Red triangle (badge)

The red triangle is a reclaimed symbol representing opposition to fascism and resistance to Nazi Germany's military occupation of Europe during World War Two.^[1] The origin was a Nazi concentration camp badge, used to categorise prisoners. It was worn in two instances. Worn upright, the badge was applied to prisoners within the jurisdiction of Wehrmacht, e.g. of prisoners of war, spies, and military deserters.^[2] As a red inverted triangle, the badge was worn by political prisoners.^[1][3][4][5] The Nazis chose red because the first people to have to wear it were Communists. Besides Communists, liberals, anarchists, Social Democrats, Freemasons, and other opposition party members also wore a red triangle.^[4] After the war the red triangle symbol was reclaimed as a symbol of resistance against the German occupation of Europe during the war, similar to the way that the pink triangle used to mark gay prisoners became a symbol of LGBTQ pride.^[1]

anti-fascist inverted red triangle

Strafbataillon military prisoner badge

Uniform of a Belgian political prisoner in Dachau concentration camp displayed at the National Museum of the Resistance

Before Nazi Germany

There are some examples of similar looking symbols being used in far-left politics in the early 20th century. A red triangle or "red wedge" features on some early communist posters. A red wedge appeared in a 1919 soviet propaganda poster by constructivist artist El Lissitzky titled "Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge", referring to the anti-communist White movement, who were defeated by the Red Army during the Russian Civil War.^[6]

The image was allegedly namesake of the 1980s British left-wing musical collective Red Wedge, they opposed British conservatives but did not describe themselves as communist.^[7][8] A variant of the image by El Lissitzky is used as the logo for the "Peacekeepers" on Sci-Fi TV show Farscape.

Left: Nikolai Kolli, The Red Wedge, 1918. Right: Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge 1919 poster by El Lissitzky.^[a]

Opponents of the Nazi Party

Further information: First They Came, Communist Party of Germany, and Nazi concentration camp badge § Single triangles

The Reichstag fire arson attack on the German parliament building in 1933 was used to justify the passage of the Enabling Act.

Nazi SA guard shut-down trade union headquarters in Berlin, on 2 May 1933.

In a 2024 article about the origins of the red triangle symbol, Germany's public broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported, "At first, the majority of political inmates were German Social Democrats or Communists and the red of the triangle referred to their party colors … most were non-Germans from across the political spectrum who had opposed National Socialism or Nazi Germany's occupation of their countries", paraphrasing Jens-Christian Wagner, the director of the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation.^[1]

Reichstag fire and Enabling Act of 1933

Further information: 1933 in Germany, Reichstag fire, Reichstag Fire Decree, and Enabling Act of 1933

See also: Accusation in a mirror, 2023 judicial reform, reactions in 2023, 2025 judicial reform, and The Brown Book of the Reichstag Fire and Hitler Terror

A pivotal moment was the 27 February 1933 Reichstag fire, a terrorist attack on the German parliament building.^[9] Contrary to speculation, it was not a false flag conspiracy by the Nazis, the Nazis opportunistically used the a real event to their advantage.^[10] Goering also insisted that the communique inflate the number of terrorists involved, claiming there were ten despite the sole attacker being a repeat offender who was entirely capable of carrying out the attack alone.^{[11][additional citation(s) needed]} The Nazis used the public panic that followed the fire to fuel anti-communism.^[12]

The 1933 power grab by the Nazi party has been associated with modern political events, particularly the Presidency of Donald Trump in the United States and the 2023 Israeli judicial reform (eventually passed in 2025).^{[13][14][15][16]} Professor Daniel Blatman, a historian of the Holocaust at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, stated in a February 2023 interview with Haaretz that the situation surrounding the proposed judicial reform at the time, "Really Does Recall Germany in 1933", and referred to the more extreme ministers of the government as "neo-Nazi".^[16] Israeli journalists and others repeated or elaborated on Blatman's compassion.^[17][18] In a 2017 essay titled "The Reichstag Fire Next Time: The coming crackdown" Russian-American journalist M. Gessen wrote, "The Reichstag fire, it goes almost without saying, will be a terrorist attack, and it will mark our sudden, obvious, and irreversible descent into autocracy".^[19]

