# Swastika in Graceland Cemetery **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 30, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872 "2009-04-30T18:16:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AB1000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AB1000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AB1000)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872/1 "2009-04-30T18:16:40Z")
In Graceland Cemetery, there’s a tombstone for a formerly famous Chicagoan by the name of McClurg. I don’t know if it’s the same as the publisher A. C. McClurg, but I do know there is a swastika on the grave marker. He died well before Nazis came to power. So what’s the deal? Why is there a swastika on his grave? And did it raise any problems after Hitler and his brown shirts started using the swastika as their emblem? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872/2 "2009-04-30T18:21:55Z")
The swastika symbol was around way before the Nazis used it. I guess when people look at his grave they probably wonder why it’s there. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872/3 "2009-04-30T19:03:09Z")
Correct. In the U.S., it was used by the Navajo and Hopi Indians long before Hitler put it to such evil use: [Swastika - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika) It was a symbol of good luck and was somewhat widely used in the U.S. before the Nazis came along. The 45th Infantry Division changed its unit insignia from a swastika to a thunderbird as WW2 loomed. See here: [Western use of the swastika in the early 20th century - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_use_of_the_Swastika_in_the_early_20th_century#Swastika_Use_By_the_U.S._Military) ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872/4 "2009-04-30T19:04:33Z")
[Here’s the tombstone](http://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorbeef/29563653/) - and the [swastika detail](http://www.flickr.com/photos/28501370@N06/2757489575). Notice that the arms of the swastika go in the opposite direction compared to the ones on a [Nazi swastika](http://www.flickr.com/photos/fmphoto/368038434/). The swastika is an ancient symbol (often signifying the sun or the “wheel of life” etc.) and is known as far back as the Indus Valley Civilization. [The wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika) show just how common the symbol was before the Nazis picked up on it. The McClurg tombstone already incorporates Christian and Celtic designs, so why not fill out that little blank square with one of the most widely known symbols? It has also been used by several esoteric societies - perhaps McClurg was a member of one of those. IMO the most intriguing symbol on the tombstone is [something that look like sabres hidden under the foliage at the bottom](http://www.flickr.com/photos/emb/290025839/in/photostream/) - it looks like the letters “US” are written on the handles. I wonder what that signifies. ETA: It appears that[A.C. McClurg was a general in the civil war](http://www.newberry.org/collections/FindingAids/mcclurg/McClurgf.htmlhttp://www.newberry.org/collections/FindingAids/mcclurg/McClurgf.html) - it probably has something to do with that. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872/5 "2009-04-30T19:06:16Z")
I read a novel recently set in Imperial Russia and Tsarina Alexandra wore a swastika ring which she said represented something along the lines of “good vibes.” Of course she was much more eloquent, but it was just a symbol of spiritual well-being. The [Wikipedi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika)a article really is very interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872/6 "2009-04-30T19:18:44Z")
Since the original question has been answered, I’ll just point out that it is interesting (ironic?) that both the Swastika and [the Star of David](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexagram#Usage_by_Hinduism_and_Eastern_Religions) hearken to (or at least were used in) Ancient India… Cycles of Life, indeed! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872/7 "2009-04-30T19:39:09Z")
[The Master speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/440/was-the-swastika-actually-an-old-native-american-symbol)on the origins of the swastika. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872/8 "2009-04-30T19:39:39Z")
An earlier Dope discussion: [When will the swastika be freed of Nazi associations? - Great Debates - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=455668) ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872/9 "2009-04-30T19:47:21Z")
the decorative stonework on the Indian High Commission in London contains one, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872/10 "2009-04-30T21:28:37Z")
It must’ve been common all over the Midwest USA with Native American tribes, 'cause you can see it all over. Most (but not all) the Swastikas go the opposite way the Nazi one does. I’ve seen them on graves, on buildings, on schools, on signs. But I’ve only seen them in the Midwest like Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin etc ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872/11 "2009-05-01T01:07:35Z")
The office building my company used to be in was built in around 1999. They, quite bravely for a commercial building, included a swastika as a pond decoration in the internal garden, which was very visible from the main lobby. There was a small explanatory plaque, somewhat out of the way, but I’m not aware there were any complaints about it. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872/12 "2009-05-01T01:29:49Z")
The [Catholic Charities](http://www.ccpgh.org/) building downtown has a pattern of swastikas on the building. (It was built back in the 1910s, I think) They’re not really obvious, because it’s rather intricate. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872/13 "2009-05-01T12:24:52Z")
The Navy has a building that when seen from above is a swastika shape. Nobody really noticed it much until Google maps got popular so they are changing the building shape now. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872/14 "2009-05-01T13:03:25Z")
Just last night I spotted a swastika in the illustrations in Rudyard Kipling’s “Just So Stories” (which have a heavy Indian influence). ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872/15 "2009-05-01T13:15:04Z")
My Granddad had a set of old wooden poker chips from the 1930s with swastikas on the back. I don’t remember which way they pointed, though. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872/16 "2009-05-01T13:26:15Z")
My mother, back in the 1980s, returned a pair of beautiful gold earrings to India that had swastikas on them, saying that “people just don’t wear them here”. I am hoping that eventually it will be distinguished from the Nazis, and that people will stop and think and try and figure out if the person using them really is a Nazi, as clearly the OP did. (Thanks.) I mean, if you went to any of our temples we have swastikas there…nothing to do with the Nazis at all. It really annoys me that they had to rob _us_ - yes, I know they did a million worse things. Of course I know! Just add my complaint to the bottom of the list. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872/17 "2009-05-01T13:52:37Z")
> [@Panurge](#): > > [Here’s the tombstone](http://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorbeef/29563653/) - and the [swastika detail](http://www.flickr.com/photos/28501370@N06/2757489575). I like how the swastika is in the middle of that Star of David. Completely unintentional irony. > [@](#): > > Notice that the arms of the swastika go in the opposite direction compared to the ones on a [Nazi swastika](http://www.flickr.com/photos/fmphoto/368038434/). Note that, despite what’s apparently common belief, the Nazis didn’t invent the right-pointing swastika. Swastikas of all kinds pointing in both directions were common a long time before the Nazis. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872/18 "2009-05-01T14:28:26Z")
A few years back a church in St. Cloud MN replaced a bunch of swastika disks which were in the church since 1930. [Church website here](http://www.stmarystcloud.org/history/LuminousDisks.html) ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872/19 "2009-05-01T14:31:43Z")
There is a tiny town in Ontario, Canada _named_ [Swastika.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika,_Ontario) It’s pretty jarring if you happen upon it without knowing about it in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2009, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872/20 "2009-05-01T14:44:31Z")
The swastika is a symbol of [cleanliness](http://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2007/04/22/the-swastika-and-the-laundry-orwhat-on-earth-were-they-thinking-of/). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swastika-in-graceland-cemetery/494872.md?page=2)