Washington — WASHINGTON -- The Charlottesville protest last year was full of flags and signs held by white nationalists, some with symbols that have secret meanings.
The U.S. Holocaust Museum, the Anti-Defamation League, and Southern Poverty Law Center all are all groups that have created hate symbol databases. They want you to be aware of what you’re looking at.
It starts with the Nazi Swastika. The Southern Poverty Law Center said there are other symbols that look nothing like the Swastika, but they are still associated with Nazism. One of them includes the image of what's called an Othala Rune. Together, it stands for the National Socialist Movement.
The National Socialist Movement is one of the most prominent Neo-Nazi groups in the U.S., according to the law center.
There’s a symbol with a black “X” in a white triangle. This is a Southern Nationalist Flag representing the League of the South. The ADL said it's a racist, anti-Semitic, white nationalist group. Their leader wants a Southern succession.
In a video from the group’s website, their leader, Michael Hill, is heard saying, “There is no race that has even come close to duplicating what our ancestors have built."
There is a gear-like symbol with a farmer’s tool inside. It represents the Traditionalist Worker Party. The Southern Poverty Law Center said that's a white nationalist group that advocates for racially pure nations.
The Iron Cross, the Celtic Cross, the KKK's Blood Drop Cross and more, they're symbols that are being used represent White Nationalist ideas.
The Confederate Flag was also heavily present at last year’s violent protest.
The U.S. National Holocaust Memorial Museum sees these symbols as warning signs and part of the Hate Speech that led to history's atrocities, specifically the Holocaust.
The Museum created a definition page in response to Charlottesville.
