The Swastika is a cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either left-facing or right-facing forms. It is a widely-used religious symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. The symbol was also used in pre-Christian Europe. The word "Swastika" became part of the English language in the nineteenth century with the British conquest of India. In the 1920s, the Nazi party chose the swastika as its symbol and it is for this association that it is best known in the Western world.