Star of David badge with Jude worn by a German Jewish youth
- Date
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use:
after 1941 September-1945 May
- Geography
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issue:
Berlin (Germany)
- Language
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German
- Classification
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Identifying Artifacts
- Category
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Badges
- Object Type
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Star of David badges (lcsh)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Fritz Gluckstein
Star of David badge worn by Fritz Gluckstein, circa 1941-1945, in Berlin, Germany. On September 1941, the Nazi regime issued a decree that Jews must wear Judenstern at all times to mark them as outcasts from German society. Fritz's Hebrew class discussed the meaning, embarrassment, and consequences, such as arrest, if caught without it, and what to do if they were attacked. His mother prepared and applied the patches. They had to be sewn tightly on the left and officials would use pencils to try to get behind the star. Fritz was the son of a Jewish father and a Christian mother, Georg and Hedwig. After Hitler came to power in January 1933, Jews were prohibited from holding public office. Fritz's father, a prominent judge, was dismissed. Under Nazi racial laws, Fritz was a counted Jew, subject to all restrictions. His maternal aunt Elfriede Dressler provided the family with extra food and supplies. In 1942, Fritz's Jewish school was closed. He was assigned to forced labor service. On February 27, 1943, Fritz and his father were arrested during the Factory Action round up of the remaining Jews in Berlin. He was held in a building on Rosenstrasse with about 2000 other husbands and children of non-Jewish women. The family members demonstrated and demanded the release of their loved ones who they feared would be deported and killed. It was the only public demonstration against the Nazi regime to take place in Germany, and the detainees were released. Fritz and his father worked in a forced labor gang until the war ended on May 7, 1945. Fritz resumed his studies and, in 1948, immigrated to the US. His parents remained in Berlin where his father served as chairman of the new Jewish community's assembly of representatives.
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Record last modified: 2021-02-10 08:56:28
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn4413
Also in This Collection
Unused Star of David badge with Jude issued to a German Jewish youth
Object
Star of David badge preprared for but never worn by Fritz Gluckstein, circa 1941-1945, in Berlin, Germany. On September 1941, the Nazi regime issued a decree that Jews must wear Judenstern at all times to mark them as outcasts from German society. Fritz's Hebrew class discussed the meaning, embarrassment, and consequences, such as arrest, if caught without it, and what to do if they were attacked. The badge had to be sewn tightly on the left and officials would use pencils to try to get behind the star. Fritz was the son of a Jewish father and a Christian mother, Georg and Hedwig. After Hitler came to power in January 1933, Jews were prohibited from holding public office. Fritz's father, a prominent judge, was dismissed. Under Nazi racial laws, Fritz was a counted Jew, subject to all restrictions. His maternal aunt, Elfriede Dressler provided the family with extra food and supplies. In 1942, Fritz's Jewish school was closed and he was put into the forced labor service. On February 27, 1943, Fritz and his father were arrested during the Factory Action to round up the remaining Jews of Berlin. He was held in a building on Rosenstrasse with about 2000 other husbands and children of non-Jewish women. The family members demonstrated and demanded the release of their loved ones who they feared would be deported and killed. It was the only public demonstration against the Nazi regime to take place in Germany, and the detainees were released. Fritz and his father worked in a forced labor gang until the war ended on May 7, 1945. Fritz resumed his studies and, in 1948, immigrated to the US. His parents remained in Berlin where his father served as chairman of the new Jewish community's assembly of representatives.
Fritz Gluckstein papers
Document
The Fritz Gluckstein papers include identification papers, permits, and immigration papers for Fritz Gluckstein, a certificate documenting his father’s receipt of a World War I veteran’s medal, two photographs of Fritz Gluckstein and his family, and an announcement for the first Passover seder held in Berlin since 1932. Fritz Gluckstein materials include a 1942 report card; 1942‐1944 permits and notices documenting Gluckstein’s employment, release from the Rosenstrasse holding camp, use of the S‐Bahn, and exclusion from military service; and authorization, identification, and travel papers documenting Gluckstein’s immigration to the United States. Georg Gluckstein material include a 1935 certificate documenting Gluckstein’s award of the World War I Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer medal and a 1942 envelope addressed to Gluckstein from Deutsche Bank. An August 1945 photograph depicts Fritz, Georg, and Hedwig Gluckstein in Berlin, and a 1947 photograph depicts Fritz Gluckstein in Zeven. The Fritz Gluckstein papers include identification papers, permits, and immigration papers for Fritz Gluckstein, a certificate documenting his father’s receipt of a World War I veteran’s medal, two photographs of Fritz Gluckstein and his family, and an announcement for the first Passover seder held in Berlin since 1932. The papers also include a notice for the first Passover seder to be held in Berlin since 1932. The seder was to take place on April 15, 1945, at the Schoenberg, Rathaus, at Rudolf Wilde Platz.