Theyellow badge, also known as theyellow patch, theJewish badge, or theyellow star (German:Judenstern,lit. 'Jew's star'), was an accessory thatJews were required to wear in certain non-Jewish societies throughout history. A Jew's ethno-religious identity, which would be denoted by the badge, would help tomark them as an outsider.[1] Legislation that mandated Jewish subjects to wear such items has been documented in some Middle Easterncaliphates and in some European kingdoms during themedieval period and theearly modern period. The most recent usage of yellow badges was duringWorld War II, when Jews living inNazi Germany andGerman-occupied Europe were ordered to wear a yellowStar of David to keep their Jewish identity disclosed to the public in the years leading up tothe Holocaust.
The practice of wearing special clothing or markings to distinguish Jews and other non-Muslims (dhimmis) in Muslim-dominated countries seems to have been introduced in theUmayyad Caliphate by CaliphUmar II in the early 8th century.[2][3] In the 9th century, Islamic authorities began to harden their attitude onghiyār (غيار, differentiating non-Muslims from Muslims.[4] TheAbbasid caliphal-Mutawakkil issued a decree in 850 that ordered Jews and Christians to wear thezunnar (زنار), honey-coloured outer garments and badge-like patches on their clothing and their servants' clothing. This began the long tradition of differentiation by colour, though the colour and badges would change over time and place.[5][4]
The clothing was also enforced outside of the Islamic heartlands. InAghlabid Northern Africa and Sicily dhimmis were required to wear a patch (Arabic:رقعة,ruq'a) of white fabric on the shoulder of their outer garment, with the patch for Jews being in the image of an ape and for Christians - in the image of a pig.[4][6] It is not clear how long this humiliating decree remained in force, but it is clear that in the Maghrebi case, the purpose of the patch was not merelyghiyār 'differentiation' but alsodhull (ذل, 'humiliation'), in keeping with the qoranic injunction (Sura 9:29) that non-Muslims should be humbled.[4] Agenizah document from 1121 gives the following description of decrees issued in Baghdad:
Two yellow badges [are to be displayed], one on the headgear and one on the neck. Furthermore, each Jew must hang round his neck a piece of lead weighing [3 grams] with the worddhimmi on it. He also has to wear a belt around his waist. The women have to wear one red and one black shoe and have a small bell on their necks or shoes.[7]
TheJews of Egypt were forced in 1005 to wear thezunnar on their garments and a wooden calf to remind them of thegolden one.[3] In the late 12th century, theAlmohads forced theJews of North Africa to wear yellow cloaks and turbans,[8][9] a practice the subsequentHafsid dynasty continued to follow.[10] In 1250, under Hafsid caliph al-Mustansir, Jews had to wear some sort of distinguishing badge (Arabic:شكيلة,shikla), though it is not exactly known how it looked like and it may have referred to both a special patch and an overall attire unique to Jews.[11] At the same time, theAyyubid Sultan decreed that the life and property of any Jew or Christian found in the street without a distinguishing badge (Arabic:علامة,'alāma) orzunnar would be forfeit.[10] In 1301, Jews were required to wear a yellow turban.[3]
Mid-15th century reports describe theshikla as a piece of yellow cloth worn on the outer clothing thatTunisian Jews were obliged to wear.[12][11] Theshikla ceased to be used in Morocco from the 16th century, but it continued to be such a regular defining mark of Tunisian Jews up to the 19th century, that they were commonly referred to asshikliyyūn ('those who wear the sign').[10]
From the thirteenth century onwards, secular authorities in Medieval Europe started to distinguish different people, affecting both Christians and non-Christians, and occupations by distinguishing clothing. With theFourth Council of the Lateran in 1215 headed byPope Innocent III it was for the first time specifically declared that Jews and Muslims must wear distinguishing garbs (Latinhabitus).[13] These measures were not seen as being inconsistent with the papal bullsSicut Judaeis. While some historians argue that the reason was to keep Jews out of Christian society, many clothing restrictions also applied to Christians and the stated and likely reason was to prevent intermarriage and thusproselytisation.[13] This wording of the council decree may have been influenced indirectly by the Muslim requirements for Jews.[3][8]
Innocent III had in 1199 confirmedSicut Judaeis, which was also confirmed byPope Honorius III in 1216. In 1219, Honorius III issued a dispensation to the Jews ofCastile,[3] the largest Jewish population in Europe. Spanish Jews normally woreturbans, which presumably met the requirement to be distinctive.[5] Elsewhere, local laws were introduced to bring the canon into effect.[14] The identifying mark varied from one country to another, and from period to period.