Nazi persecution of left-wing opponents

See also: Victims of Nazi Germany § Communists and other leftists

Nazi crackdowns on their left wing political enemies started very early. As depicted in the famous, but often misquoted, poem First They Came by Martin Niemöller, a German priest, that begins, "When the Nazis came for the communists, I kept quiet; I wasn't a communist", (German: Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten).^[20] The opening is sometimes paraphrased as, "first they came for the communists".^[21]

The original German language poem by Martin Niemöller [20]	First They Came
Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Kommunist. Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter. Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat. Als sie die Juden einsperrten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Jude. Als sie mich holten, gab es keinen mehr, der protestieren konnte.	First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Communist Then 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 out for me
Martin-Niemöller-Haus Berlin-Dahlem [de].[20]	Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (UK)[22]

Red triangles and number (28320) on Dachau clothing (photo by Adam Jones)

Sachsenhausen clothing with a letter F (French) in a red triangle and number (65308)

Schematics of the triangle-based badge system in use at Nazi concentration camps

The red triangle badge in Nazi concentration camps

Further information: Nazi concentration camp badge, Nazi concentration camps, Buchenwald Resistance, and Resistance during World War II

See also: Protective custody (Nazi Germany) and Strafbataillon

A red inverted triangle was worn by political prisoners in Nazi concentration camps.^[23][24][25]

German communists were among the first to be imprisoned in concentration camps.^[26][27] Their ties to the USSR concerned Hitler, and the Nazi Party was intractably opposed to communism. Rumors of communist violence were spread by the Nazis to justify the Enabling Act of 1933, which gave Hitler his first dictatorial powers. Hermann Göring testified at Nuremberg that Nazi willingness to repress German Communists prompted Hindenburg and the old elite to cooperate with them. Hitler and the Nazis also despised German leftists because of their resistance to Nazi racism. Hitler referred to Marxism and "Bolshevism" as means for "the international Jew" to undermine "racial purity", stir up class tension and mobilize trade unions against the government and business. When the Nazis occupied a territory, communists, socialists and anarchists were usually among the first to be repressed; this included summary executions. An example is Hitler's Commissar Order, in which he demanded the summary execution of all Soviet troops who were political commissars who offered resistance or were captured in battle.^{[28][verification needed]}

Many red triangle wearers were interned at Dachau concentration camp.^{[citation needed]}

Later this expanded and many political detainees were German and foreign civilian activists from across the political spectrum who opposed the Nazi regime, captured resistances fighters (many of whom were executed during—or immediately after—their interrogation, particularly in occupied Poland and France) and, sometimes, their families. German political prisoners were a substantial proportion of the first inmates at Dachau (the prototypical Nazi concentration camp). The political People's Court was notorious for the number of its death sentences.^[29][30]

Prisoner category badges at Nazi concentration camps

German Federal Archives

USHMM, USA

Badge worn by Lidia Główczewska [pl] in Stutthof with a letter P (Polish) in a red triangle and number (29659).

Left and middle: F on red triangle on Buchenwald clothing of Dr. Joseph Brau [fr] (photo by Dominique Brau)

After WWII

Further information: anti-fascism, Anti-Fascist Action, Anti-Nazi League, and Anti-Nazi resistance

Since the end of World War Two the red triangle has been used as an anti-fascist symbol.^[31]

Museums

Many examples of political prisoner uniforms are displayed at museums that educate about and memorialise victims of Nazi persecution as well as honour those who actively opposed Nazisism and fascism, such as those in irregular non-state militias opposing occupying German military. The National Museum of the Resistance in Belgium has exhibits about those who fought against the German occupation of Belgium during World War II.

Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime – Federation of Antifascists

Main article: Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime – Federation of Antifascists

See also: International Federation of Resistance Fighters – Association of Anti-Fascists

Logo of the VVN-BdA

Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime – Federation of Antifascists (VVN-BdA)

The Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime – Federation of Antifascists (German: Vereinigung der Verfolgten des Naziregimes – Bund der Antifaschistinnen und Antifaschisten, VVN-BdA) is a German political confederation founded in 1947 and based in Berlin. The VVN-BdA, formerly the VVN, emerged from victims' associations in Germany founded by political opponents to Nazism after the Second World War and the end of the Nazi rule in Germany.^{[verification needed]}

With the end of World War II, self-help groups of former resistance fighters were founded in "anti-fascist committees", known as "Antifas", involving working class militants, in particular but not only Communists^{[32][33][34][35]} which were banned immediately by the military administrations of each of the British and American occupation zones for being far politically left.^[36][37] By June 26, 1945, an "association of political prisoners and persecutees of the Nazi system" had been founded in Stuttgart, and in the following weeks and months, there were regional groups of ex-political prisoners and other persecuted individuals formed with the permission of the allied forces, in each of the four occupation zones.^[38]

VVN memorials to Nazi concentration camps

VVN memorial in Teltow with a red triangle to symbolize political prisoners.

