The purple armband was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005.
Rectangular, light purple linen armband with the letter V in fraktur font embroidered in white thread in the front center. The band is sewn together by the short edges with a finished back seam. The upper and lower long edges are selvage. There is a faded, official circular stamp with German text stamped in black ink on each side of the V. front center, embroidered, white thread : V [Vlaamse (Flemish)] front left and right,, within both circular stamps, black ink : W. S. Leichtung / Wiener Leichtung [some letters illegible]
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overall: Height: 4.125 inches (10.478 cm) | Width: 7.500 inches (19.05 cm)
Purple armband with a V in fraktur font for Vlaamse [Flemish] to identify a prisoner from the Flanders region of Belgium. Nazi Germany had many systems using armbands or badges to identify a particular group of people, in this case, a Flemish person. These systems made it easier to separate the different types of prisoners from other groups. This was often done to indicate the different levels of privileges or restrictions that were allowed to the group or individual.
Purple armband with a V to identify a prisoner from Flanders