Nazi Germany decrees that all Jews over the age of six must wear a yellow star - September 1st, 1941

On this day in 1941, the Nazi regime ordered all Jews in Germany over the age of six to publicly identify themselves by wearing a yellow star. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class is a production of I
Heart Radio, Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class,
a show that uncovers a little bit more about history.
Every day. I'm Gay Blusier, and today we're reflecting on

(00:21):
one of the many despicable practices utilized by Nazi Germany
during World War Two. The day was September one, nine.
The Nazi regime ordered all Jews in Germany over the
age of six to publicly identify themselves by wearing a

(00:45):
yellow star. The decree was made in accordance with Nazi
racial laws, which falsely claimed that Jewish identity was a
matter of biological inheritance. Anyone caught without this so called
jew Wish badge was liable to be punished, either with fines, imprisonment,
or even execution. Of course, wearing the badge was no

(01:09):
guarantee of safety either, since it effectively put a target
on the wearer's back. The decree was intended to make
it easier for officers of the Third rece to identify, track,
and control German Jews. Its secondary purpose was to inflict
a sense of isolation on Jewish families, to make them

(01:30):
feel embarrassed and alone. Outcasts within their own country. On
both counts, the dehumanizing badges proved all too effective. This
specific form of persecution is closely associated with the Nazis,
but they actually weren't the first to employ it. In Baghdad,

(01:50):
Jewish residents were forced to wear identifying badges in the
ninth and tenth centuries, and in Europe, the first record
of the practice dates back to the third teenth century,
when Jews were legally compelled to wear pointed hats to
distinguish themselves from the rest of the population. Similar laws
were enforced throughout Europe for the next three hundred years,

(02:12):
but by the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the practice had
mostly fallen out of favor, that is until the Nazis
revived it to aid in their holocaust. In May of
nineteen thirty eight, Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Gebels became the
first to suggest a quote general distinguishing mark for German Jews.

(02:35):
The idea was raised again six months later by Security
police chief Reinhardt Hydrick, but in both cases the proposals
were rejected for fear that identifying Jews with badges would
result in the creation of ghettos in German cities. Of course,
in the years to come, the Nazis would eventually embrace
both practices. The first European Jews required to wear badges

(03:00):
were those living in German occupied Poland. In November of
nineteen thirty nine, local governments there began instituting the practice,
and within a month, every Jewish resident over the age
of twelve was forced to wear a white arm band
emblazoned with a blue star of David. From there, similar
laws were gradually adopted by other German occupied countries, and

(03:24):
eventually by Germany itself. On September one, nineteen forty one,
Reinhardt Hydrick finally got his wish. He commanded that all
Jews over six years of age must wear a yellow
star of David on their outer layer of clothing at
all times. The six sided stars were to be four

(03:45):
inches long and worn on both the left side of
the chest and on the back. The word Jew was
to be inscribed in the center of the star. This
was Hydric's way of ensuring what he described as quote
the control of the Jew through the watchful eye of
the whole population. His order applied to Jewish residents, not

(04:08):
only in the Rice, but in Alsace, in Bohemia, Moravia,
and in the German annexed region of Western Poland. Forgetting
or refusing to comply with the order could easily result
in death, so those affected had to scramble to fashion
the badges from whatever materials they could find. As a result,

(04:28):
the stars can look drastically different. Some were hand stitched,
while others were sewn by machine. Hydris decree filled in
the gaps left by earlier orders, extending the public labeling
of Jews to nearly every corner of Europe under Nazi control.
Belgium and the Netherlands followed suit in the spring of

(04:49):
nineteen forty two, and most parts of France imposed the
badges not long after. In March of nineteen forty four,
Hungary became the final country to require the wearing of badges.
One notable holdout to the policy was the nation of Denmark,
where Jewish badges were never introduced due to the Dane's

(05:09):
vocal opposition to anti Jewish measures. There's a popular legend
that Danish King Christian the Tenth wore a yellow star
in solidarity with the Jewish population. However, there was no
need for him to do so, as German occupiers never
tried to introduce the star to Denmark. That said, the

(05:29):
King did make clear his feelings on the matter, saying, quote,
if the Jews are forced to wear the yellow Star,
I and my whole family shall wear it as a
badge of honor. The German government's use of identifying badges
was just one of many craven tactics employed to stigmatize, humiliate,

(05:51):
and segregate the Jewish people. The yellow stars and other
such markings made it easier to separate these supposedly inferior
city sins from the rest of society, effectively paving the
way for their eventual deportation and systematic murder. Many of
those badges survived the Holocaust and now reside in the

(06:12):
homes of Jewish families and in museums throughout the world.
They were intended as symbols of shame for those who
wore them, but today they're reminders of the resilience and
courage of the millions who suffered and died under a
hateful regime. The only shame the yellow badges represent belongs

(06:33):
to the people who forced other human beings to wear them,
and to those who looked the other way as it happened.
I'm Gabe Louzier and hopefully you now know a little
more about history today than you did yesterday. If you
have a second and you're so inclined, please follow the
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(06:56):
HC Show. You can also rate and review the show
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at this day at I heart media dot com. Thanks
to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thanks to
you for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow
for another day in history class.