Third Reich imposed restrictions on Jews with increasing severity leading up to the Final Solution. One of these restrictions was a requirement to wear a “badge” – the Star of David – in order to identify, humiliate, and segregate the Jewish population.

These badges, however, were not uniform across the Third Reich. This example from our collection is from France where Jews were required to use a yellow Star of David, outlined in black, with the French word for “Jew” in the center. German authorities issued a decree on May 29, 1942 requiring all Jews in France to wear this particular badge.