P (Nazi symbol): Difference between revisions
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The '''"P" symbol'''<ref name="FriedlanderMilton1989">{{cite book|first=Henry |last=Friedlander|first2= Sybil |last2=Milton|title=Archives of the Holocaust: an international collection of selected documents|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=4-8MAQAAMAAJ|year=1989|publisher=Garland|isbn=978-0-8240-5483-0|page=725}}</ref> or '''"P" badge"'''<ref name="Herbert1997-8">{{cite book|first=Ulrich |last=Herbert|authorlink=Ulrich Herbert|title=Hitler's Foreign Workers: Enforced Foreign Labor in Germany Under the Third Reich|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=uifw3BgBDU4C&pg=PA8|year=1997|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-47000-1|page=8}}</ref> was introduced on 8 March 1940 by the [[Nazi German]] government with relation to the requirement that [[Poles|Polish]] workers (''[[Zivilarbeiter]]'') [[Forced labor in Germany during World War II|used during World War II as forced laborers in Germany]] (following the [[German invasion of Poland|German invasion and occupation of Poland]]) display a visible symbol marking their ethnic origin. The symbol was introduced with the intent to be used as a cloth patch, which indeed was the most common form, but also reproduced on documents (through stamps) and posters. |
The '''"P" symbol'''<ref name="FriedlanderMilton1989">{{cite book|first=Henry |last=Friedlander|first2= Sybil |last2=Milton|title=Archives of the Holocaust: an international collection of selected documents|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=4-8MAQAAMAAJ|year=1989|publisher=Garland|isbn=978-0-8240-5483-0|page=725}}</ref> or '''"P" badge"'''<ref name="Herbert1997-8">{{cite book|first=Ulrich |last=Herbert|authorlink=Ulrich Herbert|title=Hitler's Foreign Workers: Enforced Foreign Labor in Germany Under the Third Reich|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=uifw3BgBDU4C&pg=PA8|year=1997|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-47000-1|page=8}}</ref> was introduced on 8 March 1940 by the [[Nazi German]] government with relation to the requirement that [[Poles|Polish]] workers (''[[Zivilarbeiter]]'') [[Forced labor in Germany during World War II|used during World War II as forced laborers in Germany]] (following the [[German invasion of Poland|German invasion and occupation of Poland]]) display a visible symbol marking their ethnic origin. The symbol was introduced with the intent to be used as a cloth patch, which indeed was the most common form, but also reproduced on documents (through stamps) and posters. |
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The design was introduced in the [[Polish decrees]] (laws concerning Polish workers in Germany) of 8 March 1940.<ref name="Herbert1997">Ulrich (1997), p. 72.</ref> The symbol was a diamond with sides of five centimeters |
The design was introduced in the [[Polish decrees]] (laws concerning Polish workers in Germany) of 8 March 1940.<ref name="Herbert1997">Ulrich (1997), p. 72.</ref> The symbol was a diamond with sides of five centimeters. The border (about half a centimetre mide) and the letter P (two and a half centimetres tall) were violet, while the inside of the symbol was yellow.<ref name=ss>{{cite book|language=Polish|title=Studia ślas̨kie|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=u6grAQAAIAAJ|year=1966|page=282}}</ref><ref name=pp>{{Cite web|url = http://www.porta-polonica.de/en/Atlas-of-remembrance-places/letter-p|title = The letter „P“|date = |accessdate = 30 June 2015|website = Porta Polonica}}</ref> The letter "P" badge was to be worn on the right breast of every garment worn. Those who did not obey the rules were subject to a fine of up to 150 RM [Reichsmarks] and arrested with a possible penalty of six weeks detention.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Waldemar |last=Maszewski|language=Polish|title = To był pierwszy prawdziwy "widoczny znak"|publisher= Nasz Dziennik|url = http://stary.naszdziennik.pl/index.php?typ=sw&dat=20090309&id=sw11.txt|website = stary.naszdziennik.pl|date=9 March 2009|accessdate = 2015-06-15}}</ref> |
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The choice of color and shape might have been chosen to avoid any association with [[national symbols of Poland]].<ref name=pp/> It was the first official, public badge-like mark intended for identification of individuals based on their racial or ethnic origin (or other social characteristics) introduced in the [[Third Reich]], preceding the better-known "[[yellow badge|Jewish yellow star]]" badge introduced a year later, in September 1941.<ref name="Herbert1997"/> |
The choice of color and shape might have been chosen to avoid any association with [[national symbols of Poland]].<ref name=pp/> It was the first official, public badge-like mark intended for identification of individuals based on their racial or ethnic origin (or other social characteristics) introduced in the [[Third Reich]], preceding the better-known "[[yellow badge|Jewish yellow star]]" badge introduced a year later, in September 1941.<ref name="Herbert1997"/> |
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Revision as of 13:19, 1 July 2015
The "P" symbol[1] or "P" badge"[2] was introduced on 8 March 1940 by the Nazi German government with relation to the requirement that Polish workers (Zivilarbeiter) used during World War II as forced laborers in Germany (following the German invasion and occupation of Poland) display a visible symbol marking their ethnic origin. The symbol was introduced with the intent to be used as a cloth patch, which indeed was the most common form, but also reproduced on documents (through stamps) and posters.
