LEARN & REMEMBER ISOLATION
EXCLUSION
These yellow Stars of David were required to be worn by all Jews over a certain age. By enforcing this decree, the Nazis were able to exclude and isolate Jews.
By 1934, Germany was firmly under Nazi control.
The Nazis began to create a “national community” with popular slogans such as “Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer” (One people, One government, One leader). The Nazi ideology was racist at its core, elevating and rewarding the status of the so-called Aryans and eliminating those they considered inferior. More than 1,000 rules and regulations were created to exclude or segregate people of Jewish descent and other non-Aryans from all aspects of public life.
The Nazis continued to further exclude people of Jewish descent by limiting Jewish students from German schools, forbidding Jewish doctors from treating non-Jews, revoking the licenses of Jewish lawyers, and putting other restrictions in place to prevent them living or following their religious customs. Laws were established that redefined German citizenship which stripped Jews of their rights and citizenship and ultimately made them stateless.
To make Jews more identifiable, German authorities decreed that Jewish men and women with “non-Jewish” first names had to add “Israel” and “Sara” to their given names as well as mark their identification documents with the letter “J” for Jude (Jew). The loss of Jewish rights was complete by the November Pogrom of 1938 in which the government agents targeted Jewish owned businesses for looting and destruction. Shortly after, Jews were forced to identify themselves at all times by wearing a yellow Star of David.
Those targeted by the Nazis’ racial ideology became second-class citizens who faced widespread persecution and abuse. Those in positions of power become oppressors and sought to victimize those they felt superior to. These conditions can cause the victims to experience Segregation Stress Syndrome, a condition similar to PTSD, as a result of sustained traumatic events.
Reproduction of an addendum to the Reich Citizenship Law.
Romanian sign issued by the police regarding the compulsory wearing of the Jewish badge in the city of Bacau.
The text reads: "In 48 hours all Jewish men and women must wear on the left side of their chest the Jewish star (two superimposed triangles) made of yellow cloth, each side to be 6 cm. long. Only those who don the military uniform in the service of the army are exempt./Those who are not in compliance after this date will be arrested and turned over to the police and the military command./July 4, 1941/Police chief/Sub-inspector I. Cuptor."
Margot Hirschfeld
Margot was not able to leave the apartment much because of new Nazi laws. She was not allowed to go to the movies or be out after curfew. She wasn’t even allowed to sit on a park bench.
Sam Cohen
Early in 1943, a new decree was issued: it demanded that all Jews wear the yellow star. Since 50,000 of the 90,000 people who lived in Salonika were Jews, ‘I saw a sea of yellow stars in the streets,’ Sam recalled.
eric haas
Soon after the Nazis occupied Holland, they passed laws restricting Jews. Jews were now required to wear a yellow star on all their clothes; they were not allowed to go out on the streets at night, use public parks, or attend movie theaters. They were not permitted to leave the cities in which they lived, and they had to turn their bicycles in to the authorities.
Read Eric’s full testimony HERE
Sam Rosenzweig
Jews were not permitted to use some streets, but they were not attacked during the first few days. The Nazis immediately established a Judenrat, a committee of local Jews charged with carrying out Nazi orders. Jews were evicted from their homes and apartments in good neighborhoods, and a ghetto was established. The ghetto was not sealed immediately, but it was crowded.
Jews had to wear a yellow star on their clothing. Jewish men had to change their names to Israel, women to Sarah. Sam was known as S. Israel Rosenzweig.
Anna Rado
Under German rule, Jewish children were no longer able to attend school. A man, beating a drum, came to the center of town and announced that Jews were to pack their belongings in a bag and move out of the community. They were sent to a town about ten miles away where they were confined to a ghetto.
It was extremely frightening because no one knew what was going on. Anna’s father was heart-broken because he believed that everyone in Rajka liked him. Actually, people did care for him and his family, but they were influenced by Nazi propaganda and pressure.
Margaret Turk Hopkovitz
Anti-Jewish laws kept getting stricter. Margaret had to wear a yellow Star of David on her clothes, and she carried an identification card at all times. She still attended high school in Kosice and stayed with a Polish-Jewish family there. She felt that she was looked down on by the soldiers and Hungarians. Many people in Veľká Ida changed their attitudes and their treatment of the family. Margaret was required to attend school on Saturday, but she asked others to write for her because Jewish law does not permit writing on the Sabbath. In 1942, when even stricter rules were imposed, Jews were placed under a curfew and were not allowed to leave their homes.
Ilona Haendel
New anti-Jewish regulations were posted all over town, and they were announced on the radio. Jews were fired from their jobs. Those who were in the entertainment business were allowed to perform only in synagogues. Many learned to earn a living in other professions.
The following day, Jews were ordered to sew yellow stars on their clothing so they could be easily identified. A person was considered Jewish if even only one grandparent was Jewish. Ilona was amazed by the large number of people in her city who wore the stars. She never knew so many were Jewish. One of them was a Catholic priest.
Ilona cut up her yellow dress to make the stars, but, eventually, Jews began to make them in factories. Ilona was not ashamed of being Jewish, but the regulations issued were very harsh. In Budapest Jews had to give up their vehicles, turn in their bicycles, radios, and gold. The Nazis confiscated all of the merchandise in her father’s jewelry store. The family tried to hide some of the valuables, but they had to surrender everything because there were detailed records of all the items her father had had in the store.
In this video, survivors Rose Williams and George Fodor discuss how their families were excluded from society after the Nazis came to power.
Learn more about the psychological effects of exclusion from our partners at Jewish Family Services.
People of Jewish descent weren’t the only ones excluded from German Society. Do you know which other groups were targeted by the Nazis? Learn More
Exhibit Panels Navigation | Introduction // Intimidation // Exclusion // Separation // Loss // Survival // Aftermath
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