Odal Rune History: From Norse Alphabets to CPAC Nazi Symbol Claims
On 3/1/21 at 10:01 AM EST
Outraged social media users condemned the Conservative Political Action Conference organizers this weekend for what they speculated was a nod to Nazi pagan ideology and modern white supremacy, drawing angry rebuttals by the CPAC and prominent conservatives.
The shape of the stage at this weekend's conference in Orlando, Florida, raised eyebrows given its similarity—when viewed from above—to the Elder Futhark Odal or Othala rune, a letter from a Germanic writing system that emerged in the Migration Period in Germany, Scandinavia and elsewhere.
CPAC vehemently denied the shape of the stage had any white supremacist or fascist link. Matt Schlapp, the chair of the American Conservative Union which organizes the event, wrote on Twitter that the "conspiracies are outrageous and slanderous."