The design was introduced in the Polish decrees (laws concerning Polish workers in Germany) of 8 March 1940.[3] The symbol was a diamond with sides of five centimeters. The border (about half a centimetre mide) and the letter P (two and a half centimetres tall) were violet, while the inside of the symbol was yellow.[4][5] The letter "P" badge was to be worn on the right breast of every garment worn. Those who did not obey the rules were subject to a fine of up to 150 RM [Reichsmarks] and arrested with a possible penalty of six weeks detention.[6]
The choice of color and shape might have been chosen to avoid any association with national symbols of Poland.[5] It was the first official, public badge-like mark intended for identification of individuals based on their racial or ethnic origin (or other social characteristics) introduced in the Third Reich, preceding the better-known "Jewish yellow star" badge introduced a year later, in September 1941.[3]
In January 1945 the Central Office for Reich Security proposed a new design for a Polish badge, a yellow ear of corn on a red and white label, but it was never implemented.[5]
The badge was humiliating,[3][5] and like the similar Jewish symbol, can be seen as a badge of shame.[7]
Examples of usage
-
Arbeitsbuch Für Ausländer (Workbook for Foreigner) identity document issued to a Polish Forced Labourer in 1942 together with a letter "P" patch Poles were required to wear attached to their clothing. -
Anti-Polish poster published by Volksbund für das Deutschtum im Ausland (Association for 'Germanness' abroad) Gauverband Danzig Westpreußen (Association of the "shire or county", Gdansk, West Prussia) -
Young Polish girl wearing Letter "P" patch.
-
Identity card for a Polish forced worker in Germany
_Gauverband_Danzig_Westpreu%C3%9Fen_(Association_of_the_%E2%80%9Cshire_or_county%E2%80%9D,_Gdansk,_West_Prussia).png)
_card_for_Polish_forced_worker.jpg){kind=link}
See also
References
- ^ Friedlander, Henry; Milton, Sybil (1989). Archives of the Holocaust: an international collection of selected documents. Garland. p. 725. ISBN 978-0-8240-5483-0.
- ^ Herbert, Ulrich (1997). Hitler's Foreign Workers: Enforced Foreign Labor in Germany Under the Third Reich. Cambridge University Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-521-47000-1.
- ^ a b c Ulrich (1997), p. 72. Cite error: The named reference "Herbert1997" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Studia ślas̨kie (in Polish). 1966. p. 282.
- ^ a b c d "The letter „P"". Porta Polonica. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
- ^ Maszewski, Waldemar (9 March 2009). "To był pierwszy prawdziwy "widoczny znak"". stary.naszdziennik.pl (in Polish). Nasz Dziennik. Retrieved 2015-06-15.
- ^ D'Ancona, Jacob (2003). The City Of Light. New York: Citadel. pp. 23–24. ISBN 0-8065-2463-4.
But the wearing of a badge or outward sign — whose effect, intended or otherwise, successful or not, was to shame and to make vulnerable as well as to distinguish the wearer…
Further reading
- Bartosz, Julian (1969). Ludzie ze znakiem P. (in Polish). ZakŁad Narodowy im: Ossolińskich.
- Koziełło-Poklewski, Bohdan; Łukaszewicz, Bohdan; Badań Naukowych im. Wojciecha Kętrzyńskiego w Olsztynie, Ośrodek (1985). Ze znakiem "P": relacje i wspomnienia z robót przymusowych w Prusach Wschodnich w latach 2 wojny światowej (in Polish). Ośrodek Badań Naukowych im. Wojciecha Kętrzyńskiego.