This is a show about the assorted badges used in the Nazi concentration camps during World War two.

1. Badges of Dishonor
Cheryl Bennett
His 104
Professor Lyons
February 8, 2010
Badges 1

2. The Badge’s Purpose
The Nazis used colored triangular badges to distinguish the
imprisoned groups from each other within the camps and to
show that they were to be considered dangerous. Some badges
contained letters and/or symbols that referred to an inmate’s
nationality, attempt at escape, or any number of other minor
categories. This color-coded system was a way to keep a nearly
paperless record of the inmates.
Badges 2 (Mosaic of Victims,2009.)

3. Contents
 The Badge’s Purpose
 Poster of Concentration Camp Badges
 A Note About the Jews’ Badge
 The Brown Badge
 The Pink Badge
 The Red Badge
 The Purple Badge
 The Green Badge
 The Black Badge
 The Blue Badge
 From Bystander to Victim
 Cultural Fatalities
 Number of Victims graphic
 “When They Came For Me”
 References 1
 References 2
Badges 3

4. (The persecuted people)
Badges 4

5. Poster of Concentration Camp Badges
Badges 5 (Artifacts:, 2009)

6. *A Note About the
Jews’ Badges
Jews would be issued
either a single yellow triangle or a
combination of an inverted
colored triangle in front of an
upright yellow triangle to form
the star of David. If one of the
triangles had a white or black
outline it mean someone who
was a race defiler.
Badges 6 (Mosaic of Victims,2009.)

7. Gypsies The Roma and Sinti were the two
largest tribes within Germany. They were
similar to the Jews in that the Nazis wanted
them all exterminated. The main difference
between the gypsies and the Jews was that
the gypsies were primarily illiterate. Their
badges started out as dominantly black in
color because they were seen as Asocial, but
was later changed to brown to keep them
separated from the Asocial group.
Badges 7 (Mosaic of Victims,2009.)

8. Homosexuals Based on Paragraph 175, which
outlawed any action that could be construed
as sexual between men, homosexuals were
labeled with a pink badge. However, this
badge covered all sexual offenses such as
rape, bestiality, and pedophilia.
Badges 8 (Mosaic of Victims,2009.)

9. Political The red triangle’s meaning
Prisoners
depended on its position. Pointed upwards it
meant that the inmate was an enemy POW, a
spy, or a deserter from the German army.
Pointed downwards it meant the inmate was
a communist, political nonconformist, trade
unionist, socialist, democrat, Freemason, or a
traitor to the German Government and Adolf
Hitler in particular.
Badges 9 (Mosaic of Victims,2009.)

10. Religious The purple badges were used more
Dissenters
often to mark Jehovah Witnesses;
however, they also labeled any religious
leader who denounced Hitler and the Nazis’
actions, and/or the Nazi’s attempt to create a
new religion with Hitler as a divine being.
This group included Catholic
priests, Christian preachers, Protestant
parsons, and Rabbis.
Badges 10 (Mosaic of Victims,2009.)

11. Hardened
The green badge was placed on
Criminals
ordinary and/or long-term criminals who
often worked as Kapos in exchange for
either a decrease in their prison term, a
lighter sentence, or parole. A kapo was a
prisoner who was often a guard over, and
known for being very brutal in their
handling, of the other inmates.
Badges 11 (Mosaic of Victims,2009.)

12. Asocials This was the most diverse group and
included vagrants, beggars, the
homeless, mentally ill, mentally
impaired, alcoholics, prostitutes, gypsies, no
n-religious pacifists, military assignment
dodgers, and anyone without a permanent
address.
Badges 12 (Mosaic of Victims,2009.)

13. Immigrants The blue badges were placed on
people who had moved to Germany from
other lands but were not citizens. They were
generally used as just slave labor unless they
were Jewish.
Badges 13 (Mosaic of Victims,2009.)

14. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
HOLOCAUST LOSSES
Badges 14

15. From Bystander to Victim
Bystanders
•Anyone who looked the other way or denied what
was going on.
Resisters
•Anyone who hid the victims from the Nazis and/or
who chose to fight back
Persecutors
•Nazi Regime
Victims
•6 million Jews
•300,000 handicapped
•250,000 homosexuals
•2,000 Jehovah's Witnesses
•800,000 Gypsies
•1.5 million political dissidents
•4 million Soviet P.O.W.s
•3 million non- Jewish Slavic & 3 million Jewish civilians
Badges 15 (World War 2, 2010, para 30.)

16. Approx. Totals of the Nazis’ Victims
300,000 250,000 2,000 Jehovah's
handicapped homosexuals Witnesses
1.5 million political 4 million Soviet
800,000 Gypsies
dissidents P.O.W.s
3 million non-
Jewish Slavic & 3 3 million German
million Jewish Jews
civilians
Badges 16 (World War 2, 2010, para 30.)

17. Cultural Fatalities
Religious
Artistes Intellectuals
Leaders
Entertainers Novelists Preachers
Medical
Dancers Rabbis
Personnel
Musicians Scientists Priests
Painters Educators
Government
Actors
Personnel
Badges 17 (World War 2, 2010, para 30.)

18. “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me -- and there was no one left to speak for me. “
MARTIN NIEMÖLLER
(Martin Niemöller , 2009, para 2.)
Badges 18

19. References
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (2009.) Artifacts: Classification System in Nazi
Concentration Camps. Retrieved January 26, 2010 from
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/media_da.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005378&MediaId=5037
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum., (2009.) Martin Niemöller: First
They Came for the Socialists. Retrieved on January26, 2010 from
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10007392
Badges 19

20. References
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum., (2009.) Mosaic of Victims: In Depth. Retrieved on
January 26, 2010 from
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10007329
World War 2: Holocaust., (2010.) Retrieved on January 28, 2010 from
http://www.world-war-2.info/holocaust/
Badges 20