Prisoners under “Preventive Arrest” and in “Preventive Detention”
A little over half of the around 9,200 German prisoners of Neuengamme concentration camp had been imprisoned by the police. These prisoners were classified as “criminals” in accordance with the “Crime Prevention Decree” issued on 14 December 1937. Among them were the first 100 prisoners who arrived in December 1938. In the camp, they were referred to as “professional criminals” and identified by a green triangle. A small number of minor offences, such as petty theft or fraud, was often reason enough for the offenders to be imprisoned in a concentration camp, even if they had already served their sentences. Following an agreement signed by the Minister of Justice Thierack and SS Reich Leader Himmler on 18 September 1942, the judiciary also delivered prisoners into the hands of the SS for “extermination through labor”. From late 1942, these prisoners were referred to as “preventive detainees” at the concentration camp, and they were identified by a green triangle pointing upwards.