Neustadt-Glewe concentration camp

Wöbbelin memorial stone

Use in East Germany (Deutsche Demokratische Republik)

Main article: Committee of Antifascist Resistance Fighters

Committee of Antifascist Resistance Fighters

From 1975 onwards, the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR, also known as East Germany) released a medal for the "Committee of Antifascist Resistance Fighters" German: Komitee der Antifaschistischen Widerstandskämpfer of the GDR that included a red triangle.^[39] The Committee of Antifascist Resistance Fighters (KdAW) was formed in 1953. Practically speaking, it functioned as the East German counterpart of the Union of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime (Vereinigung der Verfolgten des Naziregimes). The KdAW enjoyed a close relationship with the Socialist Unity Party, although it was not a member of the National Front.^{[verification needed]} The organization played an important role in the commemoration of German resistance to Nazism and The Holocaust in East Germany.^[40] East Germany utilized such commemorative functions to emphasize the anti-fascist orientation of the state.^[41] Membership in the KdAW served as a means of accessing benefits. For instance, membership made one eligible to receive the Medal for Fighters Against Fascism.^[42] It also contained a number of working groups, which brought people with similar backgrounds together. The most prominent of these were groups for survivors of various concentration camps and prisons; for example one existed for former prisoners of Brandenburg-Görden Prison. Another working group was formed for veterans of the International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War.^[43]

Service medals

Further information: Nazi concentration camps; Poland in World War II; and Orders, decorations, and medals of Belgium § World War II

See also: Revolt in Auschwitz 7 October 1944

Political Prisoner's Cross 1940–1945 and Auschwitz Cross

B-triangle (Belgium) on the Political Prisoner's Cross.

P (Polish) on the Auschwitz Cross.

Reverse of the Auschwitz Cross.

The Auschwitz Cross, a Polish medal for camp victims and the Political Prisoner's Cross 1940–1945, a Belgian medal both show a red triangle with a nationality indicator, and the ribbons replicate the striped fabric of some camp uniforms.

Service medals awarded to prisoners of war and other camp inmates after WWII feature the triangle thar was used on prisoners' uniformsms.

The Political Prisoner's Cross 1940–1945 (French: Croix du Prisonnier Politique 1940–1945, Dutch: Politieke Gevangenkruis 1940–1945) was a Belgian war medal established by royal decree of the Regent on 13 November 1947 and awarded to Belgian citizens arrested and interned by the Germans as political prisoners during the Second World War. The award's statute included provisions for posthumous award should the intended recipient not survive detention, and the right of the widow, the mother or the father of the deceased to wear the cross.^[44]

The Auschwitz Cross (Polish: Krzyż Oświęcimski), instituted on 14 March 1985, was a Polish decoration awarded to honour survivors of Nazi German concentration camps, including Auschwitz.^[45] Auschwitz is a German name for the Polish town Oświęcim, where a complex of concentration camps was built by Nazi Germany during the German occupation of Europe during WWII.^{[additional citation(s) needed]} It was awarded generally to Poles, but it was possible to award it to foreigners in special cases. It could be awarded posthumously. It ceased to be awarded in 1999. An exception was made in the case of Greta Ferušić, who was awarded it in February 2004.^[46] Some of the people awarded the medal were Jewish, including Szymon Kluger (Shimson Kleuger).^[47]

The red triangle on memorials

See also: Forced labor in Nazi concentration camps and Forced labour under German rule during World War II

In addition to the Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime – Federation of Antifascists (VVN-BdA) memorials above, the red triangle also features on numerous other war memorials in Europe. War memorials featuring the red triangle symbol exist in Germany and in areas of Europe that were occupied by Germany during World War Two.^[1]

Memorial on the grounds of Sachsenhausen concentration camp

Memorials to Ravensbrück

Left: Boulder in Lindenring memorializing 2,000 women victims of the death camp. Right: Monument in Grabow-Below for Ravensbrück death march.

