Totenkopf | EPFL Graph Search

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Totenkopf (ˈtoːtn̩ˌkɔpf, i.e. skull, literally "dead person's head") is the German word for skull, it's 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. In some cases, other human skeletal parts may be added to the depiction of the head skeleton; especially often includes two crossed long-bones (femurs) depicted below or behind the skull. It is an old international symbol for death, the defiance of death, danger, or the dead, as well as piracy or toxicity. In English, the term Totenkopf is commonly associated with 19th- and 20th-century German military use, particularly in Nazi Germany. In early modern sea warfare, buccaneers used the Totenkopf as a pirate flag: a skull or other skeletal parts as a death threat and as a demand to hand over a ship. The symbol continues to be used by modern navies. Image: Pirate Flag of Rack Rackham.svg | [[Jack Rackham | Calico Jack Rackham]]'s flag Image: Pirate Flag of Emanuel Wynne.svg | [[Emanuel Wynne]]'s flag Image: Pirate Flag of Stede Bonnet.svg | [[Stede Bonnet]]'s flag Image: Pirate_Death's_Head_Flag.svg | Depiction of Stede Bonnet's flag as described in a report from the 1718 Boston News-Letter{{cite web| title = Pirate Flags| author = Ed Foxe| date = 2005-01-17| url = http://www.bonaventure.org.uk/ed/flags.htm| access-date = 2007-07-12| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080115071330/http://www.bonaventure.org.uk/ed/flags.htm| archive-date = 2008-01-15}} Image: Flag of Edward England.svg | [[Edward England]]'s flag Image: Marine_Raiders_insignia.svg | Insignia for the [[United States Marine Corps|USMC]] [[Marine Raiders]] Use of the Totenkopf as a military emblem began under Frederick the Great, who formed a regiment of Hussar cavalry in the Prussian army commanded by Colonel von Ruesch, the Husaren-Regiment Nr. 5 (von Ruesch).

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Related concepts (14)

Ordnungspolizei

The Ordnungspolizei (ˈɔʁdnʊŋspoliˌtsaɪ), abbreviated Orpo, meaning "Order Police", were the uniformed police force in Nazi Germany from 1936 to 1945. The Orpo organisation was absorbed into the Nazi monopoly on power after regional police jurisdiction was removed in favour of the central Nazi government ("Reich-ification", Verreichlichung, of the police). The Orpo was controlled nominally by the Interior Ministry, but its executive functions rested with the leadership of the SS until the end of World War II.

Totenkopf

Black

Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have often been used to describe opposites such as good and evil, the Dark Ages versus Age of Enlightenment, and night versus day. Since the Middle Ages, black has been the symbolic color of solemnity and authority, and for this reason it is still commonly worn by judges and magistrates.