Comparisons to the "Iron Cross" have been made since March 2023 when Zelensky spoke to the U.S. ... [+]
An image comparing the cross on the t-shirt of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Iron Cross medal worn by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler continues to make the rounds on social media. It first circulated in March 2022 after Zelensky addressed the United States Congress, and it was shared again on various social media platforms this spring.
The same comparison has been trending again on Twitter this week.
Disinformation About Ukraine
The image comparing the crosses of Zelensky and Hitler is just one example of the ongoing misinformation/disinformation campaign that is meant to bolster Russian President Vladimir Putin's claims that Russia's so-called "special military" was to "denazify" Ukraine.
As the Associated Press reported last year, "Conspiracy theorists and Russian propagandists have repeatedly sought to paint Ukraine's president as a neo-Nazi or Nazi sympathizer during Russia's attack on Ukraine, even though Zelenskyy is Jewish and has said three of his grand-uncles died in the Holocaust."
Similar But Different Crosses
Though it is true that Adolf Hitler wore a similar-looking medal, it isn't actually the same symbol—although each has its respective origins in the Christian cross.
"Zelensky's cross is a symbol of the Cossacks, a tribe of warriors seen as founders and defenders of the Ukrainian state—against, among others, the Russian empire," explained Matthew J. Schmidt, Ph.D., associate professor of national security and political science at the University of New Haven.
"Ukraine is a tolerant, multi-ethnic society. Its Jewish president wears a historical symbol that is also a Christian one. In Ukraine this isn't seen as anything unusual," added Schmidt. "Putin's claims that this is a Nazi state are simply and profoundly, baseless. They are based on total fabrications."
Not a Nazi Cross Either
It would also be incorrect to identify the Iron Cross worn by Hitler as an actual "Nazi symbol" as well. Derived from the black cross used by the Teutonic Order in the Middle Ages, and known as the Schwarzes Kreuz (Black Cross), it was employed as a symbol of the Prussian Army and later the Imperial German military. During the Third Reich era, the German military actually employed the Balkenkreuz (Bar Cross), while the modern German Bundeswehr (Armed Forces) now uses the Iron Cross again on its tanks and aircraft.
03 February 2023, Bavaria, Pfreimd: The German military now uses the Iron Cross on its tanks and ... [+]
The Iron Cross medal was first established in March 1813 during the Napoleonic Wars and later was issued for bravery to German soldiers in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) and the First World War (1914-1918). The Nazi version, which did feature a swastika in the center, was issued from 1939 to 1945; yet, it is worth noting that in 1957, the West German government authorized the production of replacement Iron Crosses—which swapped the banned swastika with an "Oak Leaf Cluster" in the center—for wear by those military personnel who won the award during World War II.
Moreover, in 2007, there were even calls to see the Iron Cross issued again to those German soldiers who served in combat in Kosovo and later in Afghanistan. However, it was decided instead to institute a new award for bravery, the Ehrenzeichen der Bundeswehr (Badge of Honor of the German Armed Forces).
A Symbol Of Rebellion
The Iron Cross has spread well beyond Germany, and in the 1960s, outlaw motorcycle gangs had co-opted the symbol, while it also spread to the heavy metal subcultures of the 1970s and early 1980s. More recently, it has also been employed by extreme sports enthusiasts.
It is now so common in popular culture that the Anti-Defamation League has even taken the stance, "an Iron Cross in isolation (i.e., without a superimposed swastika or without other accompanying hate symbols) cannot be determined to be a hate symbol."
Yet, thanks to posts on social media, there will no doubt be continued efforts to suggest that Zelensky's cross is the same as the one worn by the Nazi leader.
"Hitler's Iron Cross is from his service in World War I and predates the Third Reich," explained David Hiorth of Military Antiques Toronto. "You can use any symbolism to justify any position. But that doesn't make it right or real."
