Auction 24
Lot 085:
White fabric with a blue Star of David and the inscription “Jood” in the middle, which the Jews of the Netherlands were required to wear during the Shoah. Stains, generally good condition. Armbands from the Netherlands are considered relatively rare since most Dutch Jews wore yellow badges, as in most other places where Jews were required to carry a badge of identification. It is possible that the person who wore this had a role in one of the camps and therefore he wore it and not a yellow badge. Background: The decree instructing Jews to carry an ID was issued in the Netherlands on April 29, 1942.The yellow badge was worn beginning on May 4, 1942. The badge, a yellow Star of David with the word “Jood” in Dutch, was ordered to be sewnon the left-side of the chest, at the height of the heart, so that it would be visible in a public place. Jews who were caught without the badge were sent to six weeks’ imprisonment [Yad Vashem]. In 1939, the Judenrat in Poland announced: “Beginning on July 10, 1941, all men, women and children aged 14 and over must wear a white band with a blue Star of David on the right arm. The width of the ribbon is 12 cm. The thickness of the blue line of the Star of David must be at least one centimeter,”but soon the yellow star on the lapel replaced the armbands. On April 29, 1942, a directive was published in the Netherlands that all Jews must wear a yellow star on the left side of the chest with a black inscription (the word Jew). It should be noted that in the Netherlands, many demonstrative expressions of solidarity were expressed by the non-Jewish population. On May 1, 1942, one of the underground newspapers in the Netherlands printed 300,000 stars with the inscription “Jews and non-Jews are equal.”
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