The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (German: Hitlergruß, lit. 'Hitler greeting', IPA: [ˈhɪtlɐˌɡʁuːs]; also called by the Nazi Party deutscher Gruß, 'German greeting', IPA: [ˈdɔʏtʃɐ ˈɡʁuːs]), or the Sieg Heil salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. The salute is performed by extending the right arm from the shoulder into the air with a straightened hand. Usually, the person offering the salute would say "Heil Hitler!" (lit. 'Hail Hitler!', IPA: [ˌhaɪl ˈhɪtlɐ]), "Heil, mein Führer!" ('Hail, my leader!'), or "Sieg Heil!" ('Hail victory!'). It was adopted in the 1930s by the Nazi Party to signal obedience to the party's leader, Adolf Hitler, and to glorify the German nation (and later the German war effort). The salute was mandatory for civilians