The swastika, often in a reversed arms configuration, is an old Buddhist symbol. Saw them on graves in S. Vietnam.
I believe the Hindus might also have used them on their monuments.
If you slightly rearrange a swastika by realigning its arms, it become THE HAMMER AND SICKLE.
Surprise! Surprise! said Gomer Pyle.
From what I’ve read, the swastika is ancient and is found across many cultures. Hitler, who was a failed artist, realized the “power” of the swastika as a symbol and made it the symbol of his party. The hammer and sickle adopted by the communists may be a pale imitation of it, but lacks the symmetry and “motion” of the swastika. For whatever reason, the swastika grabs people in a way the hammer and sickle doesn’t.