The ‘innocent’ OK hand gesture has been added to the hate list – and a dip into Nazi history tells us why

Symbols change over time, and are imbued with new meanings. Context always has much to do with how we ‘decode’ an image

In the past few days, much has been made much over the Anti-Defamation League's latest move. The Jewish civil rights organisation has included 36 new symbols in their “Hate on Display” database, including the index finger to thumb sign, which has become associated with the far right. Many symbols originate from the world of 4chan and other internet message boards.

Of course, there has been a significant backlash against the database. The inclusion of the “OK” hand signal has alternately provoked howls of rage or peals of laughter. Many have made the point that co-opting the symbol started as a joke, or a meme – something to troll the “normies” of the wider world, and a common tactic of the new reactionary right.

This is despite the fact that white supremacist terrorists, including the Christchurch shooter, have flashed the symbol during court appearances.

That's the thing about symbols – they change over time, and are imbued with new meanings. Context always has much to do with how we “decode” an image.

Germany's trajectory over the course of the 20th century provides a timely lesson in how this process occurs, and how tracking symbols is a vital tool in combatting extremism.

Imperial Germany's red, white and black war flags, and especially the prominently displayed Iron Cross, were potent symbols of the country's martial prowess and ambition during the course of the First World War.

Similarly, the “death's head” that we associate with the Nazi SS was displayed by various army and flying units throughout the war – itself a throwback to the time of Frederick the Great, when it was used in the hat badges of Prussian troops.

Following Germany's defeat, and revolution, the Weimar Republic scrapped their wartime flags, and instead adopted the tricolour flag we know today. Despite this, many former soldiers who joined the right-wing Freikorps chose to display the totenkopf, or fly imperial flags as a demonstration against the nascent democracy.

When the Nationalsozialistiche Deutsche Arbeiterpartei – the Nazis – emerged in late 1919, it was Hitler himself who chose their most famous iconography. Keenly interested in esoteric and ethnic symbology, he took the swastika – found in cultures across the world – and placed it counter-clockwise, at an angle. The colours he chose – again, red, white and black – were also “expressive of our homage to the glorious past and which once brought so much honor to the German nation”, as he wrote in “Mein Kampf”.

Iconography of the past was being repurposed in the service of the new, to provide a cohesive link to a supposed glorious German heritage. Along with the “death's head”, that appeared on SS uniforms, Futhark, or “Germanic” runes were used by various Nazi organisations.

The Nazi's opponents were also highly aware of the power of symbols. Along with the red star and hammer and sickle of the Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, the German communist party, militant units fighting the Nazi stormtroopers adopted their own memorable logos.

The symbol of the communist Antifascistische Aktion – two juxtaposed flags – was displayed in the streets of cities like Berlin, as were the three downwards diagonal arrows of the social democratic Eiserne Front, who counted the Nazis and the Communists as enemies. Both of these symbols continue to be powerful in terms of anti-fascist resistance.

After the defeat of the Nazi regime, the new Federal Republic of Germany made it a priority that extremists should never again gather under symbols that had gained such a hateful and horrific meaning. Along with a new constitution, several changes were made to the German criminal code.

Chiefly, section 86a forbids the public display or reproduction of symbols of the Nazi regime. Over time, this section has also added communist symbols, white power symbols, and those of several fascist or white supremacist groups, following rulings by the country's federal constitutional court. Songs, hand gestures and slogans have also found their way into the list.

Of course, this action has been met with resistance. Civil liberties groups have, quite rightly, launched several challenges against rulings pursuant to 86a, and it's rarely out of the news for too long. One significant argument made by the groups is that such a move drives groups underground, preventing their surveillance. Moreover, it may give these symbols a kind of subversive cred, making them all the more enticing.

However, in my experience, the existence of 86a, and the discussion around what symbols constitute “extremist” or “unconstitutional” is very useful. It pushes awareness of extremist groups to the forefront, and keeps our sense of history alive. For example, debate over whether the symbols of Imperial Germany now signify racist hate makes sure that Germany's pre-war past is under examination.

So, just because symbols originate from “sh**posting” on an internet message board doesn't mean we shouldn't monitor them or attempt to understand how their meaning changes over time. As we've seen, something there to “trigger” the wider world can rapidly become a banner under which those with a grudge against the world and hate in their heart will gather.

The “OK” symbol may have started as a joke, but symbols carry weight and power. We must never forget that.