It began in ancient Rome. Mussolini adopted it. Hitler copied it, and then lied about where it came from.
The Nazi salute. As soon as you look up anything at all about World War II, you’re bound to come across the so-called Nazi salute within a few minutes, or even seconds. Although today it primarily symbolizes Nazism and reverence for Hitler, the Nazis were not actually the ones who invented this salute. Its origins go back much further, as it was based on the Roman salute, which was first adopted by the Italian fascists under Mussolini. But why did the German Nazis also adopt this salute?
The Hitler salute can actually be traced back to the Roman Empire. There is even a painting of it, often considered one of the earliest depictions of the salute, which is now primarily recognized as the Hitler salute. The painting is “The Oath of the Horatii” from 1784. It illustrates a Roman legend: three brothers swear to protect Rome. And the symbolism behind this is more significant than you might think.
It was Benito Mussolini who had one key motivation: restoring the Roman Empire. Or rather, restoring the power and glory of the ancient Roman Empire. Italy was to be transformed into a dominant military power in the Mediterranean. He therefore called this sea Mare Nostrum, or “our sea.” But what does this have to do with the Hitler salute?
It was precisely this desire that prompted Mussolini to create a salute derived from the Roman salute. It became a salute with an outstretched arm, long before Hitler began to use the salute officially within the NSDAP. Mussolini and his Italian fascists began using this Roman salute around 1920 to 1922. In 1925, Mussolini also made the salute officially mandatory for civil servants in Italy.
It is no secret that Hitler was a huge admirer of Mussolini in his early years. Mussolini embodied the success of fascism in Italy, something Hitler also envisioned for Germany. Hitler therefore copied the salute that Mussolini was already using, starting around January 1923. But this was not yet practiced on a mass scale. It began within the NSDAP in 1923 with a small group of members who started using the salute.
Apparently, he couldn’t come up with anything else on his own. In fact, Hitler himself confirmed this in his own words. In his private conversations, Monologe im Führerhauptquartier, he even openly admitted that he had adopted the idea from Mussolini. Be that as it may, the salute was here to stay. Hitler made it mandatory within the NSDAP as early as 1926. From that year on, every member was required to perform the salute. In this way, the NSDAP sought to enforce absolute obedience. But there was more to it than that.
The salute was also intended to foster the Führerkult. Adolf Hitler was the undisputed leader of the party, and members were required to show nothing but unconditional loyalty and subservience to Hitler as the sole leader.
Still, the German Nazis weren’t entirely comfortable with the idea that everyone would know the Hitler salute had been copied from the Italian Fascists. It was simply a non-Germanic salute, something the NSDAP really couldn’t afford. After all, everything had to be Germanic and Aryan. That is why the NSDAP began to lie about the origins of the Hitler salute. It was Rudolf Hess who initiated this cover-up. In the newspaper Der S.A.-Mann, he wrote an essay published on June 14, 1928 and titled Der Faschistengruß: “Lange bevor wir etwas vom Faschistengruß gehört hatten, ehrten wir schon unsere Führer durch Erheben des rechten Armes.” By this, he was simply trying to say that they had been there before the Italian fascists. Long before the German Nazis had heard anything about the fascist salute, they were already honoring their leaders by raising their right arms, according to Hess.
There was no escaping it. When Hitler officially seized power in Germany in 1933, the Hitler salute became mandatory for all public tributes by the end of that year. But even before that, in July 1933, the Hitler salute was made mandatory for civil servants. This followed a decree issued by the Minister of the Interior, Wilhelm Frick. The decree was issued on July 13, 1933, and stipulated that, effective immediately, all teachers and government officials were required to perform the Hitler salute. It didn’t stop there. They were also required to sign all letters with “Heil Hitler!” or “Mit Deutschem Gruß.”
This requirement was then rapidly implemented and extended to all levels of society. It was, of course, to be expected that government officials would have to conform to what their new employer dictated. But in 1934, the Hitler salute was also made mandatory for all students and citizens in everyday life. It was intended to replace normal greetings, such as “good day” or “hello.” It remains striking, however, that even ordinary citizens were required to do so. But that was, of course, not without reason.
It was actually the perfect tool for detecting dissidents. Anyone who refused to raise their arm and give the salute was essentially showing that they opposed the regime. What followed was fear and intense social control. Anyone who refused could expect a visit from the Gestapo. And everywhere there were people who felt obligated to report you, over the slightest thing. So you had no choice but to go along with it. Being forced to shout the dictator’s name, “Heil Hitler!”, dozens of times a day raised the psychological threshold for resistance. And if you participate in a ritual long enough, you automatically become part of the system.
To further obscure the fact, even from German citizens, that it was exclusively a political symbol, the Hitler salute was renamed the “Deutscher Gruß,” or the German salute. The Nazis, in fact, cleverly sought to blur the line between the NSDAP and the German state. So instead of seeing the salute for what it really is, a political symbol, it was presented as a duty for every “true” German.
Anyone looking in from the outside at that time (such as foreign journalists, visiting dignitaries, and other nations) saw an illusion of total unity. Virtually everyone was required to give the Hitler salute; it was a country that was 100% united behind its Führer.
Yet there was one exception until July 24, 1944, though not for government officials or civilians. Until that date, the Wehrmacht was exempt from this requirement. Hitler allowed Wehrmacht soldiers to retain the traditional military salute, with a hand on the cap, to keep conservative generals on his side. Following the failed assassination attempt on July 20, 1944, Hitler on July 24 made the salute mandatory for all Wehrmacht personnel. It was the last-ditch effort to enforce the Wehrmacht’s absolute loyalty to the utmost.
Actually, the answer to the question of why the Hitler salute ever existed in the first place is very simple. Hitler simply couldn’t come up with anything better, so he followed the example of a man he still greatly admired at the time: Benito Mussolini. It’s actually both ironic and tragic at the same time. A Roman salute that had, and still has, nothing to do with Nazism. The salute is even banned in Germany, punishable by a fine or even a three-year prison sentence. It’s not surprising that the salute is banned in Germany of all places. But it does show how history is shaped and distorted. I’m not saying the salute should be allowed, because these days there’s only one thing it’s associated with. That, of course, is Hitler. I would, however, like to say: let’s not forget where the salute really comes from and what it once truly stood for.
If you ever wonder how it’s possible that an entire country could be manipulated in this way, take a look at the 2008 film The Wave. That will definitely answer your question.
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By Nick Ravenshade — Founder & Editorial Director, WarCommons
Header image: Adolf Hitler and his staff salute the teams during the opening ceremonies of the XI Olympic Games. August 1, 1936. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
Nick Ravenshade, LL.B., founded WarCommons out of a lifelong obsession with the Second World War. He has spent years reading the histories, the memoirs, the declassified files, and the scholarship. And WarCommons is where that research becomes writing. His features aim to do what the best military history does: take readers inside the decisions, the institutions, and the ordinary lives that the war consumed, without simplifying what was genuinely complicated. He holds a law degree and applies that habit of evidence and argument to everything he publishes here.
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