Object numberM2000/018:003
DescriptionUncut, yellow cloth Star of David with 'Jood' (Dutch for Jew). Purchased from a collector and lacking provenance, this item is most likely a forgery.
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.
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.
Subjectstigma, insignia, segregation, fakes
Object nameyellow Star of David
Dimensions
- length: 130.00 mm
width: 115.00 mm
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Julia Myers