Huge ‘swastika’ in back garden revealed on shocking Google maps image – but it’s not what it might seem
The symbol appears to be built into a patio and raised eyebrows after it was spotted by an eagle-eyed reader
A HOUSE with two giant "swastikas" in the back-garden has been raising eyebrows after it was spotted on Google Earth.
An eagle-eyed Sun reader flagged up the striking patio design after noticing it on a satellite image while house-hunting in south London.
But rest assured - the terraced property is not a neo-Nazi stronghold.
The swastika - or svastika in Sanskrit - is an ancient symbol of good luck, which was "stolen" by Hitler and is now synonymous with the Nazis in much of the western world.
Neighbours in the quiet suburban street said the family were Hindus from Sri Lanka and the symbol was intended to bring good fortune.
Aziz Ahmad, 64, said: "It's a symbol for the Hindus, if you go to India you see it everywhere.
"You will probably find it in the temple as well.
"It's got a much longer history - long before Germany and Hitler and the Nazis."
Another neighbour Magdalena Szmyd, 34, said: "They are lovely people, it's nothing to do with Hitler. Hitler took it from the Hindu people.
"This sign is actually meant to bring luck to the house. It's a sign of luck.
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"So they believe if they have got this kind of symbol, it brings happiness and health."
The symbol has been used by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains for thousands of years and means "well-being" in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit.
And it still adorns dozens of British landmarks built before the war, including government buildings, train stations and even a war memorial at Balmoral Castle.
The swastika actually dates back at least 7,000 years, when it was used by the Neolithic Vinca culture, and became widespread across Europe in the Bronze Age.
But its link to Nazism is so powerful that it has been completely banned in Germany, who tried unsuccessfully to introduce a Europe-wide ban in 2007.
Early Western travellers to Asia were inspired by its positive meaning and started using it back home, according to a article.
History of the swastika
The ancient symbol dates back at least 7,000 years and has been used by cultures across the world
The word comes from the Sanskrit svastika, which means “good fortune” or “well-being"
It is believed to represent the movement of the sun through the sky
It is a sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Odinism and adorns many homes, temples and other sites across Asia
But in the west, it is still synonymous with the Nazis after Hitler chose it to represent his evil ideology
Its popularity in the west grew in the 19th and early 20th centuries and it was even used by the US military and the Scouts in Britain.
Hitler chose the sign - known as the Hakenkreuz meaning "hooked cross" - as early as 1920, setting it on the infamous white circle and red background which went on to become the most chilling and hated symbol of the 20th Century.
The symbol had been used by the Aryan nomads of India, who the Nazis believed were Germans' ancestors, according to the .
Swastikas can still be seen adorning dozens of buildings in Britain built before World War Two, including on a war memorial at the entrance to Balmoral Castle.
Essex County Council came under fire after a resident complained that its HQ in Chelmsford - designed in the 1920s - is adorned with swastikas.
The sign can be seen on buildings across central London, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Burlington House, home to the Royal Academy of Arts.
It was used by Carslberg until the 1930s, and swastikas engraved into the gates of its headquarters in Copenhagen in 1901 can still be seen today.
In Canada, there is even a town called Swastika.
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