German Political Prisoners

Many of the German prisoners were incarcerated on political grounds. Communists made up the largest portion of the political prisoners, but there were also Social Democrats, some Liberals and Conservatives, and even some former followers of the NSDAP. Others were imprisoned by the Gestapo because they had made critical remarks about the regime, had listened to foreign radio stations or had told political jokes. Prior to their imprisonment in Neuengamme, many of the political prisoners in “protective custody” had already spent several years in other concentration camps or prisons following convictions for offences such as “preparing high treason”. Prisoners who had been arrested several times ("political recidivists") were identified by a red bar on top of the red triangle on their uniform. The total number of German political prisoners in Neuengamme (excluding the police prisoners) is estimated at between 1,000 and 1,500.