All the symbols depicted in the hate symbols database must be evaluated in the context in which they appear. Few symbols represent just one idea or are used exclusively by one group. For example, 100% is often used as an amount or an expression and it is also used by some white supremacists as shorthand for "100% white." Similarly, other symbols in this database may be significant to people who are not extreme or racist. The descriptions here point out significant multiple meanings but may not be able to relay every possible meaning of a particular symbol.

Hate on Display / SS Divisional Insignia

During World War II, Nazi Germany fielded nearly 40 divisions of the so-called Waffen (or armed) SS, creating a private army for SS leader Heinrich Himmler. These divisions fought on every front of the war in Europe, often committing war crimes and atrocities. After the war, the Nuremburg Tribunal declared the SS a criminal organization. However, neo-Nazis and other white supremacists glorified the Waffen SS and eventually began to use the various divisional insignia of these military formations as hate symbols. They even introduced their own variants, taking the outline shapes used in these symbols and inserting other hate symbols or graphics within them.

The divisional insignias are typically represented by a black shield, onto which division-specific symbols are overlaid. Waffen SS panzer (armored) divisions have shields with a “bite” taken out of the top right corner, while panzergrenadier (armored infantry) divisions have shields with a similar “bite” removed from the top left corner. Mountain and cavalry divisions have a “bite” removed from the top center, while infantry divisions simply had level tops. Some of these specific designs may actually have originated only after World War II, created by SS veteran organizations.