Use of this salute is illegal in modern-day Germany ( Strafgesetzbuch section 86a), Austria and Slovakia.
The salute was mandatory for civilians but mostly optional for military personnel, who retained a traditional military salute until the failed assassination attempt on Hitler on 20 July 1944. It was officially adopted by the Nazi Party in 1926, although it had been used within the party as early as 1921, to signal obedience to the party's leader, Adolf Hitler, and to glorify the German nation (and later the German war effort). 'Hail Hitler!', IPA: ( listen)), "Heil, mein Führer!" ('Hail, my leader!'), or "Sieg Heil!" ('Hail victory!').
Usually, the person offering the salute would say " Heil Hitler!" ( lit. The salute is performed by extending the right arm from the shoulder into the air with a straightened hand. The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (German: Hitlergruß, lit.'Hitler greeting', IPA: ( listen) also called by the Nazi Party deutscher Gruß, 'German greeting', IPA: ( listen)), or the Sieg Heil salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. Members of the Hitler Youth in Berlin performing the Nazi salute at a rally in 1933