The Deep Spiritual Content of the Sieg Heil Ritual

Andrew Anglin May 9, 2013

The Roman Salute, now often referred to as the “Nazi” salute or the “Sieg Heil” (“Hail Victory”) salute, is an ancient communal bonding ritual of the White European people. Through an understanding of the nature of this ritual, we may gain a further understanding of the type of society we seek to build.

The core psychological basis for this gesture comes from the showing of the palm of the right hand to indicate that one has no weapon. This evolved into a greeting in prehistoric times, a way of acknowledging that one held no ill-intent toward the individual to whom the palm of the hand was being shown, which served to create an immediate degree of trust and positive feelings on the subconscious level. Obviously, we still use the wave now as a form of peaceful greeting, typically using the right hand.

The author of the American Pledge of Allegiance, Francis Bellamy, originally included the Roman salute as a part of the ritual. In 1942, Roosevelt altered the flag code due to the gesture's association with Axis powers. Interestingly, the salute was replaced with the "hand over heart" gesture, which psychologically implies one feels threatened, having a need to shield his most vital organ. — The author of the American Pledge of Allegiance, Francis Bellamy, originally included the Roman salute as a part of the ritual. In 1942, Roosevelt altered the flag code due to the gesture’s association with Axis powers. Interestingly, the salute was replaced with the “hand over heart” gesture, which psychologically implies one feels threatened, needing to shield his most vital organ.

With the development of larger, more complex societies in Europe, this practice of showing the right palm developed into a communal bonding ritual, deeply meaningful on a spiritual level. The gesture was formalized with the straight arm (usually at a 45 degree angle), stiffened palm and fingers together, so as each individual would be engaging in a uniform action presented to a leader. Though this represents submission to the supreme leader, it is fundamentally different from a dog who shows his belly to a rival of superior strength, as the supreme leader himself also presents his palm to the people in the same fashion. The highly emotional and meaningful content here is that “we are yours, as you are ours, you are us and we are you.”

In Hitler’s Germany, the salute became a greeting between all members of society, typically accompanied by the words “Heil Hitler,” the symbolic submission to the supreme leader being used to pronounce the bond between each individual member of the nation.

The Sieg Heil salute represents the raw power of a people come together. Through this ritual, the supreme leader becomes the embodiment of his people, a vessel through which an entire nation transforms into a singular body, a unified force wherein the individual ceases to exist as something beyond a part of the whole.