Nazi Concentration Camp Badges

BADGE CODING SYSTEM

Shape was chosen by analogy with the common triangular road hazard signs in Germany that denote warnings to motorists. Here, a triangle is called inverted because its base is up while one of its angles points down.

In addition to color-coding, some groups had to put letter insignia on their triangles to denote country of origin. Red triangle with a letter: "B" (''Belgier'', Belgians ), "F" ('''''F'''ranzosen'', French ), "I" ('''''I'''taliener'', Italians ), "P" ('''''P'''olen'', Poles ), "S" (''Republikanische '''S'''panier'', Republican Spanish ) "T" ('''''T'''schechen'', Czechs ), "U" ('''''U'''ngarn'', Hungarians ).

The most common forms of the badge were:

Black Inverted Triangle

--- Alcoholics

--- Vagrants , the Habitually "Work-Shy".

--- Roma and Sinti (later forced to wear the Brown Triangle).

--- A woman jailed for "anti-social behavior", ''i.e.'', a Lesbian , a Prostitute or woman who used Birth Control .

Green inverted triangle — Criminals .

Pink Inverted Triangle — a Homosexual or Bisexual man.

Purple Inverted Triangle — Religious Sectarians such as Jehovah's Witnesses

Red Inverted Triangle — a Political Prisoner . The color red was probably chosen because it represented the Communist s, the political enemies that the Nazis hated most (and the first to be officially outlawed).

Double triangles:

Two superimposed Yellow Triangle s forming the Star Of David — a Jew , including Jews by practice or descent.

Pink inverted triangle superimposed upon a yellow one, making the Star of David — a homosexual Jew.

Yellow inverted triangle superimposed over a black triangle, or "voided" black inverted triangle superimposed over a yellow triangle — an Aryan convicted of Miscegenation and labeled as a "race defiler."

There were many markings and combinations. A prisoner would typically have at least two, and possibly more than six.

TABLE OF CAMP INMATE MARKINGS

:(Plant 1988 and {Link without Title} )

NOTES

# At first glance, this combination appears to be contradictory. However, the Nazi definition of "Jew", according to the Nuremberg Laws , included those of Jewish ancestry, and so it was possible for such people to actually hold other religions. Thus, "Jewish Jehovah's Witness", while perhaps unlikely, was by no means impossible.

REFERENCE

Plant, Richard, ''The Pink Triangle: The Nazi War Against Homosexuals'', Owl Books, 1988, ISBN 0805006001.

EXTERNAL LINKS

Stars, triangles and markings - Jewish Virtual Library

Gay Prisoners in Concentration Camps as Compared with Jehovah's Witnesses and Political Prisoners by Ruediger Lautmann

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Nazi Concentration Camp Badges