My hot take: The symbol based on the symbol of Antifaschistische Aktion (picture 1) is an infinitely better representation of #antifascism than the Three Arrows/Iron Front symbol (picture 2). A history lesson is in order as to why.
Antifaschistische Aktion was an anti-fascist organization established by the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) in the 1930s. Its relevance to this discussion is mainly the fact that its symbol (picture 3) was the basis of the modern "antifa" movement symbol when that contemporary movement emerged in West Germany in the 1980s, taking the East German Antifaschistische Aktion as one of their inspirations. One of the red flags was changed to an anarchist black flag to reflect the differing political orientation of much of that movement, but the other socialist red flag was kept. Keep that in mind for this next part.
The Three Arrows symbol is one that was created for the Iron Front paramilitary organization, associated with the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). The three arrows represented their opposition to monarchism, Nazism, and communism. This is elegantly illustrated in a 1932 SPD electoral poster (picture 4), depicting hands driving the arrows through a crown, a Nazi swastika, and a hammer and sickle inside a star (the emblem of the KPD).
So this is basically it: the modern "antifa" symbol based on the Antifaschistische Aktion symbol places the red flag of socialism and the black flag of anarchism side by side. It represents multiple currents of the left uniting in opposition to fascism. On the other hand, one of the Three Arrows represents communists. One of these symbols represents unity across political differences in an anti-fascist coalition, and the other says "we're against fascism and you".
Image sources:
1. DerB23, Antifaschistische Aktion logo, 2025, SVG vector illustration, Wikimedia Commons.
2. Wojsław Brożyna, Drei Pfeile, 2016, SVG vector illustration, Wikimedia Commons.
3. Partisan1917, Antifalogo alt2, 2013, SVG vector illustration, Wikimedia Commons, based on original by Max Gebhard and Max Keilson, 1932.
4. "Gegen Papen, Hitler, Thälmann", 1932, poster, 21 × 29.7 cm, no. 0102, Plakatsammlung Karl Fritz, Staatsarchiv Freiburg, Germany.