In 1227, theSynod of Narbonne ruled:
That Jews may be distinguished from others, we decree and emphatically command that in the center of the breast (of their garments) they shall wear an oval badge, the measure of one finger in width and one half a palm in height.[15]
However, these ecclesiastic pronouncements required legal sanctions of a temporal authority. In 1228,James I of Aragon ordered Jews ofAragon to wear the badge;[3] and in 1265, theSiete Partidas, a legal code enacted in Castile byAlfonso X but not implemented until many years later, included a requirement for Jews to wear distinguishing marks.[16] On 19 June 1269,Louis IX of France imposed a fine of tenlivres (one livre was equivalent to a pound of silver) on Jews found in public without a badge (Latin:rota,lit. 'wheel',French:rouelle orroue).[3][17] The enforcement of wearing the badge is repeated by local councils, with varying degrees of fines, atArles 1234 and 1260,Béziers 1246,Albi 1254,Nîmes 1284 and 1365,Avignon 1326 and 1337,Rodez 1336, andVanves 1368.[3] The "rota" looked like a ring of white or yellow.[18] The shape and colour of the patch also varied, although the colour was usually white or yellow. Married women were often required to wear two bands of blue on their veil or head-scarf.[19]
In 1274,Edward I of England enacted theStatute of Jewry, which also included a requirement:
Each Jew, after he is seven years old, shall wear a distinguishing mark on his outer garment, that is to say, in the form oftwo Tables joined, of yellow felt of the length of six inches [150 mm] and of the breadth of three inches [75 mm].[20][21]
In Europe, Jews were required to wear theJudenhut orpileum cornutum, a cone-shaped hat, in most cases yellow.[22] In 1267, theVienna city council ordered Jews to wear this type of hat rather than a badge.[3] There is a reference to a dispensation from the badge inErfurt on 16 October 1294, the earliest reference to the badge in Germany.[3] There were also attempts to enforce the wearing of full-length robes, which in late 14th-centuryRome were supposed to be red. In Portugal, a redStar of David was used.[19]
Enforcement of the rules was variable; inMarseille the magistrates ignored accusations of breaches, and in some places individuals or communities could buy exemption.Cathars who were considered "first time offenders" by theCatholic Church and theInquisition were also forced to wear yellow badges, albeit in the form of crosses, about their person.
The yellow badge remained the key distinguishing mark of Jewish dress in the Middle Ages.[23] From the 16th century, the use of theJudenhut declined, but the badge survived into the 18th century in places.[24]
AfterNazi Germany'sinvasion of Poland in 1939, there were different local decrees requiring Jews to wear a distinctive sign under theGeneral Government. The sign was a white armband with a blue Star of David on it; in theWarthegau a yellow badge in the form of a Star of David on the left side of the breast and on the back.[25] The requirement to wear the Star of David with the wordJude (German for "Jew") – inscribed inFaux Hebrew lettersmeant to resembleHebrew writing – was then extended to all Jews over the age of six in the Reich and theProtectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (by a decree issued on 1 September 1941, signed byReinhard Heydrich)[26][27] and was gradually introduced in otherGerman-occupied areas, where local words were used (e.g.Juif in French,Jood in Dutch).
