Short answers, pulled from the story.
Totenkopf literally translates to "dead one's head" and names a skull symbol, often paired with crossed thigh bones. The general German word for a skull, Schädel, carries no military or symbolic associations.
Julius Schreck, leader of Adolf Hitler's bodyguard unit the Stabswache, resurrected the Totenkopf as its insignia in the early days of the Nazi Party. The Stabswache grew into the Schutzstaffel, or SS, which made the skull its universal cap badge, and the SS-Totenkopfverbände wore it on their collar tabs while administering the concentration and extermination camps.
Frederick the Great's Husaren-Regiment Nr. 5, commanded by Colonel von Ruesch, wore black uniforms with a Totenkopf on their mirlitons. The regiment carried the emblem into the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War before being reformed into the Leib-Husaren Regiments Nr. 1 and Nr. 2 in 1808.
Some accounts say the Black Brunswickers wore the badge in mourning for Duke Frederick William's father, Charles William Ferdinand, who was killed at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt in 1806. Other sources describe it as a sign of revenge against the French.
Graham Platner is a Marine Corps veteran and oyster farmer running for the Democratic nomination in Maine's 2026 United States Senate election. In October 2025 a chest tattoo of his, gotten in Croatia in 2007, was identified as resembling the Nazi Totenkopf, prompting scrutiny and the resignation of several senior campaign staff.
The plain skull and crossbones functions internationally as a hazard symbol for poisonous substances. It is also the logo of Craft International, founded by Chris Kyle, the namesake for the Wolfenstein villain Wilhelm "Deathshead" Strasse, and a symbol used by the band Death in June.