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In reply to the discussion: What, exactly, makes Platner's skull and crossbones Nazi? [View all]WarGamer
(18,913 posts)9. He didn't have a jolly rogers tattoo lol
He had a Nazi Germany SS Totenkopf logo
https://www.adl.org/resources/hate-symbol/totenkopf
"Totenkopf" is German for "death's head" or skull and typically refers to a skull-and-crossbones image. During the Nazi era, Hitler's Schutzstaffel (SS) adopted one particular Totenkopf image as a symbol. Among other uses, it became the symbol of the SS-Totenkopfverbande (one of the original three branches of the SS, along with the Algemeine SS and the Waffen SS), whose purpose was to guard the concentration camps. Many original members of this organization were later transferred into and became the core of a Waffen SS division, the 3rd SS "Totenkopf" Panzer Division, which engaged in a number of war crimes during World War II.
Following the war, neo-Nazis and other white supremacists resurrected the Totenkopf as a hate symbol because of its importance to the SS and it has been a common hate symbol since. It is this particular image of a skull and crossbones that is considered a hate symbol, not any image of a skull and crossbones.
there were slight variations because 80 years ago, no digital files etc...

https://prnt.sc/yDvEtKTfbk1-
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The SS totenkopf looks different than a typical pirate "skull and bones."
WhiskeyGrinder
Saturday
#3
It could well be that the self-described "military buff" accidently had a Nazi tattoo for 20 years
lapucelle
Saturday
#10
It's bewildering that Platner told CNN that he has never been "close to money" given his personal biography.
lapucelle
17 hrs ago
#69
That some people do not recognize a symbol does not change the historical fact of the symbol.
sarisataka
Saturday
#22
But if the person with the tatoo did not recognize it as a historical symbol, that's super relevant. nt
LAS14
Saturday
#51
I can see two young marines in a different country that are a little bit drunk or tipsy
oldmanlynn
Saturday
#8
I can too....but having it for almost 20 years without knowing what it was I believe less..ymmv
EX500rider
Saturday
#15
I am concerned if he knew what it was and then flat out lied that he did, that speaks to character IMO
EX500rider
Saturday
#19
as a kid I remember seeing it on cheap belt buckles and rings in Johnson Smith Catalog
eShirl
Saturday
#17
Totenkoph is German meaning Deaths Head. It was the official symbol of the Nazi SS.
LetMyPeopleVote
Saturday
#32
Yes, it's an iron cross which was worn on Nazi uniforms. Is it exclusively a Nazi symbol? No.
meadowlander
Saturday
#62