Triangle
(German: Winkel)
A triangle sewed on the striped uniform along with the camp number designated a prisoner’s category. Red triangles denoted political prisoners, green triangles—criminal prisoners, black— asocial, pink—homosexual, and purple—Jehovah’s Witnesses. At first, Jews were issued an additional yellow triangle pointing up; when a triangle in one of the colors mentioned above (almost always red in practice) was sewn over it, the resulting effect was a six‑pointed Star of David. Later, instead of the yellow triangle, a narrow band of yellow fabric was sewn above the red triangle. Letters on the triangles defined the nationality of the prisoner—P for Poles, R for Russians, U for Ukrainians, and so on. Reeducation prisoners (Erziehungshäftlinge) bore the letter E instead of a triangle, and Soviet prisoners of war had the letters SU (Sowjetunion) daubed on their clothing in oil paint. No letter designators were used on German prisoners.