One observer reported that the star increased German non-Nazi sympathy for Jews as the impoverished citizens who wore them were, contrary toNazi propaganda, obviously not the cause of German failure on theEastern Front. In the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, government had to banhat tipping towards Jews and other courtesies that became popular as protests againstthe German occupation. Awhispering campaign that claimed that the action was in response to the United States government requiringGerman Americans to wear swastikas was unsuccessful.[28]
In May 2001, theTaliban government in Afghanistan ruled thatHindus in the country must wear a yellow badge, causing international outcry.[29][30]
In May 2021, in response to theanti-vaccine movement in the United States, hatWRKS, a hat store inNashville, Tennessee, sold badges that resembled the yellow stars with the words "Not vaccinated" on them. In response, theStetson company announced they would no longer sell any hats to the store. This also sparked protests outside the store.[31] The practice of wearing yellow stars inprotests against responses to the COVID-19 pandemic spread to Montreal, London, Amsterdam and Paris. The practice sparked condemnation by various Jewish advocacy groups andHolocaust survivors.[32][33][34][35]
On 31 October 2023,Permanent Representative of Israel to the United NationsGilad Erdan, as well as otherIsraeli delegates, began wearing yellow star badges with the words "Never Again" written on them, in protest to criticism of Israel's conduct during theGaza war. Erdan claimed that theUN Security Council was "silent" about theOctober 7 attacks, and said that he would wear the star "as a symbol of pride".[36] However, this decision was immediately condemned byYad Vashem chairmanDani Dayan, calling it a "[disgrace to] the victims of the Holocaust as well as the state of Israel", pointing out that the slaughter of Jews by Hamas differs from the Holocaust in that "Jews have today a state and an army. We are not defenseless and at the mercy of others."[37][38] According toYnet, unnamed officials from Israel'sMinistry of Foreign Affairs were also highly critical of the decision, with one calling it a "cheap gimmick that doesn’t serve our goal", and others describing it as an attempt to appeal toLikud party members.[39]
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Local German occupation commanders ordered Jewish Poles to wear an identifying mark under the threat of death. There were no consistent requirements as to its colour and shape: it varies from a white armband, a yellow hat to a yellow Star of David badge.Hans Frank ordered all Jewish Poles over the age of 11 years inGerman-occupied Poland to wear white armbands with a blue Star of David.
A popular legend portrays kingChristian X of Denmark wearing the yellow badge on his daily morning horseback ride through the streets ofCopenhagen, followed by non-Jewish Danes responding to their king's example, thus preventing the Germans from identifying Jewish citizens. QueenMargrethe II of Denmark has explained that the story was not true.[45][46] No order requiring Jews to wear identifying marks was ever introduced in Denmark.[47]
Jews in theIndependent State of Croatia, a puppet state of Nazi Germany, were ordered to wear "Jewish insignia".[48] Jewish Poles in German-occupiedSoviet-annexed Poland, Jewish Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians as well as Soviet Jews in German-occupied areas were obliged to wear white armbands or yellow badges. All Romanian Jews were ordered to wear the yellow badge.[49] The yellow badge was the only standardised identifying mark in the German-occupied East; other signs were forbidden. Jewish Germans and Jews with citizenship of annexed states (Austrians, Czechs, Danzigers) from the age of six years were ordered to wear the yellow badge from 19 September when in public.[26] In Luxembourg, the German occupation authorities introduce theNuremberg Laws, followed by several other anti-Jewish ordinances including an order for all Jews to wear a yellow star with the wordJude.[50] TheSlovak Republic ordered its Jews to wear yellow badges.
Romania started to force Jews in newly annexed territories, denied Romanian citizenship, to wear the yellow badge.
TheGestapo ordered Jewish Germans and Jews with citizenship of annexed states to mark their apartments or houses at the front door with a white badge.[51] Jewish Dutch people were ordered to wear the yellow badge. Jewish Belgians were ordered to wear the yellow badge. Jews inoccupied France, covering the northern and western half of the country, were ordered to wear a yellow star by the German authorities. Bulgaria ordered its Jewish citizens to wear small yellow buttons. German forces invaded and occupied thezone libre, i.e. the south-eastern half of France, but did not enforce the yellow star directive there.
After the occupation ofHungary, the Nazi occupiers ordered Jewish Hungarians and Jews with defunct other citizenships (Czechoslovak, Romanian, Yugoslav) in Hungarian-annexed areas to wear the yellow badge.[52]
But the wearing of a badge or outward sign – whose effect, intended or otherwise, successful or not, was to shame and to make vulnerable as well as to distinguish the wearer – was one thing.
