N° d'objetM1992/032:001
DescriptionYellow cloth Star of David badge, with the word 'Jude' printed in the centre. This is the Star which Judy Lachowicz wore in Oederan and Theresienstadt concentration camps. Like all Jews, Judith was required to wear it as an identifier on her outer garment. She recalls: “And because we did not get enough, I remember my mother used to put a lining underneath the star, and put small buttons, so we could transfer the star from one coat to the other because we did not have enough stars to put on all our clothes. Even when we were already in the camp at Theresienstadt, we still had to wear the Star."
Judith (Judy) Nachum (nee Lachowitz) was born in Teplice-Sanov, Czechoslovakia in July 1928, the daughter of Leopold and Hedwig Lachowitz. Ten years later, on 30 September 1938, when the Germans annexed the area, the family moved to Prague. For the first few months Judy and her sister Gertie lived with their mother but in March 1939, when Germany occupied Czechoslovakia, the girls moved back with their father.
Leopold often went to Bratislava where he had family. He obtained non-Jewish papers and hid until 1944. He was killed by the Germans in an unknown location in Hungary.
In Prague between 1939 and 1942, Judy attended a Jewish school and Gertie volunteered at a Jewish medical centre where she trained as a nurse. The Nuremberg Laws soon came into effect and they were forced to wear a yellow Star of David. Judy grew up in an Orthodox family and didn’t mind being identified with the star; she wore it proudly.
In April 1942, when Judy was 13, she was deported to Theresienstadt with her mother and sister. Gertie’s boss from Prague was a doctor in the ghetto and appointed her as a nurse in. Judy lived in the children’s home and worked on the plantation; she was able to secure vegetables for her family.
In 1944, the Red Cross inspected the camp which had been beautified for their visit. After the visit, Judy and her mother and sister were sent to Auschwitz. From there, they were sent to Oederan (ID number 59310) and then back to Theresienstadt. Following liberation they went to Prague. In 1948, when war broke out in Palestine, Judy trained and served in the Israeli army. In 1961, she moved to Australia with her husband, Clement Nachum, and son to be, as well as her mother, who came to escape the communists. In Sydney, they had another son. After her retirement from working in restaurants and a milk bar with her husband, she enrolled at Tate to complete her HSC. Judy didn’t talk about her experiences of the war until 1984 when she had a heart attack. She doesn’t know why, but in the hospital she began telling her story to everyone. She was a survivor guide telling her story at the Sydney Jewish Museum up until her death.
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.
Judith (Judy) Nachum (nee Lachowitz) was born in Teplice-Sanov, Czechoslovakia in July 1928, the daughter of Leopold and Hedwig Lachowitz. Ten years later, on 30 September 1938, when the Germans annexed the area, the family moved to Prague. For the first few months Judy and her sister Gertie lived with their mother but in March 1939, when Germany occupied Czechoslovakia, the girls moved back with their father.
Leopold often went to Bratislava where he had family. He obtained non-Jewish papers and hid until 1944. He was killed by the Germans in an unknown location in Hungary.
In Prague between 1939 and 1942, Judy attended a Jewish school and Gertie volunteered at a Jewish medical centre where she trained as a nurse. The Nuremberg Laws soon came into effect and they were forced to wear a yellow Star of David. Judy grew up in an Orthodox family and didn’t mind being identified with the star; she wore it proudly.
In April 1942, when Judy was 13, she was deported to Theresienstadt with her mother and sister. Gertie’s boss from Prague was a doctor in the ghetto and appointed her as a nurse in. Judy lived in the children’s home and worked on the plantation; she was able to secure vegetables for her family.
In 1944, the Red Cross inspected the camp which had been beautified for their visit. After the visit, Judy and her mother and sister were sent to Auschwitz. From there, they were sent to Oederan (ID number 59310) and then back to Theresienstadt. Following liberation they went to Prague. In 1948, when war broke out in Palestine, Judy trained and served in the Israeli army. In 1961, she moved to Australia with her husband, Clement Nachum, and son to be, as well as her mother, who came to escape the communists. In Sydney, they had another son. After her retirement from working in restaurants and a milk bar with her husband, she enrolled at Tate to complete her HSC. Judy didn’t talk about her experiences of the war until 1984 when she had a heart attack. She doesn’t know why, but in the hospital she began telling her story to everyone. She was a survivor guide telling her story at the Sydney Jewish Museum up until her death.
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.
Nom d'objetyellow Star of David
Matérielfibres (fabrics)
Langue
- German Jew
Ligne de créditSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Mrs Judy Nachum