Memorial to French victims of Dachau Concentration Camp at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

• 
  Cap Arcona incident memorial
• 
  Memorial to forced labor deaths at the truck factory in Zittau, Germany.
• 
  P-triangle on a memorial in Zgorzelec, Poland.

Holocaust death march (Todesmarsch) memorials and markers

Mittelbau-Dora death march roadside tablet showing the date under a red triangle

Buchenwald death march route historical marker

Sachsenhausen death march route historical marker

Ongoing anti-fascist usage

See also: Searchlight (magazine) and Anti-Fascist Action

After the war the red triangle symbol was reclaimed as a symbol of resistance against the German occupation of Europe during the war, similar to the way that the pink triangle used to mark gay prisoners became a symbol of LGBTQ pride.^[1]

2020 Trump campaign advertisements against antifa

Further information: Antifa (United States), Fascism in the United States, and Donald Trump presidential campaign

In his second term Trump again tried to use terrorist designations very broadly, to target drug cartels in Central America.^[48]

In 2020, Donald Trump's election campaign included an advertisement on social media saying that he would make "Antifa" (short for anti-fascism) a "designated terrorist" group. The advertisement showed the red triangle as an antifa symbol.^[49] In his second term Trump again tried to use terrorist designations very broadly, to target drug cartels in Central America.^[50]

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.^[51][52][53]

As an example of the public outcry against the use of the downward-pointing red triangle, as reported by MotherJones, the Twitter account (@jewishaction),^[54] the account of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action,^[55] 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"^[56]

Facebook removed the campaign ads with the graphic, saying that its use in this context violated their policy against "organized hate".^{[57][58][59][60][61][62]} The Trump campaign's communications director wrote, "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.^[63]

Propaganda videos from the Gaza war

Main articles: Red triangle (Palestinian symbol), Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, Gaza war, and Gaza genocide

See also: Qassam Brigades, Mujahideen Brigades, Flag of the Arab Revolt, Flag of the Arab Federation, and Arab Nationalist Movement

Some sources have suggested that the inverted red triangle symbol used by Hamas in its propaganda videos is reminiscent of the same red triangle used by the Nazis, with regards to antisemitism during the Gaza war. However, the Nazis used the inverted red triangle to identify prisoners with political views opposed to Nazism, not necessarily Jewish prisoners.^[64][65] However, some have compared Palestinian resistance to Ghetto uprisings.^[66][67]

Other uses

There have been other uses of similar symbols thar are not closely connected to World War Two:

• A red triangle symbol has been used to indicate family planning services.
• The red triangle outline used by the YMCA. It is part of the "Y" in their usual logo, but was also used by itself on a badge for "Red Triangle Day" in about 1917.^[68]
• The red triangle pointing upwards was used by the Iraqi Republican Guard that existed from 1969 until 2003.
• In the logo of Yamada Denki

See also

• Anti-fascism – Opposition to fascism
  • Antifa (United States) – Anti-fascist political activist movement
  • Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime – Federation of Antifascists
• Antifaschistische Aktion – Anti-fascist militant group in Germany
• Anti-antisemitism in Germany – Opposition to antisemitism in German institutions
• Anti-Germans – Theoretical and political trend in the left and liberals mainly in Germany and Austria
• Aktion Arbeitsscheu Reich – Waves of Nazi arrests of people deemed "socially undesirable"
• Black Panthers (Israel) – Protest movement
• Bundism – Secular Jewish socialist movement
• Communist Party of Germany – Political party in Germany (1919–1946/1956)
• Historiography of German resistance to Nazism
• Identification in Nazi camps – Prisoners' camp identification numbers, cloth emblems, and armbandsPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Nazi concentration camp badge § Single triangles
  • Black triangle (badge) – Nazi concentration camp badge for "asocials"
  • Blue triangle – Cloth emblems; part of the system of identification in Nazi campsPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Brown triangle – Genocide against Romani in Europe during World War IIPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Green triangle – Cloth emblems; part of the system of identification in Nazi campsPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • P (Nazi symbol) – Sign for Polish workers during the NS-Regime in Nazi Germany
  • Pink triangle – Symbol for the LGBTQIA+ community
  • Yellow badge – Badge forced to be worn by Jews at various times in history
• Persecution of Chinese people in Nazi Germany
• Red Army Faction – West German far-left militant organisation (1970–1998)
• Reichstag fire – 1933 arson attack in Berlin, Germany