Object numberM1992/001
DescriptionYellow cloth Star of David badge with the word 'Jude' (Jew) printed in the centre in black lettering. It was worn by Rudolf (Rudi) Bloch in Theresienstadt.
Before World War II Rudolf Bloch (born 26 August 1909; died 23 May 1977) lived in Prague, with his parents, Josef and Ida Bloch, and his sister Stella Nolas (neé Bloch).
He married Christina Bloch (born 1910; died in Sydney 2012).
They were a “non-privileged intermarried” couple where the non-Jewish “Aryan” spouse was the wife. They had no children. Intermarried couples betrayed the concept of a clear separation of “Aryans” and the Jewish population. While the Nuremberg Laws were a first attempt to define this group, it was also concerned with how to categorise and treat “mixed marriages.” They continued to, “challenge National Socialist ideology and created discord among bureaucrats and policy makers” (Raggam-Belsch, 2019, p. 384).
As a “non-privileged intermarried” couple they would have been subjected to similar treatment as the general Jewish population—suffering social isolation, discriminated against, and trying to cope with the destruction of their economic livelihood. They were excluded from staple foods (milk, eggs, meat, wheat products), evicted from their home and forced to live in underheated, dilapidated and overcrowded Judenhäuser (Jew houses), often living in one room with complete strangers. The Jewish partner—in this case Rudolf— was forced to wear the yellow Star of David (Collection number: 1992/001).
While being exposed to the same anti-Jewish legislation and persecution, “mixed marriages” were deferred from deportation, as long as the marriage with the “Aryan” spouse remained intact. They must have feared for their lives since the Nazis could always change the rules, as they often did.
On 25 February 1945, Rudolf was deported to Theresienstadt on transport AE 4 – 97 from Prague. He must have been amongst some 5200 Jews—living in “mixed marriages”—who were deported there in early 1945. “These transports were organised by local branches of the RSHA (IV B4) (German Security Service), to finally solve the problem of “mixed marriages” and declare their cities ‘free of Jews’ [Kwiet, Konrad. June 2020 Private communication].
On 8 May 1945 Germany capitulated. Theresienstadt was liberated by Soviet soldiers. Rudolf returned to Prague where he was reunited with Christina. At some point they made the decision to emigrate to Australia. They arrived in Sydney on the Toscana on 17 March 1948 (NAA).
History of the yellow star:
Since the Middle Ages Jews had been intermittently forced to wear markings that separated them from the general population. Signalling a return to such discrimination in Nazi occupied Poland in October 1939, the Jews of Wloclawek were forced to wear a yellow badge. Similar initiatives occurred throughout occupied Poland, and on the 23 November 1939, a general order was issued that all Polish Jews over the age of 11 wear a white armband with a blue Star of David. In September 1941, the Nazis introduced a yellow star in Germany. This Jewish badge became the distinguishing emblem that Jews in Nazi Germany and Nazi-occupied countries were forced to wear to enable their debasement and identification as Jews.
This regulation required all Jews over the age of six to wear a yellow, six-pointed star, the size of a fist, on the left side of the breast, with ‘Jude’ inscribed on it in black. The date of its application, as well as the word embossed on it, varied across Nazi-occupied territories. In occupied France, the decree to wear the yellow star inscribed with ‘Juif’ (Jew), came into effect on 3 June 1942; in the Netherlands, the yellow star was inscribed with Jood (Jew), issued on 29 April 1942, and in Bulgaria, the distinctive sign for a Jew/Jewess took the form of a yellow and black button sewn onto clothing, issued in August 1942. In some countries like Hungary, Romania and Moldavia Jews wore yellow stars without any lettering. The distinctive mark imposed on Jews became an integral part of the preparation for the Final Solution.
Before World War II Rudolf Bloch (born 26 August 1909; died 23 May 1977) lived in Prague, with his parents, Josef and Ida Bloch, and his sister Stella Nolas (neé Bloch).
He married Christina Bloch (born 1910; died in Sydney 2012).
They were a “non-privileged intermarried” couple where the non-Jewish “Aryan” spouse was the wife. They had no children. Intermarried couples betrayed the concept of a clear separation of “Aryans” and the Jewish population. While the Nuremberg Laws were a first attempt to define this group, it was also concerned with how to categorise and treat “mixed marriages.” They continued to, “challenge National Socialist ideology and created discord among bureaucrats and policy makers” (Raggam-Belsch, 2019, p. 384).
As a “non-privileged intermarried” couple they would have been subjected to similar treatment as the general Jewish population—suffering social isolation, discriminated against, and trying to cope with the destruction of their economic livelihood. They were excluded from staple foods (milk, eggs, meat, wheat products), evicted from their home and forced to live in underheated, dilapidated and overcrowded Judenhäuser (Jew houses), often living in one room with complete strangers. The Jewish partner—in this case Rudolf— was forced to wear the yellow Star of David (Collection number: 1992/001).
While being exposed to the same anti-Jewish legislation and persecution, “mixed marriages” were deferred from deportation, as long as the marriage with the “Aryan” spouse remained intact. They must have feared for their lives since the Nazis could always change the rules, as they often did.
On 25 February 1945, Rudolf was deported to Theresienstadt on transport AE 4 – 97 from Prague. He must have been amongst some 5200 Jews—living in “mixed marriages”—who were deported there in early 1945. “These transports were organised by local branches of the RSHA (IV B4) (German Security Service), to finally solve the problem of “mixed marriages” and declare their cities ‘free of Jews’ [Kwiet, Konrad. June 2020 Private communication].
On 8 May 1945 Germany capitulated. Theresienstadt was liberated by Soviet soldiers. Rudolf returned to Prague where he was reunited with Christina. At some point they made the decision to emigrate to Australia. They arrived in Sydney on the Toscana on 17 March 1948 (NAA).
History of the yellow star:
Since the Middle Ages Jews had been intermittently forced to wear markings that separated them from the general population. Signalling a return to such discrimination in Nazi occupied Poland in October 1939, the Jews of Wloclawek were forced to wear a yellow badge. Similar initiatives occurred throughout occupied Poland, and on the 23 November 1939, a general order was issued that all Polish Jews over the age of 11 wear a white armband with a blue Star of David. In September 1941, the Nazis introduced a yellow star in Germany. This Jewish badge became the distinguishing emblem that Jews in Nazi Germany and Nazi-occupied countries were forced to wear to enable their debasement and identification as Jews.
This regulation required all Jews over the age of six to wear a yellow, six-pointed star, the size of a fist, on the left side of the breast, with ‘Jude’ inscribed on it in black. The date of its application, as well as the word embossed on it, varied across Nazi-occupied territories. In occupied France, the decree to wear the yellow star inscribed with ‘Juif’ (Jew), came into effect on 3 June 1942; in the Netherlands, the yellow star was inscribed with Jood (Jew), issued on 29 April 1942, and in Bulgaria, the distinctive sign for a Jew/Jewess took the form of a yellow and black button sewn onto clothing, issued in August 1942. In some countries like Hungary, Romania and Moldavia Jews wore yellow stars without any lettering. The distinctive mark imposed on Jews became an integral part of the preparation for the Final Solution.
Production date 1940 - 1945
SubjectHolocaust, concentration camps, antisemitism, stigma
Object nameyellow Star of David
Dimensions
- whole width: 75.00 mm
height: 95.00 mm
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Mrs Krista Bloch