All the symbols depicted in the hate symbols database must be evaluated in the context in which they appear. Few symbols represent just one idea or are used exclusively by one group. For example, 100% is often used as an amount or an expression and it is also used by some white supremacists as shorthand for "100% white." Similarly, other symbols in this database may be significant to people who are not extreme or racist. The descriptions here point out significant multiple meanings but may not be able to relay every possible meaning of a particular symbol.
The Tyr rune is one of many ancient European symbols appropriated by the Nazis in their attempts to create an idealized "Aryan/Norse" heritage. This gave symbols such as the Tyr rune a new, racist significance that they did not originally have. Nazi Germany used the Tyr rune as a symbol for a number of Nazi entities, including the leadership schools (Reichsführerschulen) of Hitler's brownshirts, the Sturmabteilung, and a Waffen SS infantry division, among others.
Since World War II, neo-Nazis and other white supremacists continued to use the Tyr rune in a racist context - along with the Elhaz (or Life) rune, the Tyr rune is one of the most common white supremacist appropriations of ancient runic symbols. Its popularity in part stems from the fact that it is considered by many to be the "warrior rune."
Because today the Tyr rune continues to be used by non-racists as well, including members of various neo-pagan religions, one should not assume that use of the symbol is racist but instead should judge the symbol carefully in its specific context.
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