Crossword Genius

Formerly, a fascist symbol broken in half (2,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

as was

'formerly' is the definition.

'a fascist symbol broken in half' is the wordplay.
'fascist symbol' becomes 'swastika'.
'broken in half' suggests halving the letters.
'swastika' halved is 'swas'.
'a'+'swas'='AS WAS'

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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