Нацилік концлагерьлердегі мата таңбалар жүйесі

Cloth emblems; part of the system of identification in Nazi camps

Nazi concentration camp badges, primarily triangles, were part of the system of identification in German camps. They were used in the concentration camps in the German occupied countries to identify the reason the prisoners had been placed there. The triangles were made of fabric and were sewn on jackets and trousers of the prisoners. These mandatory badges of shame had specific meanings indicated by their colour and shape. Such emblems helped guards assign tasks to the detainees. For example, a guard at a glance could see if someone was a convicted criminal (green patch) and thus likely of a tough temperament suitable for kapo duty. Someone with an escape suspect mark usually would not be assigned to work squads operating outside the camp fence. Someone wearing an F could be called upon to help translate guards' spoken instructions to a trainload of new arrivals from France. Some historical monuments quote the badge imagery, with the use of a triangle being a sort of visual shorthand to symbolize all camp victims. The modern day use of a pink triangle emblem to symbolize gay rights is a response to the camp identification patches.

The system of badges varied between the camps and in the later stages of World War II the use of badges dwindled in some camps and became increasingly accidental in others. The following description is based on the badge coding system used before and during the early stages of the war in the Dachau concentration camp, which had one of the more elaborate coding systems. 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.

Double triangle badges resembled two superimposed triangles forming a Star of David, a Jewish symbol. Red inverted triangle superimposed upon a yellow one representing a Jewish political prisoner. Blue inverted triangle superimposed upon a red one representing foreign forced labour and political prisoner (for example, Spanish Republicans in Mauthausen). Green inverted triangle superimposed upon a yellow one representing a Jewish habitual criminal. Purple inverted triangle superimposed upon a yellow one representing a Jehovah's Witness of Jewish descent. Pink inverted triangle superimposed upon a yellow one representing a Jewish "sexual offender", typically a gay or bisexual man. Black inverted triangle superimposed upon a yellow one representing an "asocial" or work shy Jew. Voided black inverted triangle superimposed over a yellow triangle representing a Jew convicted of miscegenation and labelled as a Rassenschänder (race defiler). Yellow inverted triangle superimposed over a black triangle representing an "Aryan" woman convicted of miscegenation and labelled as a Rassenschänder (race defiler). Like those who wore pink and green triangles, people in the bottom two categories would have been convicted in criminal courts.

PolitischPolitical prisonerBerufsverbrecherProfessional criminalEmigrantForeign forced laborerBibelforscherBible Student(Jehovah's Witnesses)HomosexuellMale homosexual/sex offenderArbeitsscheu/AsozialWork shy/AsocialZigeunerGypsy(Roma or Sinti male)Basic coloursMarkings for repeatersInmates of Strafkompanie (punishment companies)Markings for JewsPolitical prisoner nationality markings The capital letter of the name of the country on a red triangleBelgier (Belgian)Tscheche (Czech)Franzose (French)Pole (Polish)Spanier (Spanish)Special markingsJüdischer RassenschänderJewish race defilerRassenschänderinFemale race defilerEscape suspectHäftlingsnummerInmate numberKennzeichen für FunktionshäftlingeSpecial inmates' brown armbandEnemy POW or deserterExampleMarks were worn in descending order as follows: inmate number, repeater bar, triangle or star, member of penal battalion, escape suspect. In this example, the inmate is a Jewish convict with multiple convictions, serving in a Strafkompanie (penal unit) and who is suspected of trying to escape.

Triangle motifs appear on many postwar memorials to the victims of the Nazis. Most triangles are plain while some others bear nationality letters. The otherwise potentially puzzling designs are a direct reference to the identification patches used in the camps. On such monuments, typically an inverted (point down, base up) triangle (especially if red) evokes all victims, including also the non Jewish victims like Poles and other Slavs, communists, homosexuals, Roma and Sinti (see Porajmos), people with disability (see Action T4), Soviet POWs and Jehovah's Witnesses. An inverted triangle colored pink would symbolize gay male victims. A non inverted (base down, point up) triangle and/or a yellow triangle is generally more evocative of the Jewish victims.

In June 2020, the re election campaign of Donald Trump posted an advertisement on Facebook stating that "Dangerous MOBS of far left groups are running through our streets and causing absolute mayhem" and identifying them as "ANTIFA", accompanied by a graphic of a downward pointing red triangle. The ads appeared on the Facebook pages of Donald Trump, the Trump campaign, and Vice President Mike Pence. Many observers compared the graphic to the symbol used by the Nazis for identifying political prisoners such as communists, social democrats and socialists. Many noted the number of ads – 88 – which is associated with neo Nazis and white supremacists. As an example of the public outcry against the use of the downward pointing red triangle, as reported by MotherJones, the Twitter account (@jewishaction), the account of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, a Progressive Jewish site stated:"The President of the United States is campaigning for reelection using a Nazi concentration camp symbol. Nazis used the red triangle to mark political prisoners and people who rescued Jews. Trump & the RNC are using it to smear millions of protestors. Their masks are off. pic. twitter. com/UzmzDaRBup"Facebook removed the campaign ads with the graphic, saying that its use in this context violated their policy against "organized hate". The Trump campaign's communications director wrote that "The red triangle is a common Antifa symbol used in an ad about Antifa." Historian Mark Bray, author of Antifa: The Anti Fascist Handbook, disputed this, saying that the symbol is not associated with Antifa in the United States.