Star of David

By: Brian Freeman

There is no other symbol that best represents the suffering of Holocaust than the Star of David. The symbol during WWII became a sign of hate, anguish, and pain directed at the Jewish people who were forced to wear the symbol.

The pain the symbol causes can be seen in Elie Wiesel “Night”. In “Night” after the Germans moved and occupied the area where the Wiesel family lived, the Germans slowly began to enforce anti Jewish laws and rules. In order to differentiate Jews from other racial groups, the Star of David was forced upon them. Wiesel’s father, in response to the law says “The Yellow Star? Oh what of it? It’s not Lethal”(Night 11). Wiesel’s father never knew the little yellow star would lead to his death. He and millions of others would all suffer the same fate. Of all the symbols associated with the Holocaust, one symbol that is synonymous with the Holocaust and Judaism is the Star of David. Under Nazi rule the yellow star has become a symbol of persecution and suffering.

The Star of David in origin is very cloudy. One generally accepted theory according to the Jewish Virtual Library states that, “The Magen David or better known as the Star of David is supposed to represent the shape of Kings David’s shield (or perhaps the emblem on it).” The symbol is also seen in many other cultures. The author continues saying, “The symbol of intertwined equilateral triangles is common in the Middle of East and North Africa and is thought to bring luck.” In the 17^th century, it became popular practice to put the Star of David on the outside of synagogues. According to Jennifer Rosenberg, “The Star of David did not gain popularity as a symbol of Judaism when it was adopted as the emblem of the Zionist movement in 1897.” The Nazis were not the first to force Jews to distinguish themselves apart from the society. It is believed that the first time that the implementation of a Jewish badge was discussed among the Nazi leaders was right after Kristallnacht in 1938. At a meeting on November 12,1938, Reinhard Heydrich made the first suggestion about a badge. On November 23, 1939, Hans Frank, the chief officer of the Government General, declared that all Jews above ten years of age were to wear a white badge with a Star of David on their right arm. It was not until nearly two years later that a decree, issued on September 1, 1941, issued badges to Jews within Germany and Poland. This badge was the yellow Star of David with the word "Jude" ("Jew") sewn onto it and worn on the left side of one's chest.

Jennifer Rosenberg, “The Yellow Star,” 1-3. [October 15, 2007] http://history1900s.about.com/od/holocaust/a/yellowstar.htm\

Jewish Virtual Library, “The Star of David,” [October 14, 2007] http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/star.html

Richard L. Rubenstein and John K. Roth, Approaches to Auschwitz, Revised ed., (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press), 25-47.

United States Holocaust Museum, [October 12, 2007] http://www.ushmm.org/photos