Nazi concentration camp badges - Definition and Overview

Nazi concentration camp badges, made primarily of inverted triangles, were used in the concentration camps in the Nazi-occupied countries to identify the reason the prisoners had been placed there. The triangles were made of fabric and were sewn on jackets and shirts of the prisoners. These mandatory badges had specific meanings indicated by their color and shape.

The 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. For example, a red triangle with an "F" on it denoted a political prisoner from France.

The most common forms of the badge were:

• Pink inverted triangle - a homosexual.
• Green inverted triangle - a regular criminal.
• Red inverted triangle - a political prisoner. The color red was probably chosen because it represented the communists, the political enemies that the Nazis hated most (and the first to be officially outlawed).
• Purple inverted triangle - a Jehovah's Witness.
• Black inverted triangle -
  • A vagrant
  • A Gypsy
  • A woman jailed for "anti-social behavior", i.e., a lesbian, a prostitute or woman who used birth control.

Double triangles:

• Two yellow triangles, superimposed upon one another, making 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.

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

Form and Color of Markings of Camp Inmates in the Concentration Camps

	Political Enemy	Habitual Criminals	Emigrants	Jehovah's Witnesses	Gay males	Asocial behavior and Lesbians
Basic colors
Markings for Repeaters
Inmates of Penal Battalions
Markings for Jews
Special Markings	Male Race Defiler	Female Race Defiler	Escape Suspect	Inmate Number <p>Special Inmate: Brown arm band		<p>Applicable marks were worn in descending order as follows: Inmate Number, Repeater Bar, Triangle or Star, Member of Penal Battalion, Escape Suspect
	Pole: "P" on a red triangle	Czech: "T" on a red triangle	Member of the Armed Forces: Uninverted red triangle

See also

• Yellow badge
• Jasenovac concentration camp marks

other links

• Stars, triangles and markings (http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Holocaust/markings.html) - Jewish Virtual Library
• Gay Prisoners in Concentration Camps as Compared with Jehovah's Witnesses and Political Prisoners (http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Holocaust/gaycomp.html) by Ruediger Lautmann