The badge was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018 by Dr. Maria Weissenberg Barrows, the cousin of Alfred Rudolph Pisko.
Unused yellow cloth badge in the shape of a 6 pointed Star of David. The star outline is formed by two black triangles, printed to overlap one another. In the center is German text in a font resembling Hebrew. A dashed outline is visible along some of the edges of the star. The raw edges are frayed, there are multiple creases, and four of the points are dogeared.
No restrictions on access
No restrictions on use
overall: Height: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm) | Width: 3.875 inches (9.843 cm)
Factory-printed Star of David badge worn by a relative of the donor between 1941 and 1945. On September 1, 1941, all Jews in the Reich six years of age or older were required to wear a badge, a yellow Star of David with a black-outline and the word “Jew” printed inside the star in German, to identify themselves. The badge was used to stigmatize and control the Jewish population. Prior to this large-scale decree, identification requirements for Jewish individuals varied by locality and administration. As Germany annexed territory, the same or similar decrees were enforced in other countries, resulting in the manufacture of similar badges with text in various languages. The badges specified in the decree were first produced by Berliner Fahnenfabrik Geitel & Co., a flag factory. They were distributed by government and police authorities at the cost of 10 Reichspfennig each (in France, they cost a textile ration coupon). Later, they were duplicated by other factories, such as De Nijverheid, a formerly Jewish-owned firm in the Netherlands that printed a large amount of Dutch language stars.
Factory-printed Star of David badge acquired by an Austrian refugee