Nazi concentration camp badge

Badges, primarily triangles, were used in Nazi concentration camps in German-occupied countries to identify the reason the prisoners were there. The triangles were made of fabric and were sewn onto the prisoners' jackets and trousers. These were mandatory and intended as badges of shame. They had specific meanings indicated by their colour and shape. Guards used such emblems to assign tasks to the detainees. For example, a guard, at a glance, could see if someone was a convicted criminal (green patch) and might assume they had a tough temperament suitable for kapo duty.

Someone wearing a badge indicating a suspected escape attempt was usually not assigned to work squads operating outside the camp fence. Someone wearing an "F" could be called upon to help translate a guard's 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 visual shorthand to symbolise all camp victims.

The modern-day use of a pink triangle emblem to symbolise gay rights is a response to the camp identification patches. The black, blue, purple, and red triangles have also been reclaimed by various remembrance and anti-fascist groups, particularly in Europe. Such groups include the Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime – Federation of Antifascists (VVN-BdA) in Germany and other members of the International Federation of Resistance Fighters – Association of Anti-Fascists (FIR).