Nazi salute
What to know
The Nazi salute is the act of thrusting one’s straight right arm at an upward angle, hand flat, palm down. It was adopted by the far-right National Socialist German Workers’ Party, or Nazi party, in the 1920s. By the 1940s, in much of the world, the gesture had become inextricably linked with bigoted and murderous ideology. Today, it is often used to intimidate and to convey sympathies with white supremacist, neo-Nazi, or white nationalist ideas. The gesture is sometimes referred to as the Hitler Greeting, Sieg Heil, or the Fascist or Roman salute.
Nazi ideology presumes national and genetic superiority, a right to dominate others, seize land, scapegoat, and eliminate entire groups deemed inferior. Historically, German Nazi targets included Jewish, gay, Roma, Black, Polish, and disabled people. Nazis also killed and persecuted communists, trade unionists, and other political dissidents. Nazi beliefs fueled the Holocaust, World War II, millions of deaths, and forced migration worldwide.
In 2025, debates about reporting on the Nazi salute reached an international stage when entrepreneur and political mega-donor Elon Musk appeared to make the gesture twice at a rally celebrating the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Musk and his supporters dismissed descriptions that referred to a Nazi salute and called them “dirty tricks.”
The incident highlighted the need for journalists to grasp the salute’s history and meaning, and to deal responsibly with alleged users’ denials and other explanations. It also surfaced broader questions for journalists reporting on gestures that express ideologies of various kinds.
Essential background
While the Nazi salute was originally known as the Roman salute, there is little evidence of its use in ancient Rome. Rather, the gesture gained traction during the French revolution, popularized by French neoclassical painter Jacques-Louis David. In his 1785 painting, The Oath of the Horatii, men performing the salute symbolize masculine self-sacrifice rooted in civic duty.
The salute was adopted by fascist public officials in Italy in 1925. It became a requirement for German Nazi party members the following year. In 1933, as Jewish Germans were being barred from a number of public roles and professions, Germany’s interior minister made the gesture mandatory in Nazi and state buildings. After a 1944 attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Germany’s president and chancellor, the Nazi salute became mandatory for all German military.
The gesture was used in the US as well. At a gathering of Nazi supporters, isolationists, and American fascists held in Madison Square Garden in 1939, the salute was captured on film. A similar gesture had been used, without Nazi associations, beginning in 1892 while reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. It was called the Bellamy Salute to honor the pledge’s author and in 1942 was replaced by placing the right hand over the heart.
Nazi salute after World War II
After World War II, in several countries, Nazi salutes were legally banned or restricted. In the US, Nazi salutes are not illegal at the federal level; political symbols and gestures have generally been regarded as forms of constitutionally protected speech. However, New York, Virginia, and California have criminalized Nazi symbols, including the salute, in certain circumstances. The salute has been the subject of intermittent controversies and litigation.
At the 2025 Trump rally, Musk repeated his gesture after thanking the crowd, which was cheering and continued to do so. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an organization that works to combat antisemitism, rejected the characterization of Musk’s motions as Nazi salutes, framing them as “awkward” and prompted by “enthusiasm.” The organization later condemned holocaust-related jokes that Musk subsequently made on social media. Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, named Musk’s gesture a Nazi salute and warned that his actions could spark violence. White nationalists, neo-Nazis, and some far-right political commentators interpreted Musk’s actions as Nazi salutes and celebrated them.
The Musk incident reveals broader challenges for journalists reporting on the use of strategic ambiguity and outright denial in response to allegations of bigoted actions. Avoiding assumptions is key. In the event of a possible Nazi salute, observations, facts, context, expert assessments, and the gesture user’s explanation and background all merit consideration.
Guidance for usage
Video and photographic evidence is useful for reporting on politically charged gestures. Describing exactly what the gesture maker did, what was happening or said at the time, and how others responded will all be necessary for accuracy. Also consider photographing any written materials, flyers, commentary, signs, pins, merchandise, suggested hash tags, or other communication in the area.
Useful questions include: Did you see a Nazi salute? If not, what was that gesture? Can you describe what you saw? What does it mean that this occurred? Why would people be using the gesture here?
Interviewing individuals or organizations with established expertise in identifying antisemitic or otherwise bigoted activity, as well as knowledge of area cultural practices, will strengthen reporting. Relying on the assessment of one individual or organization can amplify misinformation.
For any individual or group named in a story, there are a variety of ways that journalists can investigate connections to Nazi or related sympathies: interviews, a search for litigation or regulatory agency action involving claims of discrimination, previous news reports, available images, polling data, resentments previously expressed toward specific groups, and affiliations. Family histories of Nazi party involvement can be relevant though must be handled with care to avoid implying guilt by association. Including evidence of an individual’s direct relationship to those associations is necessary for accuracy. Fairness demands that the source be given an opportunity to respond to allegations that they used the Nazi salute. Because gesture users can leverage what they know about journalistic practices to dodge accountability, denial of intent should not be taken at face value, and adopting the gesture maker’s language as your own can compromise accurate coverage. Speculating about what a source likely believes or may have thought, seen, known, or felt is usually not the job of journalists.
Additional resources
- Elon Musk and the history of the ‘Roman Salute’ (The Conversation)
- ”The gesture speaks for itself”: Germans respond to Musk’s apparent Nazi salute (The Guardian)
- Elon Musk doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt (Vox)
- When is a Nazi salute not a Nazi salute (New York Review of Books)
- How should journalists call out lies in the age of Trump and AI (Columbia Journalism Review)
Summary
The Nazi salute is the act of thrusting one’s straight right arm at an upward angle, hand flat, palm down. Nazi ideology presumes national and genetic superiority, a right to dominate others, seize land, scapegoat, and eliminate entire groups deemed inferior. Today, the salute is often used to intimidate and to convey sympathies with white supremacist, neo-Nazi, or white nationalist ideas. In the US, Nazi salutes are not illegal at the federal level; political symbols and gestures have generally been regarded as forms of constitutionally protected speech. Because gesture users can leverage what they know about journalistic practices to dodge accountability, denial of intent should not be taken at face value, and adopting the gesture maker’s language as your own can compromise accurate coverage. Interviewing individuals or organizations with established expertise in identifying antisemitic or otherwise bigoted activity, as well as knowledge of area cultural practices, will strengthen reporting.