![]() ![]() Nevertheless, it was not widely adopted as a particularly Jewish sign. It derived its name from King David’s shield which, in some traditions, bore a hexagram. ![]() In fact, the Star of David was an ornamental sign used by a variety of civilizations in the ancient world and in the seals of both Christian and Jewish notaries in the Middle Ages. The Star of David hardly ever appeared among the various badges worn by Jews in medieval and early modern times. Holocaust survivor and historian Guido Kisch wrote: “what Jews wore willingly usually did not have a negative connotation but as soon as clothes or badges were forced upon them, they became marks of shame.” Jews had long embraced particular signs with the specific purpose of preserving their own difference. The Hebrew Bible was attentive to sartorial decisions-from Joseph’s coat of many colors to the multi-colored textiles that adorned the tabernacle and clothed the priests. Jews themselves, of course, had their own traditions of signs and dress. The first law on record regarding Jewish badges dates back to 1215, when Pope Innocent III decreed that Jews “shall easily be distinguishable from the rest of the populations by the nature of their clothes.” In the Middle Ages, Jews were made to wear symbols ranging from two white tablets (the ten Commandments) to a yellow “O,” or ring, made with yellow cloth. Star with “Jood” in Dutch, from Jacobowitz Family Papers, 1988.1115 Star with “Jude” in German, from Kurt Gunter Michaelis Papers, 2005.0006. ![]() From the collections of the Tauber Holocaust Library and Archives. ![]()
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