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''Totenkopf'' (lit. "skull") is the German word for the skull and crossbones and death's head symbols. The Totenkopf symbol is an old international symbol for death, the defiance of death, danger, or the dead, as well as piracy. It consists usually of the human skull with or without the mandible and often includes two crossed long-bones (femurs), most often depicted with the crossbones being ''behind'' some part of the skull. It is commonly associated with 19th- and 20th-century German military use. Prominent use of the symbol by Nazi ''SS'' forces during World War II as German ''Einsatzgruppen'' death squads undertook the Holocaust caused a widespread decline in its use and a secondary association with political extremism, although several groups and individuals continued using it despite the linkage (or, in some cases, welcoming it). ==Etymology== ''Toten-Kopf'' translates literally to "dead's head", construed broadly as a "dead person's head". Semantically, it refers to a skull, literally a ''Schädel''. As a term, ''Totenkopf'' connotes the human skull as a symbol, typically one with crossed thigh bones as part of a grouping. Contemporary German language meaning of the word Totenkopf has not changed for at least two centuries. For example, the German poet Clemens Brentano (b. 1778 – d. 1842) wrote in the story ''"Baron Hüpfenstich"'': "Lauter Totenbeine und Totenköpfe, die standen oben herum ..."〔(Clemens Brentano: Baron Hüpfenstich - Chapter 2 ) (Projekt Gutenberg-DE)〕 (i.e. "A lot of bones and skulls, they were placed above ..."). The common translation of "Totenkopf" as ''death's head'' is incorrect; it would be ''Todeskopf'', but no such word is in use. The English term death squad is called ''Todesschwadron'', not ''Totenschwadron''. It would be a logical fallacy to conclude that usage varies only because of the German naming of the Death's-head Hawkmoth, which is called ''Skull Hawkmoth'' (''Totenkopfschwärmer'') in German, in the same way that it would be a fallacy to conclude that the German word ''Nachtkerze'' (i.e. night candle) would mean Willowherb, just because the Willowherb Hawkmoth is called ''Night Candle Hawkmoth'' (''Nachtkerzenschwärmer'') in German. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Totenkopf」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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