---
title: Star of David Badge
author: Imperial War Museums
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/20047/star-of-david-badge/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
updated: 2025-02-17
---
# Star of David Badge
_Authored by Imperial War Museums_
## Image File
[](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/20047.jpg)
## Image Caption
A yellow Star of David badge with 'Jude' ('Jew' in German) printed in black. Cloth badges like this were used as a tool of identification by the Nazi regime (1933-1945) to [mark](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Mark/) Jewish people in order to stigmatise and segragate them, which facilitated their deportation.
Josef Goebbels (1897-1945), Nazi propaganda minister, first suggested the implementation of a "general distinguishing mark" to separate German Jews in May 1938. However, the first enforcement of a specific Jewish badge occured in October 1939 in Wloclawek, Nazi-occupied Poland.
The use of the yellow badge across the Reich, including Germany's annexed territories, was formalised in September 1941. All Jews above the age of six were legally forced to wear the badge. The use of the badge, with 'Jew' written in the local language, was imposed by German forces across their occupied territories, with varying degrees of adherence. (Imperial [War](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/War/) Musuems)
## Cite This Work
### APA
Museums, I. W. (2025, February 17). Star of David Badge. *World History Encyclopedia*.
### Chicago
Museums, Imperial War. "Star of David Badge." *World History Encyclopedia*, February 17, 2025. .
### MLA
Museums, Imperial War. "Star of David Badge." *World History Encyclopedia*, 17 Feb 2025, .
## License & Copyright
[Original image](https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30071215) by **Imperial War Museums**. Submitted by [Scarlett Hart](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/scarletthart/ "User Page: Scarlett Hart"), published on 17 February 2025. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.