hakenkreuz im Verbotsschild</li>
  <li>in Kunstwerken, zum Beispiel politischen Karikaturen,</li>
  <li>in Auktionskatalogen,</li>
  <li>zur Religionsausübung der Falun Gong in Deutschland,</li>
  <li>als Anti-Nazi-Symbole von antifaschistischen Gruppen zur Ablehnung rechtsextremer Organisationen und Ideologien. Damit hob der Bundesgerichtshof 2007 vorherige Urteile gegen Verwender von Antinazisymbolen auf.</li>
  </ul>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p><strong>However, swastikas were later allowed that objectively do not support National Socialism</strong>:</p>
    
    <ul>
    <li>Swastika in the prohibition sign in works of art, </li>
    <li>for example political cartoons,</li>
    <li>in auction catalogs, </li>
    <li>for practicing Falun Gong in Germany, </li>
    <li>as anti-Nazi symbols of anti-fascist groups to reject extreme right-wing organizations and ideologies.  In 2007, the Federal Court of Justice overturned previous judgments against users of anti-Nazi symbols.</li>
    </ul>
  </blockquote>
</blockquote>

<hr>

<p><strong>Sources</strong>:</p>

<ul>
<li><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika#Rechtslage" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Swastika</a> (in German) 

<ul>
<li>the English version of this article does not contain the above quoted portions</li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="http://das-buddhistische-haus.de/pages/en/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Das Buddhistische Haus - Berlin Frohnau</a> (in English) </li>
<li><a href="https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_stgb/englisch_stgb.html#p0868" rel="nofollow noreferrer">86 / 86a StGB - Criminal Code</a> (in English) </li>
</ul>
