Several countries have banned the display of Nazi symbols and the flag of Nazi Germany outside of certain contexts. These bans are dictated either by broader legislation dealing with racism, hate speech, and discrimination; or by specifically anti-Nazi laws within Germany. Displaying symbols in support of Nazism is currently illegal or restricted in Australia (since 2024), Canada (since 2026), Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, and Argentina, among other countries and regions.
The most notable Nazi symbol is the swastika, which was appropriated and widely displayed by Adolf Hitler's regime across Germany and German-occupied Europe before and during World War II. Thus, while it was once an auspicious symbol in the Western world—as it had long been in the Eastern world—it has since become infamous for this association and consequently remains popular among neo-Nazis, but the swastika is originally and fundamentally a symbol that has been used by a variety of civilizations across Eurasia for thousands of years (including among the Germanic peoples) and holds spiritual connotations in many Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. In many countries where it is otherwise banned, the symbol may be freely displayed due to legal exemptions on religious or historical grounds, although such usage is still commonly misinterpreted in Western societies.
Summary table
Country Legality of Nazi symbols Exceptions Banned since 2024-01, exceptions for academic, educational, or artistic use. Artistic, educational, or scientific purposes. Intended for hate speech. Implicit limitations likely exist. Keeping Nazi symbolism visible under certain circumstances could situationally constitute agitation against a population group. It has been confirmed in case law that exhibition of the swastika in Neo-Nazi demonstrations constitutes agitation against a population group. Artistic and educational purposes. Artistic and educational contexts. Illegal when explicitly used to express support for fascism.https://futurefreespeech.org/japan/#:~:text=The%20Act%2C%20also,prohibit%20hate%20speech. Artistic and educational purposes. Artistic, educational and scientific purposes. Artistic and educational contexts. Artistic, educational, collecting or academic activity. Artistic, educational, and scientific research purposes. When associated with criminal conduct. None – Court sentenced use of Nazi symbols as freedom of expression protected by the Constitution of the Republic of China. Artistic, education, scientific, and historical purposes. Symbols used until 1991. During World War II (1939–1945) and for hate speech. Unconstitutional to ban symbols outright. New York state ban only extends to public property. California bans Nazi symbols in public pursuant to the state's hate-crime law, and Virginia bans Nazi symbols in public to avoid confusion with the Hindu swastika.
Americas North America Canada Bill C-9 (the Combatting Hate Act) passed in June 2026, explicitly banned "wilfully promot[ing] hatred against any identifiable group by displaying, in any public place," the swastika or the SS runes.
United States The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, which the courts have interpreted to include hate speech, severely limiting the government's authority to suppress it. This allows political organizations great latitude in expressing Nazi, racist, and antisemitic views. A landmark First Amendment case was National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie, in which neo-Nazis threatened to march in Skokie, a predominantly Jewish suburb of Chicago. The march never took place in Skokie, but the court ruling allowed the neo-Nazis to stage a series of demonstrations in Chicago.
South America Brazil The use of Nazi symbols is illegal in Brazil. Laws No. 7,716/89 and No. 9,459/97 establish imprisonment and a fine for anyone who produces, markets, distributes, or disseminates symbols, emblems, ornaments, badges, or propaganda that use the swastika to advocate Nazism.
Venezuela Anti-hate speech laws in Venezuela criminalise the political promotion of "fascism, intolerance and hatred". However, the ruling regime of Nicolás Maduro has been criticised for using political antisemitism, such as the usage of Zionist as a pejorative.
Asia Iran Iran has no provisions or laws regarding the use of Nazi imagery.
Japan The use of Nazi symbols is not a crime in Japan.https://futurefreespeech.org/japan/#:~:text=The%20Act%2C%20also,prohibit%20hate%20speech.
Singapore There are no specific laws banning the use of Nazi symbols, and no one has been punished for displaying Nazi-related symbols in Singapore; but anyone promoting "feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Singapore" may be arrested under the laws of sedition.
South Korea The Republic of Korea has no provisions or laws regarding the use of Nazi imagery.
Taiwan There are currently no provisions and laws in Taiwan that ban or regulate the use of Nazi symbols and imagery as long as it lies within the legal bounds of freedom of speech under the constitution. The use of Nazi symbolism and imagery in the country has been observed throughout the years, often causing controversy.
Thailand
The use of Nazi symbols is legal in Thailand.
