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2nd pattern SS Totenkopf, 1934–45. While different uniforms existed [1] for the SS over time, the all-black SS uniform adopted in 1932 is the most well known. [2] The black–white–red colour scheme was characteristic of the German Empire, and it was later adopted by the Nazi Party.
Totenkopf (German: [ˈtoːtn̩ˌkɔpf], i.e. skull, literally "dead person's head") is the German word for skull. The word is often used to denote a figurative, graphic or sculptural symbol, common in Western culture, consisting of the representation of a human skull – usually frontal, more rarely in profile with or without the mandible.
Tommy – German slang for a British soldier (similar to "Jerry" or "Kraut", the British and American slang terms for Germans). Totenkopf – "death's head", skull and crossbones, also the nickname for the Kampfgeschwader 54 bomber wing of the World War II era Luftwaffe. Tornister – Back pack
Kaiserstandarte (Emperor's standard) of 1871. Gott mit uns ('God [is] with us') is a phrase commonly used in heraldry in Prussia (from 1701) and later by the German military during the periods spanning the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945) and until the 1970s on the belt buckles of the West German police forces.
Since the mid-18th century, skull and crossbones symbols have been officially used in European militaries as badges on uniforms. One of the first regiments to adopt them was the friderizian Hussars in 1741, also known as the "Totenkopfhusaren." From this tradition, the skull became an important symbol in German and later international militaries.
SS-Panzerdivision "Totenkopf") [1] was an elite division of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II, formed from the Standarten of the SS-TV. Its name, Totenkopf, is German for "death's head" – the skull and crossbones symbol – and it is thus sometimes referred to as the Death's Head Division. [2]
Meaning Comments Wolfsangel: Liberty and independence The Wolfsangel ('wolf hook') was used as a heraldic symbol alluding to a wolf trap, and is still found on the municipal arms of a number of German towns and cities. It was adopted by a fifteenth-century peasants' uprising, thus acquiring an association with liberty and independence.
In addition to color-coding, non-German prisoners were marked by the first letter of the German name for their home country or ethnic group. Red triangle with a letter, for example: B (Belgier, Belgians) E (Engländer, "English"; in practice used for all British) F (Franzosen, French) I (Italiener, Italians) J [17] (Jugoslawen, Yugoslavs)