Traditional anti-Jewish stereotypes, including medieval symbols, were used by Nazi Germany in the 1930s for its own purposes. It reinstated anti-Jewish legislation, reintroduced the marking of Jews on their clothing, and eventually began to establish ghettos in the occupied territories.
From March 1940 onwards, in Prague, the identity cards of all Jews and persons considered to be Jews were marked with the letter "J". It was ordered to write the word "Jew" in capital letters in order to make it clear that one was a foreigner. As of 1 September 1941, Jews over the age of 6 had to go out in public only with a yellow six-pointed star with the word "Jude" on their clothing. A confusing array of regulations and decrees from the occupation and Protectorate authorities were designed to isolate those identified as Jews from the rest of society.
Now watch a clip of testimony from this time.
Jana Urbanová was born in Teplice in 1937, her father was a doctor of medicine. After the Munich Agreement, when the anti-Jewish regulations had been launched in the areas ceded to Germany, the family moved inland. According to the Nuremberg laws, Jana´s mother was an "Aryan", her father was a Jew and Jana was considered to be of "mixed race". Thanks to her "Aryan" mother, Jana had been protected against deportation for a long time. She got to the ghetto in Terezín, together with her father, towards the end of the war. She survived there until the liberation. The interview was filmed on 11th October 1996 in Krupka.
What impact do you think the yellow star worn on clothing has had on the daily lives of the marked and unmarked?