1961 East German GDR Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial Red Triangle Pin Badge

The pin badge is a silver-toned metal inverted triangle featuring a height of 4cm. The item is secured on the reverse by a vertically aligned safety pin fastener attached with a square mounting bracket onto a heavily textured white-metal backing.
The visual layout features a striking geometric composition presenting the iconic layout of the Sachsenhausen memorial site. Superimposed on a dual-textured field is a prominent vertical pillar motif pierced near the apex by four distinct rows of small triangular cutouts. This central obelisk is flanked by stylized representations of structural stone masonry and walls, while the lower tapering section of the shield houses the stamped, clean German inscription "SACHSENHAUSEN 1961" set in raised block characters against a dimpled background.


Dating from 1961, this commemorative insignia was produced in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) to mark the official inauguration and opening of the Sachsenhausen National Memorial Site (Nationale Mahn- und Gedenkstätte). The design directly mirrors the massive 40-meter tall liberation obelisk erected at the center of the former concentration camp, where the red triangles historically forced upon political prisoners by the Nazi regime were integrated by state architects into a symbol of anti-fascist resistance and commemoration. This profoundly historic piece offers exceptional material context into Cold War memorialization practices and European political history, which you can explore further across our selections of historical memorial badges and East German commemorative insignias.

In Nazi concentration camps like Sachsenhausen, the SS implemented a strict, color-coded categorization system sewn onto prisoner uniforms. The inverted red triangle was the mandatory badge used to identify political opponents of the Nazi regime. This category primarily included communists, socialists, trade unionists, anarchists, and resistance fighters who openly defied the state