Final answer:
Prisoners in Nazi concentration camps were identified by tattoos, colored badges, and clothing markings, with tattoos being unique to Auschwitz. Different colored triangles indicated categories of prisoners, who were subjected to slave labor and executions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Within the Nazi concentration camps, prisoners were identified by several means, including numbered tattoos, colored badges, and sometimes clothing markings. The most infamous example of identification was the implementation of tattoos at Auschwitz, where those not sent immediately to gas chambers were marked with an identifying number. This practice was unique to Auschwitz as other camps employed different systems, knowing that many prisoners would not survive long enough to necessitate permanent identification.
Additionally, prisoners were categorized by different colored triangles: red for political prisoners, green for criminals, pink for homosexual individuals, purple for Jehovah's Witnesses, black for asocials or Roma, and yellow for Jewish individuals, which could be combined with other colors to indicate mixed categories. In some camps, specific insignia were used to denote prisoner function, such as a kapo (a prisoner overseer).
Prisoners were often subjected to horrific conditions, and the organizing system served the purpose of managing slave labor and carrying out mass executions. Different categories of prisoners were treated differently, with non-Jewish prisoners sometimes given 'preferential' work positions. Moreover, the camps were designed not only for forced labor but ultimately for the systematic extermination of targeted groups.