Europe
Austria Austria strictly prohibits the public display and/or proliferation of all insignia, symbols, emblems, uniforms (full or partial), flags, etc., clearly associated with the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP, commonly known as the Nazi Party). There are legal exceptions for works of art (including books, films, theatre performances, computer games, and educational/memorial public exhibitions, etc.), however, these do not apply if the work in question promotes National Socialism (as this is generally prohibited in Austria). The law has been amended to include commonly recognised replacements or slightly modified depictions of Nazi symbols. Violations of the Badges Act 1960 (Abzeichengesetz 1960), which prohibits the public display of Nazi symbols, result in up to €4000-fine and up to one month of imprisonment as punishment. However, if the violation is deemed an attempt to promote National Socialism, the Prohibition Act 1947 (Verbotsgesetz 1947) applies, resulting in up to ten years of imprisonment.
However, trading Nazi medals, uniforms or other memorabilia is not illegal in Austria.
Other fascist insignia banned in Austria include Ustaše symbols that have been prominent on commemorations of Bleiburg repatriations. Banned are the Ustaše logo (U with a grenade), the Independent State of Croatia coat of arms and flag, the Croatian Defence Forces logo, as well as the Ustaše slogan Za dom spremni.
Bulgaria
Belarus Article 3411 of the Criminal Code prohibits the public display, production, distribution, or storage for the purpose of distribution of Nazi symbolism or paraphernalia. The offense carries penalties of a fine, arrest, up to three years of restraint of liberty, or up to four years of imprisonment as punishment. Additionally, Article 1301 of the Criminal Code prohibits the rehabilitation of Nazism, with penalties including a fine, arrest, up to five years of restraint of liberty, or up to five years of imprisonment.
Cyprus Cyprus has no legislation designed to restrict the ownership, display, purchase, import or export of Nazi flags, nor does the Criminal Code of Cyprus expressly allow for racist or other bias motives to be taken into account when sentencing.
However, use of Nazi flags in a manner likely to cause discrimination, hatred, or violence may fall under Cyprus' ratification of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. This allows for the prosecution of anyone who expresses an idea (in public, using almost any medium including flags) which insults another person's race, religion or ethnicity.
Czech Republic
Czech Republic has no legislation restricting ownership, display, purchase, import or export of Nazi flags; indeed Czech law makes even the banning of protests involving such flags very difficult.
In 1991, in Czechoslovakia, the criminal code was amended with 260 which banned propaganda of political movements which restricted human rights and freedoms, citing Nazism and Communism. Later the specific mentions of these were removed due to their lack of clear legal definition. However, the law itself was recognised as constitutional."JOINT AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF FOR THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF MOLDOVA ON THE COMPATIBILITY WITH EUROPEAN STANDARDS", p. 8
The police may cancel such events only once it becomes clear that protesters are inciting hate, which is deemed illegal in the Czech Republic. Legal regulation of hate crimes in the Czech Republic is contained in Act 140/1961 The Criminal Act (amended by Act 175/1990).
Act 40/2009 prohibited promotion of movements aimed at suppressing human rights and freedoms.
Estonia In early 2007, the Riigikogu was considering a draft bill amending the Penal Code to make the public use of Soviet and Nazi symbols punishable if used in a manner disturbing the public peace or inciting hatred. The bill did not come into effect as it passed only the first reading in the Riigikogu.
Finland Finland has no explicit legislation aimed at controlling ownership, display, purchase, import or export of Nazi symbols. However the Criminal Code bans agitation against a population group. Agitation against a population group may be applicable when Nazi symbolism is used to threaten, defame, or insult a certain group "on the basis of its race, colour, birth, national or ethnic origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation or disability or on another comparable basis". In November 2024, the Supreme Court of Finland declined an appeal of a case of swastika flag display in a Neo-Nazi demonstration, meaning that the court of appeal's conviction was retained, effectively banning the usage of the swastika in similar demonstrations as agitation against a population group.
Finnish usage of the swastika predates the Nazi usage. As of 2024, flags containing the symbol can be found within the Finnish Air Force. However, in August 2025, the Finnish Air Force made a decision to discontinue the usage of swastikas. France In France, it is a crime to display Nazi flags, uniforms and insignia in public, unless for the purpose of a historical film, show, filmmaking or spectacle.Penal code, article R645-1; beware that this article is in the "regulations" part of the code (R articles) and that some editions may include only the "statutes" part (L articles).
In April 2000, the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism and Union des étudiants juifs de France (the Union of French Jewish Students) brought a case against Yahoo! which objected to the auctioning of Nazi memorabilia in France via Yahoo!'s website on the basis that it contravened Article R645-1. A French judge initially ordered Yahoo! to take measures to make it impossible for users in France to reach any Nazi memorabilia through the Yahoo! site.
Germany
After World War II, the penal code of the Federal Republic of Germany was amended to prohibit propaganda material and symbols of forbidden parties and other organisations (StGB 86 and 86a). This explicitly includes material in the tradition of a former national socialist organization. The production and distribution of such material is prohibited, as is the public display of the related symbols. Legal consequences can be a fine or a prison term of up to three years.